DIU works with companies to rapidly prototype and scale technologies for national defense and currently operates OnRamp Hubs across the U.S. in Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Ohio and Washington. The addition of OnRamp Hub: Kentucky presents an opportunity for talent and technology companies across the state.

“The University of Louisville is establishing itself as a national leader in defense technology and innovation,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, who supported UofL’s selection for the hub. “Today’s announcement will bring a Defense Innovation Unit OnRamp Hub to Kentucky with UofL as the commonwealth’s delivery partner. I am proud that UofL will create new opportunities for defense companies, researchers and students to contribute directly to our national security.”

Multiple areas of established infrastructure at UofL will contribute to the hub’s mission, including a nationally ranked research enterprise, particularly assets within the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, such as defense-focused facilities in additive manufacturing, robotics, cybersecurity and micro and nano technology. Support mechanisms for innovation commercialization and existing partnerships with regional defense and manufacturing entities also will contribute to the hub’s goals.

“We are immensely grateful for the opportunity to engage the talents and assets at the University of Louisville to strengthen our nation’s security, while elevating manufacturing businesses and innovators across Kentucky,” said UofL President Gerry Bradley.

UofL has demonstrated success in outreach and education for Kentucky’s manufacturing businesses through the Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership (KY-MEP), which provides support and networking for Kentucky manufacturers. This expertise will translate directly to OnRamp endeavors, giving UofL a leg up in launching the hub’s collaboration and programming efforts.

“Kentucky has a long and proud history of contributing to America’s security and the launch of this DIU OnRamp Hub builds on that legacy. It will be a game-changer, speeding innovations to our warfighters and providing a dedicated space for innovators to receive mentoring and rapidly deploy tech that strengthens national defense,” said Will Metcalf, UofL associate vice president for research development and strategic partnerships.

William Fortune, a Kentucky native, has been named director of the Kentucky’s Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub, bringing more than two decades of military and civilian leadership experience and a strong background in deploying and operationalizing new technologies.

Kentucky’s Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub, overseen by and supported with funding from the DIU, is located in a dedicated, state-of-the-art collaboration space at 300 East Market St. on UofL’s J.D. Nichols Campus for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Fortune will lead a team of full-time personnel, in offering a suite of comprehensive programming at the hub designed to lower barriers to entry and speed development of new innovations. These services will disseminate the expertise present at UofL for the benefit of Kentucky businesses, building a unified defense innovation ecosystem to support warfighter needs.

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The Defense Innovation OnRamp Hubs are a strategic initiative by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) designed to lower barriers to entry for the talent and technology found in academia, startups and commercial companies. Recognizing that the best-of-breed technology can be found across the country, DIU currently has OnRamp Hub locations approved in eight states. These hubs serve as accessible entry points – local “front doors” – for innovators to collaborate directly with the DoW.

For its dedication to empowering employees across the university, the Employee Success Center was given the from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). The award honors transformative thinking in higher education human resources, recognizing a new and innovative HR team, project or program that resulted in significant and ongoing organizational change within an institution.

“Receiving this award is such an honor to the Employee Success Center team,” said Laura McDaniels, interim director of the Employee Success Center. “It highlights our dedication and the thoughtful work that we put into building programs that encourage connection and engagement across campus.”

The Employee Success Center fosters that engaged and growth-oriented culture at UofL with several forward-thinking initiatives, such as a year-long onboarding process designed to help new employees integrate more fully into university life, leadership development, mentoring and career guidance for all employee groups, along with new and innovative recognition programs.

The center also received recognition earlier this year from the for its efforts to support and recognize employees through its people-centered initiatives, including new staff awards and CARDGrams, university-themed e-cards designed to make daily employee recognition simple, accessible and meaningful. Over 7,500 e-cards have been sent in recognition of colleagues since CARDGrams launched. Additionally, 95% of employees who participated in career coaching sessions reported a stronger sense of belonging.

“These recognitions and successes inspire us to continue creating experiences that strengthen our university community,” McDaniels said.

result from a weakened area in an artery of the brain that fills with blood and causes outward bulging or ballooning.

The Saccular Endovascular Aneurysm Lattice System Interventional Pivotal Trial () focuses on the safety and effectiveness of the SEAL system, which can be used to treat patients with ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysms in a range of sizes.

“I’m excited to be a part of groundbreaking aneurysm treatment research, and for the opportunity to bring patients in Louisville and the surrounding region a novel treatment option not yet widely available,” said ��a neurosurgeon with Brain & Spine Institute and assistant professor in the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery. “The device is small enough that we can use a minimally invasive technique via an artery in the groin to deliver the device and disrupt the blood flow to the aneurysm, causing it to clot and heal, while decreasing the need for more invasive procedures like a craniotomy.”

Patients with brain aneurysms are usually asymptomatic until their aneurysm ruptures. A ruptured aneurysm is a form of stroke and a potentially life-threatening condition that can result in brain damage or death.

“As an academic health care system affiliated with the University of Louisville, we are committed to providing our patients with the latest innovative treatments, including those offered through clinical trials,” said Joshua Beardsley, system vice president of neurosciences and spine. “I’m proud of our providers for helping to pioneer the next generation of aneurysm care.”

About SEAL IT

SEAL IT is a prospective, U.S. and international single-arm, multicenter, interventional study. The clinical trial seeks to establish the safety and effectiveness of the system in treating patients with wide neck unruptured or ruptured intracranial aneurysms that are less than or equal to 19 millimeters in widest diameter. Data such as imaging and patient presentation will be collected from participants immediately after their procedure in addition to three, six and 12 months after their procedure. Participants will receive follow-ups annually for five years.

“At UofL, what we celebrate reflects what we value as an institution – research, scholarship and creative activity. This event is so important because it shines a spotlight on YOU — the backbone of UofL’s knowledge enterprise,” said Jon Klein, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation.

Eight signature awards were presented for outstanding achievement.

• Researcher of the Year – Ayman El Baz, professor of bioengineering, J.B. Speed School of Engineering. A global leader in AI and bio-imaging, El Baz’s AI-powered autism diagnostic was licensed to Brain Diagnostic and widely covered by media. With 50 patents, $29 million in grants and 23,000 citations, El-Baz is translating ideas into real-world solutions – contributions that push boundaries and benefit humanity. El-Baz is bridging engineering and health care and enhancing diagnostics through AI.
• Innovator of the Year��– Ginevra Courtade, professor, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development. A leader in special education, Courtade authored five peer-reviewed publications in 2024, including pioneering work on AI to enhance instruction for students with intellectual disabilities and frameworks for accessible STEM education. Her projects address teacher shortages, especially in rural regions, and shape national special education policy.
• Center of the Year��– Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences. Led by J. Christopher States, CIEHS is a powerhouse in understanding how environmental factors affect health, from air quality to chemical exposures, with an interdisciplinary approach uniting medicine, engineering and public health. Its mission is to advance scientific discovery, train the next generation of researchers and translate findings into actionable solutions for communities.
  

  

• Early Career Researcher Award��– Adam Cocco, assistant professor of sports administration, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development. In 2024, Cocco published four peer-reviewed articles, including a groundbreaking study on how personal branding and institutional factors shape college athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) values on social media. His work tackled retention of first-generation college athletes, offering practical solutions for small institutions and produced resources for athletic programs.
• Creative Works Award – Ché Rhodes, associate professor in fine arts, College of Arts & Sciences. One of America’s top glass artists, Rhodes’ work joined the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection in 2022 and was featured in their “This Present Moment” exhibition. His art graced the cover of “Glass: The Urban Glass Art Quarterly.” A UofL faculty member for 20 years, Rhodes previously won Louisville Visual Art’s Educator of the Year award and was an Ascending Star Fellow.
• Research Administrator of the Year��– Anne Noe, manager, Research Grants Program, School of Medicine, who is recognized for her impact in overseeing pre-award services for the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Public Health and Information Sciences. Noe also manages the Summer Research Scholars Program, coordinates Research!Louisville, handles budgets and serves as a vital liaison with the Office of Research and Innovation.
• Industry Partnership of the Year��– Additive Manufacturing Institute of Science and Technology and ISCO Industries. AMIST, led by Tom Berfield, and ISCO Industries, a Louisville-based titan in the world of piping solutions led by President Mark Kirchdorfer, collaborated on innovative manufacturing projects. This collaboration leverages AMIST’s world-class capabilities to enhance ISCO’s innovations, driving real-world impact.
• New Venture of the Year��– Gretel Monreal, Inspired Therapeutics NeoMate System. Monreal and multiple collaborators across several departments are developing the NeoMate Mechanical Circulatory Support System to serve as a bridge for infants with heart failure until they can receive a heart transplant. This miniature, low-cost heart pump will provide up to 30 days of support, improving quality of life for the smallest patients.

Ascending Star Fellows

Nine promising mid-career researchers were recognized for their achievements as the third cohort of Ascending Star Fellows. During this year-long program, they worked with external mentors and were coached through an ambitious project to elevate their scholarship to the next level.��

Amanuel Beyin • Adam Enders • Lesley Harris • Jonathan Kopechek • Matthew Nelson • Stephanie Prost • Farshid Ramezanipour • Hui Zhang • Jianhua Zhao

Patent awardees

In addition, 55 researchers were recognized for the 73 patents awarded to UofL over the last two years:

Alexander V. Ovechkin • Alireza Tofangchi • Andrew P. DeFilippis • Andrew Switala • Ayman S. El-Baz • Balamurugan Appakalai • Charles S. Hubscher • Chi Li • Cindy Harnett • Claudia A. Angeli • Dan O. Popa • Daniel S. Metzinger • David Caborn • Dennis M. Evans • Donald Miller • Douglas J. Jackson • Esma S. Yolcu • George Pantalos • Gerald B. Hammond • Gretel Monreal • Guruprasad A. Giridharan • Huang-Ge Zhang • Jagannadh Satyavolu • Janina Ratajczak • Jason Chesney • John Naber • John O. Trent • John W. Eaton • Joseph A. Burlison • Joshua Spurgeon • Kavitha Yaddanapudi • Kenneth S. Thomson • Kevin Tran • Levi Beverly • Magdalena Kucia • Mahendra K. Sunkara • Mariusz Z. Ratajczak • Mark S. Slaughter • Martin G. O’Toole • Michael H. Nantz • Neal Bhutiani • Nichola C. Garbett • Nobuyuki Matoba • Noppadon Sathitsuksanoh • Paula J. Bates • Richard J. Lamont • Sarah A. Andres • Steven C. Koenig • Sucheta Telang • Thad Druffel • Thomas A. Berfield • Thomas J. Roussel • Yury Gerasimenko • Zhihui Sun • Zhong Yang

The UofL assists researchers by connecting them with funding, ensuring safety and compliance, managing awards and engaging industry. Over the past year, UofL researchers submitted 1,060 proposals, secured more than $188 million in new funding and produced impactful publications, performances and exhibits.

See photos from the awards ceremony .

, offered through the as part of the Mid-South NSF I-Corps Hub, is an intensive course focused on , which helps innovators and entrepreneurs test their ideas or products in the real world and see if they have what it takes to stick. The regular eight-week program is hybrid and offered in spring and fall, while the new three-session ‘short course’ is offered virtually and in summer.��

“Entrepreneurs and innovators are nimble — they need to move fast to get their ideas from mind to market,” said Jessica Sharon, UofL senior director of innovation and new ventures. “With this new, shorter program, we’re able to offer training and coaching through a more flexible format that helps them move quickly and fits into busy schedules.”��

LaunchIt’s curriculum, taught by experienced and successful entrepreneurs from both the Office of Research and Innovation and UofL College of Business, includes coaching, mentoring and lessons on customer discovery, product validation and other considerations when preparing for market launch. The program is open to anyone in the region working to develop a technology-focused product or company.

UofL piloted the short course in summer 2024. A total of 13 teams participated, including 11 from UofL and one each from Northern Kentucky University and University of Kentucky. Connor Centner, a post-doctoral researcher in the UofL J.B. Speed School of Engineering, used the course to help further a cutting-edge therapeutic ultrasound technology meant to destroy cancer cells and unlock the body’s immune system to fight tumors.

“The LaunchIt Short Course was an incredibly unique experience—it gave me the opportunity to dive into customer discovery and product-market fit with guidance from experienced entrepreneurs who’ve been through it all,” Centner said. “It wasn’t just about learning the basics; it was about gaining real-world experience that offered valuable insight into the market and helped me truly understand customer needs to determine how my idea or product could succeed.”

From the short course, some teams may choose to go on to the more comprehensive eight-week course offered twice a year, or some may choose to focus on additional customer discovery. All participating teams are eligible for microgrants to support customer discovery once they graduate the short course or the full course.

LaunchIt course director, Jamie Rush, said everyone can benefit from entrepreneurial training. With this new short course, the team hopes to expand access to people who may not be able to attend otherwise. For example, the short course is now offered to UofL students in a partnership with the new Bluegrass Biodesign program, where multi-disciplinary teams work to develop innovations that save and improve lives.��

“Whether or not you plan to launch a startup, you’re an entrepreneur and can use LaunchIt tools like customer discovery and market research to focus your research or idea and make it impactful,” Rush said. “We want to equip everyone — students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs, corporate business leaders — with tools that help them advance not only important new products, but new community projects, business initiatives and more.”��

The next full session of LaunchIt, beginning in spring 2025, is now enrolling through Jan. 24, 2025. More information and registration is available at . The next short course will be offered in summer 2025.��

Both will serve as entrepreneurs in residence, or EIRs, through the UofL Office of Research and Innovation. In this role, they will work with inventors to connect UofL technologies to industry and startups.

Phillips is a seasoned health care investor and startup operator, and spent the better part of the last decade building startups and leading early-stage investment and accelerator programs in partnership with some of the world’s leading corporations and international governments. He now is the CEO of Mandos Health Inc., a venture-backed men’s health care startup, where he is focused on scaling the nationwide digital clinic.

“There’s a ton of innovation happening in the health care space,” Phillips said. “I’m excited to leverage my own experience and work with the researchers and innovators at UofL to further new treatments, diagnostics and more that can help people lead healthier lives.”

Gora is a dynamic entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience across industries including medical device manufacturing, retail, education and technology. From scaling innovative startups to leading customer-centric retail ventures, Jeff has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation.��

“I’m so excited and proud to support the work happening here at UofL to launch and grow startups,” Gora said. “This is an opportunity to be part of something that could make a big impact here and across the Commonwealth.”

Gora and Phillips join a class of EIRs that currently includes seasoned founders Tendai Charasika (software) and Bill Dawson (biotech). Charasika joined as an EIR in 2021 and helped lead the reimagining of UofL’s Launchit startup bootcamp, while Dawson joined in 2023.

The EIR program is led by the����team, which focuses on launching startups around research-born tech. The EIR program is in partnership with Amplify, an organization working to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, with funding from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

“Jeff and Nick bring a lot of knowledge and experience as founders, and we’re excited to have them join the team,” said Will Metcalf, a UofL associate vice president for research and innovation. “They’ll make our already strong team even stronger, and I’m looking forward to partnering with them to advance our technologies and startups to the next level.”

FASD is caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy, but some pregnancies are higher risk than others and not all babies exposed to alcohol will develop symptoms. The UofL researchers believe that understanding what genes might increase that risk could lead to better therapeutics and help mothers make safer, more informed choices.��

“This condition can be harmful to both mom and baby,” said Ben Lovely, the study’s principal investigator and an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics in the . “Our goal is to help both by gaining insight into not just the surface-level risk factors, but also the genetic risk factors that haven’t really been explored.”

Symptoms of FASD vary, but can include problems with behavior, learning and physical development, including craniofacial malformations, such as a thin upper lip or small eye openings. According to the U.S. , one in 20, or 5% of school-aged children in the U.S. may be affected.

For mothers, Lovely said, it may be more complicated than just avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. The most sensitive window for FASD exposure is before many women even know they’re pregnant, and .

“Part of this is removing the stigma so we can talk about these things and find solutions that prevent or help mitigate the risks and effects of FASD,” Lovely said. “And the good news is, there may be some ways to do that.”

To explore genetic risk factors of FASD, researchers are looking to an unlikely source: zebrafish, which share 82% of the same genes as humans. Early studies have shown there may be some relatively simple ways to protect against FASD, such as by tweaking the formula of prenatal vitamins to lessen risk or developing therapeutics that address the birth defects that do happen.

“FASD is a complicated issue, and we need to address it from many angles,” Lovely said. “This isn’t as simple as saying ‘don’t drink.’ We need to develop more ways to help both mom and baby stay safe.”��

Suspended in a pediatric therapy harness, the boy’s feet moved across the treadmill. Each foot strike represented new hope for kids living with neurological conditions – to regain motor function, improve trunk control and even take steps on their own.������

That technology, invented by UofL researchers, is helping patients thanks to UofL’s unique suite of programs aimed at moving biomedical research from lab to market as products that can save and improve lives. Now, via a new partnership called the MidSouth Hub, UofL is offering its expertise to researchers across the four-state region of Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi and Tennessee.����

“Seeing how the technology we’d worked so hard to support could impact that boy’s life was one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Jessica Sharon, senior director of innovation programs and new ventures at UofL. “That’s when I knew we were building something special here at UofL. With the MidSouth Hub, we can expand that impact and ensure even more potentially life-changing technologies make it out of universities and help patients.”��

PROOF OF CONCEPT��

UofL’s focus on innovation begins with the belief that good ideas shouldn’t stay in the lab — they belong out in the world, where they can make a positive impact as new diagnostics, treatments and therapeutics. To that end, the university has spent the past decade aggressively growing its support for biomedical innovation, helping researchers develop, test and refine their ideas before launch.��

UofL secured its first biomedical product innovation grant, the Wallace H. Coulter Translational Partnership, in 2011. Building on that success, UofL landed two more programs a few years later: Kentucky’s first NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) site and NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH), led by now retired professor, Paula Bates.����

Those were quickly followed by another award, then another, then another, and today, UofL holds a robust suite of programs unique from its peers across the country.�� With each new round of funding UofL forged�� new partnerships that expanded the impact first across the Commonwealth, and now, to the four-state region. The result is the MidSouth Hub, a multi-institution partnership led by Vanderbilt University, with UofL providing its original programming and leading efforts in Kentucky.��

“UofL has developed strategies that can help anyone to create healthcare solutions, whether you are a professor at a large university or a student at a technical college,” said Matt McMahon, Director of the NIH’s SEED (Small business ����ֱ�� and Entrepreneurial Development) Office, which supports REACH. UofL is the only university to succeed in all three rounds of REACH funding.��

“And in the end,” he said, “it’s patients and communities that benefit. We’re very excited to see UofL offer their leadership and expertise in scaling their approach across a broader part of the country.”��

That approach is key to developing technologies like the pediatric therapy harness, which provides partial body weight support as therapists help the kids move their feet over the treadmill. The idea is to slowly and safely turn on muscles and gain control. Designed by researchers Andrea Behrman and Tommy Roussel, that technology has since been licensed and units are in-place or on their way to facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas and New York, as well as Kentucky.��

“I don’t know a university that supports faculty more for innovation and biomedical design than UofL,” said Behrman, a professor of neurological surgery and director of the Kosair for Kids Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery. “It’s a massive help in moving good ideas down the path, and getting them out where they can actually help patients.”��

THE RIGHT STUFF��

When it comes to good ideas, UofL has plenty to choose from. A Carnegie Research-1 university with a robust academic medical center and affiliated health system, UofL’s clinicians and researchers work to discover, invent, test and implement cutting-edge medical innovations that ultimately are commercialized.����

“This kind of direct impact just isn’t possible without those ingredients,” said Jon Klein, UofL’s interim executive vice president of research and innovation and vice dean for research at its School of Medicine. “That intersection of medicine, research and our suite of innovation programs — that mix is driving positive patient outcomes here and beyond.”��

Those positive outcomes cover a range of potentially devastating diagnoses. Take the�� cancer-fighting technology invented by researchers Geoffrey Clark, Joe Burlison and John Trent, which works by targeting the RAS protein. When mutated, RAS turns into a stuck accelerator pedal, with cells suddenly growing very fast and penetrating other tissue, just like a tumor cell.������

Stopping that process has long been considered a ‘holy grail’ that could shut down at least a third of human tumors. Thanks in part to support from UofL’s innovation programs, that technology is now in development with Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded California-based biomedical company, and moving down the long pathway to FDA approval.����

“UofL is in a unique position to develop technologies like this because you not only have actual clinicians and cutting-edge research, but programs to assist industry partners to drive the resulting innovations to market,” said Michael Poirier, the company’s Chairman and CEO. “We look forward to continuing work with UofL and to advancing these important clinical technologies with the goal of developing an effective treatment for this unmet need.”��

READY TO LAUNCH��

Over the past decade, UofL’s I-Corps and REACH programs have supported hundreds of innovators, dozens of new products and licensing agreements, millions in follow-on funding and the launch of at least 16 new companies.��

One of those companies is led by School of Medicine researcher Matthew Neal, who participated in UofL’s Economic Development Administration-backed PRePARE program for developing pandemic-related technologies, along with the I-Corps site before going on to the prestigious national NSF program to develop his VR technology for patients with hearing deficiencies.��

Neal’s technology aims to help patients program their hearing aids and test out different models in realistic virtual environments, such as a noisy restaurant, all without leaving the comfort of the clinical setting.��

That led to a startup, Immersive Hearing Technologies, which Neal co-founded with former university entrepreneur-in-residence, Jeff Cummins. Together, they’ve already secured non-dilutive follow-on funding and are on their way to improving the clinical processes behind a widespread problem – hearing loss – affecting one in eight Americans over the age of 12.����

“The innovation programs were invaluable in understanding who our customers are, what they needed and how we might get this technology to market,” Neal said. “It’s no good if an idea like this just sits on a shelf. This is a technology that can help people, and it needs to be out in the world to do that.”����

And that’s the goal, Sharon said.����

“We don’t want good ideas to stay on our campus or any campus,” Sharon said. “With these programs, we’re going to keep growing, keep pushing, to move these innovations from lab to market. And with this new MidSouth Hub, I know we can do that on an even bigger scale.”��

Through the Ascending Star Fellowship program, the partners with academic units to accelerate scholarship and promote the national reputation of exceptional mid-career researchers. During the year long program, the fellows work with an external mentor and are coached through an ambitious project that moves their scholarship to the next level of development.����

This year’s class — representing four schools — includes:

• Faisal Aqlan, , whose work focuses on automation, process improvement, engineering education, and sensor-based virtual reality for manufacturing and healthcare applications.��
• Daniel Bennett, whose work focuses on how environmental change influences entrepreneurship and innovation, and the implications for regional and national economic development.
• Melanie Gast, , whose work focuses on race, class, and gender in higher education.
• Omid Ghasemi Fare, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, whose work focuses on geothermal energy, thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling and characterization of soils, unsaturated soil, heat and mass transport in porous media, transportation geotechnics and geotechnical earthquake engineering.��
• Meg Hancock, , whose work focuses on gender and diversity in sport organizations, career development in sport and sport and social change.��
• Elizabeth Munnich, College of Business, whose work focuses on developing and evaluating strategies for improving health and reducing healthcare spending by more efficiently and effectively utilizing healthcare resources.
• Noppadon Sathitsuksanoh, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, whose work focuses on converting carbon feedstocks from plant biomass, waste plastics and carbon dioxide into advanced fuels, biomaterials and battery components.
• Siobhan Smith-Jones, College of Arts and Sciences, whose work focuses on exploring African American women as interpretive communities and, through the fellowship program, on Black horror television.
• Ian Stansel, College of Arts and Sciences, director of UofL’s Creative Writing Program and fiction/non-fiction writer.��

“I’m ecstatic to work with this year’s cohort and help further their already stellar careers and scholarship,” said M. Cynthia Logsdon,��associate vice president for research and innovation, who leads the fellowship program. “They’re already ‘stars,’ of course, but our goal is to help them shine even brighter.”��

To be considered for the program, faculty must be associate professor rank, must be nominated by their unit and must show a “consistent record of scholarship with the passion and desire to achieve greater national recognition.”��

Their award-winning , named Paper of the Year by the American Journal of Physiology, sheds light on the heightened risk of kidney complications in cancer patients undergoing treatment. The study revealed that cancer itself may harm the kidneys, but that damage and scarring is intensified when patients take cisplatin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug.��

“Everything in your body is connected, from your internal systems to the medications we take,” said Andrew Orwick, lead author and recent doctoral graduate in pharmacology and toxicology.

Orwick’s doctoral research in the laboratory of researchers Leah Siskind and in collaboration with Levi Beverly, both from the and , examined the interplay of cisplatin and lung cancer, which is highly prevalent in Kentucky.

“By better understanding what those interactions are and how they happen,” he said, “we can take them into consideration and improve outcomes for the patient.”

Ultimately, that could lead to new diagnostics, more effective drugs and treatment plans that better consider the patient’s overall health and avoid or limit kidney damage.

Chronic damage to the kidneys can nausea, vomiting, fatigue, high blood pressure and even death, without transplant or dialysis. Because symptoms progress slowly, patients may not notice the condition until its advanced stages. Even so, current testing methods are difficult and invasive.

The UofL researchers think their work could help clinicians better predict not only which patients will react negatively to cisplatin and other chemotherapy drugs, but also identify potential kidney problems early. The goal is to better understand the underlying mechanisms and biomarkers, so clinicians can make more informed decisions.

“Obviously, addressing the cancer is first and foremost, but if we can do that while also preserving the patient’s overall health and feeling of health, that’s optimal,” said Siskind, a professor and senior author on the study. “The great news is that the fact that we’re even having this conversation means we’re making progress in solving cancer — we’re considering not only life, but the quality of that life.”

Siskind said the paper represents a paradigm shift in how researchers think about and treat both cancer and kidney disease. As it stands, no treatment for this form of kidney disease has made it past a phase 2 clinical trial or been approved for use in patients. This research could also help inform better drugs and experiments to fill that need.��

That innovative thinking and broad impact is likely part of why this work was selected as Paper of the Year, said Jon Klein, interim executive vice president for .

“Being selected for this honor is a massive accomplishment and underpins the immense value of the research being done by this team and across UofL,” Klein said. “This is work that truly can save and improve lives.”��