With an estimated cost of $280 million, the building represents the largest single-project funding package in UofL’s history. The State of Kentucky has allocated $260 million toward the project, with the university providing the remaining $20 million.

“Today marks more than the start of a new building. It reflects a bold commitment to the future of health in our community and across Kentucky,” said President Gerry Bradley. “This new health sciences facility will accelerate discovery, strengthen our workforce and expand access to high-quality care. It’s an investment in people, in partnership and a powerful step toward building healthier lives, stronger families and a more resilient region.”

The , located along Preston Street from Chestnut to Gray, will be a connecting point for the UofL Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Public Health and Information Sciences. The building features extensive medical simulation facilities, along with dedicated spaces for learning, research and work. The six-story, 257,000-square-foot structure will enable UofL to increase enrollment in health professions programs to meet existing and future health care workforce demands.

“Investing in the UofL Health Sciences Center is a direct investment in the future of Kentucky’s economy. By modernizing how we train our next generation of nurses, doctors and dentists through simulation training, we are ensuring that our commonwealth remains a leader in health care innovation,” said Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers. “A healthy workforce is the backbone of a strong economy, and this facility will provide the critical infrastructure needed to train the next generation of health care professionals to serve the people of the commonwealth.”��

The space is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary learning, instilling a collaborative, interprofessional approach to health sciences. The goal is to advance health professions education, empowering the next generation of health care providers to improve health and health care for people in Louisville, across Kentucky and beyond.

“Building a strong and resilient economy for Kentucky families starts with investing in people – those including our health care workforce. This state-of-the-art simulation facility will give students the hands-on training they need to master complex clinical skills before ever entering a hospital room,” said David Osborne, speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. “By modernizing health care education, we are strengthening the pipeline of highly trained professionals ready to meet the demands of a 21st-century economy. Ultimately, this investment will lead to better care, improved outcomes and healthier communities across the commonwealth.”

The building’s modular classroom and conference spaces, research labs and workspaces are designed with the needs of learners and instructors in mind. UofL’s School of Public Health and Information Sciences will be completely housed within the building, while other spaces are customized for the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine and Nursing.

Extensive simulation facilities will incorporate the latest technology where health professions students, residents and clinical professionals can gain practical skills training. Jarrod Young, , is leading the development, integration and strategic direction of the simulation spaces.

“This groundbreaking is an investment in Louisville’s future,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. “By uniting education, research and hands-on training, UofL’s new Health Sciences Building will grow the next generation of health care professionals, strengthen our workforce, improve health outcomes for people across Kentucky and reinforce Louisville’s role as a leading medical and education hub for Kentucky and beyond.”

The structure is infused with an emphasis on collaboration, engagement and wellbeing for those who use each space, with formal and informal working and gathering spaces, natural light and easy access to landscaped outdoor spaces. Casual dining and seating options encourage personal interaction. Abundant windows are enhanced with a unique scrim to prevent glare and heat gain, while still taking advantage of sunlight. The space provides multiple opportunities to access nature with plantings along the perimeter, terraced outdoor space and a microforest of dense natural landscaping on the building’s south side.

The building sits along the main corridor of the and borders the , which is improving walkability, health and safety by enhancing walkways and adding trees and green spaces to the streetscape.

The building design is a product of architects Champlin | EOP with Perkins&Will, and Messer construction is the general contractor. Construction is expected to be completed in 2029.

To learn more, visit the .��View a of the construction site.

The project design, a multi-phase transformation supported by $6.75 million in combined city and state funding, features expanded sidewalks, increased tree canopy and extensive landscaping. New curb extensions will introduce seating areas and further soften the urban environment. By enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, the project aims to create a street that is safer and more welcoming to the thousands of employees, students and patients who traverse the district daily.

In collaboration with city officials and project partners Gresham Smith and Pace Contracting, LOUMED has begun project construction for the project in the 300 block of East Chestnut Street. This location allows the new work to physically and visually connect the streetscape to LOUMED Commons, a public park opened in November 2025 that converted a vacant lot into vital green space, and to enhance UofL’s Health Sciences Center.

The project is located within the study area of Greenprint, a 10-year initiative coordinated by UofL’s and its affiliated Urban Design Studio. Greenprint integrates science-based greening strategies into downtown Louisville’s growth and redevelopment, optimizing new green spaces so they can have the greatest impact on human health. The initiative links separate projects like LOUMED Commons and the Chestnut Street improvements, ensuring a shared commitment to creating a cooler, cleaner and healthier Louisville.

The Chestnut Street Improvement Project is informed by walkability studies and temperature monitoring conducted by UofL’s Center for Geographic Information Sciences (ULCGIS), which recently became part of the Envirome Institute. Using drone-mounted thermal imaging sensors to map surface temperatures across project areas, ULCGIS staff identify hot spots and provide data to help guide planting strategies that can cool the city and support healthier, more comfortable microenvironments. Researchers will continue to monitor the impact of this greening on the local microclimate and human health and comfort to develop a replicable national model for greening urban pedestrian areas in other cities.

Construction for the Chestnut Street project is proceeding in a phased approach to minimize disruption. Work on the current block is scheduled for completion later this year. Crews will then immediately begin improvements on the three subsequent blocks extending east from South Preston to South Clay streets, with the full eastern section projected to be complete in 2027.

Located at 316 East Chestnut Street, LOUMED Commons will provide new outdoor space in the heart of the city’s medical and education district. Located across the street from the University of Louisville Abell Administration Building on the Health Sciences Center campus, the park will feature tree canopy and native plantings, shaded seating, gathering areas, and space for food trucks, with flexible areas for future events and community programming.

“LOUMED Commons represents our commitment to creating a more vibrant, sustainable and pedestrian-friendly Louisville,” said Mayor Greenberg. “This space will offer a place of respite and connection for the more than 18,000 healthcare professionals, 10,000 students and over 1.5 million visitors who are here each year. Improving these public spaces helps us attract top talent and strengthen collaboration among our medical and educational institutions.”

The project is led by LOUMED in partnership with Metro Public Works, JLL, CARMAN Landscape Architecture and Pace Contracting. LOUMED Commons is supported by city funding allocated through the Kentucky General Assembly’s investment in downtown Louisville. The $10 million allocation is helping to fund multiple LOUMED projects, including LOUMED Commons. Additionally, the city is investing $1.75 million in improvements along Chestnut Street. Combined, these efforts represent $11.75 million in city funding supporting the district’s ongoing revitalization.

“LOUMED Commons is an important next step in how people experience this district,” said Nadareca Thibeaux, executive director of LOUMED. “This park will give people a place to take a break, eat lunch or simply enjoy being outside. It’s a practical improvement for the thousands of people here every day.”

LOUMED’s anchor institutions — University of Louisville, UofL Health,��Jefferson Community and Technical College, and Norton Healthcare — continue to invest in the district through projects supporting education, research, health care and workforce development. More than $560 million in capital investments are currently underway across the district.

LOUMED Commons complements these efforts by improving the shared spaces that link these institutions and enhancing the overall experience for workers, students, patients and visitors. The first phase of the park is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

For more information about LOUMED and its initiatives, visit and follow on , and .

About the Louisville Medical & ����ֱ�� District (LOUMED)
The Louisville Medical & ����ֱ�� District (LOUMED) is a 22-square-block hub where health care, education, research and community come together in downtown Louisville. Anchored by Jefferson Community and Technical College, the University of Louisville, UofL Health and Norton Healthcare, LOUMED institutions collectively employ 18,000 people and educate 10,000 students, with a combined annual payroll exceeding $1 billion. Through partnerships and investments in public spaces, LOUMED supports the people who work, study, receive care or visit the district while contributing to Louisville’s continued growth.

In the keynote address, Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, presented “,” followed by a rigorous Q&A. Volkow’s talk provided a current overview of the drug overdose epidemic, a top concern in Kentuckiana, and drew interest from UofL research scholars, community health, academic and clinical experts.��As a research psychiatrist, Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions.

Event co-chairs J. Christopher States and Amanda Jo LeBlanc led a steering committee with a mission to raise awareness about research, engage in fundraising for research initiatives and address health equity, to name a few of its goals.

“Research!Louisville’s mission seeks to provide excellence in education, training and career development through interdisciplinary research collaborations designed to bring trainees and young and established research scientists together to work on finding solutions to the world’s complex problems,” said LeBlanc, interim associate dean for research in the UofL School of Medicine. “We engage with the most acclaimed research scientists to address our goals to achieve health equity, provide insight into the crucial topics of our time and advance translational and clinical research to improve human health.”

R!L 2024, held Sept. 16-20 at the Kosair for Kids Clinical and Translational Research Building on the UofL Health Sciences Center, marked the 29^th year of showcasing health sciences research at the Louisville Medical Center.

The schedule of events during the week featured experts in a variety of disciplines. The week began with an inaugural symposium which highlighted breakthroughs in clinical and translational research. Other events included presentations by grant awardees funded by the Jewish Heritage Fund, a School of Nursing lecture about advancing equity in maternal and child health, the health equity keynote, “Disabusing Disability: Demonstrating Disability doesn’t mean Inability,” three mentoring training sessions, a series of presentations by the Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences and four days of research scholar poster sessions. The IRB featured workshops on human subjects mentoring and IRB protocol writing, as well as panels on navigating investigator initiated human subjects research.

In honor of National Postdoctoral Week, R!L hosted a postdoctoral research event spotlighting postdocs as the “unsung heroes of research.” Among first-time events were a session that featured experts on the topics of animal welfare, science, government relations and public outreach and another that demonstrated the use of virtual reality for biomedical sciences.

The poster sessions showcased research by engineering graduate students, medical residents/clinical fellows, science graduate students, case reports, medical students, medical students in distinction tracks, postdoctoral associates/scholars, research associates and staff, public health graduate students, dental students, nursing graduate students and faculty, including faculty in the . Awardees are listed below.��

“Research!Louisville offers a window into UofL research and how it positively impacts our daily lives — from creating groundbreaking treatments to launching new companies,” said Jon Klein, interim executive vice president for research and innovation. “I’m excited to see so many community members, researchers and aspiring researchers engage, learn and share those activities with the world.”

R!L is a proud co-sponsor of the Kentucky Science Center’s program for 8^th-12^th grade students in STEM programs. The KSC holds a half-day program including a real-time, open-heart surgery and sessions with health care research and medical professionals focusing on career options.

Recordings of the event sessions and a slide presentation of the award winners, as well as photographs have been posted on the

RESEARCH!LOUISVILLE AWARDEES

Masters Basic Science Graduate Student Award
Morgann Delnicki 3rd Place
Dianet Sanchez Vega 2nd Place
Sayra Moni 1st Place

Doctoral Basic Science Graduate Student Award
Dana Hammouri 3rd Place
Katarina Mayer 2nd Place
Idoia Meaza Isusi 1st Place

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Award
Natural & Physical Sciences
Mustafizur Rahman 1st Place
Isaiah Burciaga 1st Place

Engineering Co-op Student Award
Ahmed Badr 3rd Place
Miriam Ismail 2nd Place
Rana Zayed 1st Place

Master Engineering Student Award
Kirsten Waits 3rd Place
Israa Sharaby 2nd Place
Mostafa Abdelrahim 1st Place

Doctoral Engineering Student Award
Ahmed Aboudessouki 3rd Place
Hossam Magdy Balaha 2nd Place
Mohamed Azam 1st Place

School of Dentistry Basic Sciences Student Award
Abigail Hacker 3rd Place
Samrat Tanwani 2nd Place
Jared Williams 1st Place

School of Dentistry Clinical Sciences Student Award
Jung-Woo Hong 3rd Place
Holland Bakker 2nd Place
Amanda Dilliha 1st Place

Rhonda A.Hoffman Medical Student Award
Idil Tuncali 2nd Place

Postdoctoral Fellow Award
Belinda Petri 2nd Place

Research Associate/Research Scientist Award
Jingjing Zhao 2nd Place
Yiqun Mo 1st Place

Research Staff Award
Harshini Sarojini Winner

Clinical Fellow Research Award – School of Medicine
Zaraq Khan Winner

Masters Program Student Award – School of Public Health & Information Sciences
Chandrima Chatterjee 1st Place

Doctoral Student Award – School of Public Health & Information Sciences
Irina Kondaurova Winner

Basic Research Award– School of Public Health & Information Sciences
Yiqun Mo 1st Place

Research & Practice Award– School of Public Health & Information Sciences
Carly Middleton 1st Place

Nursing Graduate Student Award – School of Nursing
Shubha Sapkota Winner

Faculty Basic Science Award
Sophia Sears Winner

Faculty Clinical Science Award
Nicole Herring Winner

Ruth Greenberg Award for Medical ����ֱ�� Research
Ellee Grosser 3rd Place
Ragan Howard 2nd Place
Nada Kaissich 1st Place

Leslie Martin Medical ����ֱ�� Student Award
Ally Render Winner
Sydney Wichmann Winner

Professional & ����ֱ��al Development Award
Hannah Turner Winner
Raleigh Boulware Winner

Excellence in Health Disparities Research Award
Joy Adeleye 3rd Place
Shorye Durrett 1st Place

Postdoctoral Symposium: Unsung Heroes of Research Oral Presentation
Mohamed Shehata 2nd Place
Chase Hellner 1st Place

Professor Oluwaferanmi Okanlami encouraged attendees to ask that question at the 2024 health equity keynote: “Disabusing Disability: Demonstrating that Disability Doesn’t Mean Inability.” Okanlami, whose mission is to close the gap among the diverse members of our society to create a more equitable and promising future for all, highlighted shortcomings in how most of society views disabilities and what must change.

Born in Nigeria before immigrating to the U.S. at a young age, Okanlami attended high school at Deerfield Academy and went on to Stanford University where he also ran track & field, serving as captain his last two seasons and achieving Academic All-American recognition.��Okanlami earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan before matching into orthopedic surgery residency at Yale University. At the beginning of his third��year of residency, he experienced a spinal cord injury, paralyzing him from the chest down. After two surgeries and intense rehabilitation, he recovered some motor function and navigates the world as a proud wheelchair user.

Today, Okanlami is director of student accessibility and accommodation services at the University of Michigan, where he oversees the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, two Testing Accommodation Centers and the Adaptive Sports & Fitness Program. He also is an assistant professor of family medicine, physical medicine & rehabilitation and urology at Michigan Medicine and an adjunct assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In addition, he earned a master’s in engineering, science and technology entrepreneurship from the University of Notre Dame and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana.

As an accomplished athlete, he is passionate about adaptive sports and fitness and champions access to physical fitness and inclusive recreational and competitive sports for all.

At Research!Louisville, Okanlami’s topic provided insight into creating a health system which is accessible to and inclusive of both patients and providers with disabilities, as well as providing provisions necessary for students and employees with disabilities in higher education.

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a person with a disability as an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. Okanlami’s work emphasizes that disabilities do not fairly identify individuals, but more than likely perceptions of disabilities can lead to artificially placing limits on people who have just as much or more to contribute to society.

As a disabled, Black, Nigerian, immigrant, cis-gender heterosexual, male, physician and athlete, Okanlami doesn’t just speak from an acquired knowledge-based perspective. He has experienced firsthand the difficulties of being identified in a culture that does not understand his main message that “disability does not mean inability.”

In his talk, Okanlami illustrated how each individual with a disability has unique needs for accommodations.

“When you have met one person with a disability, you have met one person with a disability,” he said.

Okanlami said that everyone must recognize that we live in an ableist world and we need to provide reasonable and appropriate accommodation for people that identify has having disabilities, whether those disabilities are visible or invisible.

“The health care system is ableist by definition. The medical model of disability teaches us that disability is pathology. It is something that is broken that should be fixed, prevented or cured,” Okanlami said. “The social model of disability does not see the problem living in the individual, it sees the system we are in as being inaccessible. If someone is born without the ability to walk, that shouldn’t be a problem if we have access to the resource they need to be able to navigate.”

But he encouraged everyone to take action.

“What is it we can do to make someone’s tomorrow better than their yesterday?” Okanlami said. “There is something that each of you can do, even if it is a tiny little bite, but the impact that little bite can have could be something that makes a profound impact on someone else’s life.”

Okanlami’s Research!Louisville presentation on Sept. 19 at the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center was led by the HSC Office of Health Equity and Engagement and the School of Medicine Office of Community Engagement and Diversity. To watch his entire keynote discussion, visit the .

Betty Coffman contributed to this story.

Supported by $1.4 million in city funding, the project involves the demolition of the former community correctional center at 316 East Chestnut Street, which has been vacant since May 2020.

“LOUMED represents a transformative step for downtown Louisville, bringing together our medical and educational institutions to foster innovation and community growth. The addition of a communal green space is not just about beautification; it’s about creating a vibrant, inclusive environment where residents, students and visitors can connect and relax. By enhancing our urban landscape, we will attract top talent from across the nation, making Louisville a premier destination for health care professionals and innovators alike,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.

The demolition of the existing structure should be complete by the end of this year and LOUMED anticipates acquiring the property at that time, marking a pivotal milestone in the project’s progression. JLL, Louisville Commercial Real Estate Services, is managing both the demolition of the community correctional center and the construction of LOUMED Commons, along with architecture, engineering and design firm Gresham Smith, who has spearheaded the conceptual design for the nearly one-acre parcel of land.

The vibrant public space will serve as a central hub for activity within LOUMED, which includes the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center and downtown facilities of UofL Health, as well as Jefferson Community and Technical College and Norton Healthcare.

The space will feature:

• An open, park-like setting with a lush tree canopy and native plants;
• Well-lit spaces to ensure a safe and welcoming environment;
• A dedicated area for food trucks;
• Seating areas for relaxation and eating;
• Shade structures to offer relief from the sun;
• A pavilion structure to host programming and events;
• And public art installations to showcase local artistry.

LOUMED Commons will be designed with the latest sustainability practices and built using modular construction methods, allowing for phased development to ensure flexibility and adaptability. The first phase is expected to be completed by late 2025.

“We look forward to transforming a previously underutilized space into a vibrant, green and pedestrian-friendly hub,” said Nadareca Thibeaux, executive director of LOUMED. “LOUMED Commons will not only provide a much-needed respite from the bustling medical and education district, but also foster a sense of community and enhance the overall well-being of those who work in and visit the district.”

LOUMED is also actively collaborating with Mayor Greenberg’s office, Louisville Metro Public Works and UofL’s on the redevelopment of Chestnut Street, recognized as the “collective spine” of the district. With an estimated timeline of three to five years, this project is in its initial planning phase, bolstered by $1.75 million in city funding. Additionally, Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky General Assembly have allocated a $100 million one-time budget expenditure to Louisville Metro Government for the revitalization of downtown, which includes LOUMED.

These efforts contribute to a broader vision, complementing the significant redevelopment and revitalization initiatives spearheaded by LOUMED’s anchor institutions: Jefferson Community and Technical College, University of Louisville, UofL Health and Norton Healthcare.

The four anchor institutions have and will be contributing more than $560 million to projects and investments within the district over the next three to five years. JCTC is expanding and enhancing its campus through the ‘Jefferson Rising’ project. Thanks also to support of the Kentucky General Assembly and Gov. Andy Beshear, the University of Louisville is planning a transformative Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub. UofL Health is nearing completion on the expansion of UofL Hospital, and Norton Healthcare recently implemented a new state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit and expanded neonatal intensive care unit.

UofL’s Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub will be located just down the street from LOUMED Commons, at Chestnut and Preston streets.

“This state-of-the-art building will be a game-changer for UofL, our city and the entire commonwealth. The center will expand multidisciplinary research opportunities for the university and enhance the educational experience of students pursuing STEM+H degrees, including nursing and other critical health care professions,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “This project shows UofL’s commitment to academic and research excellence and its vital role in shaping the future of education and health care in Kentucky.”

For more information about LOUMED and its initiatives, visit and follow on , and .

Cardarelli is currently senior associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Kentucky. In her ten years at UK, she has served as associate dean, college diversity officer, department chair and assistant/senior assistant provost for faculty affairs. Her research focuses on community-engaged approaches to enhancing health equity, and she has served as principal investigator on more than $10 million in grants funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Agriculture and other sponsors.

A professor of health, behavior and society, Cardarelli received her Master of Public Health degree at University of North Texas School of Public Health Fort Worth. She went on to earn a doctorate in epidemiology at University of Texas School of Public Health Houston and completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellowship at Drexel University.

Cardarelli is a member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health’s Inclusive Excellence through an Anti-Racism Lens expert panel.��Her commitment to advancing women and faculty of color in the academy is reflected in a two-year term as State Chair for the Kentucky chapter of the American Council on ����ֱ�� Women’s Network, where she grew institutional membership and professional development programming.

“Dr. Katie Cardarelli is an accomplished leader, researcher, and dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion in academia. Her distinguished background and extensive academic experience have led to multifaceted contributions, spanning administrative leadership, impactful research, excellence in teaching, and commitment to equity, making her a formidable force in shaping the landscape of public health,”��said Interim Provost Gerry Bradley.

Cardarelli said the impressive track record of SPHIS faculty, staff, and students in advancing health equity in the Commonwealth and beyond was a key factor in her decision. “My passion for social justice was instilled in me from an early age by my mother, who was a nurse,” she said. “Public health strives to assure that all individuals have an opportunity to live a healthy life. I am excited to build upon the accomplishments of the school and build a vision for the next chapter.”

Kentucky has a severe shortage of health care providers, with at least some portion of 113 of the state’s 120 counties designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas, including parts of Jefferson County. Recent projections rank Kentucky lowest among the states in meeting the need for primary care physicians by 2025.

To attract and train medical students with an interest in practicing primary care in medically underserved communities, the School of Medicine will enhance existing programs that train students in the underserved rural environments, assist individuals from other careers who want to prepare for medical school, create a new program to train medical students in an urban environment and provide scholarships to support students financially in all of these programs.

“The UofL School of Medicine is honored to have been selected as a recipient of the HRSA grant and is committed to creating pathways that support workforce development for primary care careers in medically underserved regions,” said Jeffrey Bumpous, interim dean for the UofL School of Medicine and vice president of medical affairs. “University leaders recognize the projects and programs supported by this funding are critical to the institutional mission of both the university and the School of Medicine and aim to sustain the efforts beyond the four-year term.”

UofL has a long history of preparing physicians for practice in rural and smaller communities through the , started in 1998 with the goal of increasing the number of physicians practicing in rural areas, and in existing UofL family medicine residencies in Glasgow and Owensboro.

“Students tend to practice what they are taught and where they learn it. Our idea is to enhance our training programs with a focus on improving their educational experience in primary care, particularly in underserved communities,” said Kelli Bullard Dunn, vice dean of community engagement and diversity for the UofL School of Medicine, who leads the project. “At the UofL School of Medicine, we are in a unique position in that not only do we serve rural parts of the state, but we have an urban, underserved core right in our backyard. We would like to take what we have learned from the Trover Campus and replicate part or all of that in the urban environment here in West Louisville and other underserved areas.”

Medical students in the complete their final two years of medical school at Trover Campus, located in Madisonville, Kentucky, hosted by Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville. Of the 170 physicians who have graduated from the Trover Rural Track so far, 75% practice primary care and 43% practice in rural communities.

“The Trover Campus has been successful because we are able to get more rural students into medical school and then into rural practice by supporting them all the way through the process, starting with high school,” said William J. Crump, associate dean of the UofL School of Medicine Trover Campus. “This grant holds the promise of enlarging our campus, but most importantly building an urban underserved counterpart.”

Three programs to achieve the grant goals

The grant project focuses on three programs aimed at increasing the number of physicians who choose primary care specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine-pediatrics and encouraging them to practice in underserved communities.

First, UofL will increase participation opportunities for students in the Trover Rural Track and expand primary care clinical training for students in conjunction with the UofL family medicine residency programs at Glasgow and Owensboro.

Second, a new urban training program will be created, modeled on the Trover program, that provides medical students opportunities to train in medical facilities in West Louisville and other communities that provide care for underserved populations. This project will involve partnerships with community health systems such as UofL Health, Family Health Centers and others.

In addition, the project calls for enhancement of the UofL , which prepares individuals who have a bachelor’s degree in another field to enter medical school. Of the 114 students who have completed the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program since it began in 2009, 98% have been accepted into a medical school and 36% of those who have completed residency programs now practice in primary care fields.

The new funding will allow this program to recruit more students from medically underserved communities who are interested in practicing in those areas after completing residency training and to improve access to medical school for them with scholarships and additional academic support.

“This new grant allows us to help even more people fulfill their dream of becoming a physician. A lot of the postbaccalaureate premedical students have come from underserved populations or underserved areas, including rural areas. Having more folks from rural areas and underserved communities going into medicine is a great thing for Kentucky,” said V. Faye Jones, UofL Health Sciences Center associate vice president for health affairs and diversity initiatives and co-lead for the grant project.

Students in each of the three programs will receive academic and financial support with coaching and scholarships to help ensure their success in applying to and completing medical school.

“Everyone deserves the best quality health care we can provide, and that means having the best quality of talent in the medical school pipeline,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who supported the grant proposal. “I’m excited for UofL and for the future of Kentucky health care with this HRSA Medical Student ����ֱ�� Program grant to address the primary care provider shortage. We need to be doing everything we can to ensure we are supporting the primary care providers of tomorrow, and I’m proud UofL is leading the way.”

See photos on from the Oct. 9 press conference announcing the new funding.��

The symposium serves to offer valuable opportunities to research scholars in need of gaining essential presentation skills and experience, meet scholarship requirements for faculty ranking and promotion, build peer networks and gain feedback from research scientists in a wide range of disciplines.

“The University of Louisville is a true research powerhouse,” said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation. “This event is an opportunity to showcase the breadth of that work, create career pathways for students and raise awareness of the important role research plays in our day-to-day lives.”

More than 126 judges with various fields of expertise devoted their time during the four days of poster sessions.

R!L’s symposium also featured seminars, presentations and lectures on a variety of subjects, including nursing research, research security and foreign influence, environmental health sciences, core facilities, anti-racism research and more. Highlights included presentations by research scholars who received funding by the Jewish Heritage Foundation for Excellence, the Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences’ series of presentations, the Kentucky Science Center’s seminar for seventh to 12th grade students with a focus in biomedical sciences and, most notably, a media event/announcement of a $5.5 million grant from Kosair Charities to fund the Pediatric NeuroRecovery program and an additional $900,000 to other children’s health programs at UofL ().

R!L’s keynote speaker Mary Jo Turk, professor of microbiology and immunology with Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine and co-director of the Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy Program, Norris-Cotton Cancer Center, presented the lecture, “Lymph node resident memory T responses to metastatic melanoma.” Other keynote speakers included Derrick L. Franklin, acting chief of investigative operations, U.S. Department of HHS/OIG; Heather Hardin, assistant professor of nursing with Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing; and Michael L. Blakey, National Endowment for the Humanities professor of anthropology, Africana studies and American studies and director of the Institute for Historical Biology, College of William & Mary.

��

Chief of Police Gary Lewis provided senators an overview of the current state of campus security. Lewis reported that the number of security cameras across UofL has nearly doubled over the past year. In addition to the increase in number, many of the new cameras are more advanced and offer a wider range of visual coverage. Lewis also informed senators of the continuing effort to standardize access control among all university campuses.

“On Belknap campus, only about 60% of the campus is access controlled. Health Sciences Campus is 100% access controlled. We’re improving some technologies [on Belknap] so that card readers will be able to provide you with the ability to gain access entry into all buildings,” Lewis stated. “Our goal is 100% access control on Belknap campus similar to HSC.”

Senators were also introduced to Kari Aikins, the recently appointed director of Total Rewards. Mary Elizabeth Miles, VP of Human Resources, informed senators that Total Rewards encompasses retirement, compensation and benefits. Aikins will also serve as co-chair for

Keith Sherman, chief operating officer and executive director of the , provided senators with an overview of the foundation’s record-setting portfolio. The UofL Foundation and the UofL Real Estate Foundation boasted combined Total Assets of just over $1.3 billion, the highest in the history of both foundations. Total Endowment Assets also reached an all-time high at $922 million. The main endowment pool, which serves as the source of nearly all available endowment funding across the university, also reached a record $817 million as of July 12.

Sherman stated, “We saw 33% returns in the stock market through May; for perspective, our goal is 6.2% a year. Over the last year, we’ve returned five times what we expect to get in the marketplace, which is unbelievable. That 33% return for an endowment will probably put us in the top 10% of all endowments across the country.”

Sherman credited the overwhelming growth of the main endowment pool to several changes made by the foundation over the past year.

“We made a lot of changes this year. We changed investment advisors, we changed our investment strategy, we simplified things and sometimes it is just important to be good as well as lucky. We made some good, thoughtful decisions and when the market went crazy after the COVID-19 drop last March, we were perfectly positioned to maximize our returns,” Sherman said.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the .

The Staff Senate will not meet during the month of August in order to provide orientation for the 21 first-time Staff Senate representatives. The next Staff Senate meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.