“This funding is another key resource in UofL and Norton Children’s ongoing work to build a cutting-edge pediatric cancer research program,” said Michael Ferguson, chief of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation in the UofL School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and chief of Norton Children’s Cancer Institute. “This will allow us to develop new pediatric cancer treatments and bring them to families in Kentucky and surrounding states before they are available anywhere else – ensuring children here have first access to the latest approved therapies.”

Previous grants funded some of the biggest findings within the UofL Department of Pediatrics and Norton Children’s Cancer Institute. One notable example is conducted by the late William Tse. The research involves reprogramming the immune cells of brain cancer patients to kill their own brain cancer cells that have resisted conventional therapy.

Previous grants funded a basic science program that helps researchers better understand how certain chemotherapy drugs impact the heart and what adjustments can be made to prevent those side effects, along with work that is helping children manage pain during cancer treatment. Earlier this year, the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund also awarded a grant to help establish the , a space to support patients and families through every step of their cancer journey.

“The partnership between the University of Louisville School of Medicine and��Norton Children’s creates an unparalleled environment for pediatric cancer care and research in Louisville and beyond,” said Jeffrey Bumpous, dean of UofL School of Medicine and executive vice��president for health affairs. “Through Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, our dually employed faculty��are��able to offer innovative treatments and clinical trials while advancing research��for our most vulnerable cancer patients and training the next generation of physician-scientists.”

The new researchers are expected to join UofL in early 2026.

By Jaimie Weiss

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 .

This year, R!L presented 325 abstracts to a panel of more than 125 judges. Among the scientific poster competition participants represented were master’s degree and doctoral engineering students, NCI R25 undergraduate students, cancer and health disparity Summer Bridge Program students, Brown Cancer Center high school scholars, dental students, master’s degree and doctoral basic science students, medical students, distinction tract medical students, case reports, postdoctoral scholars, research associates, research staff, pharmDs, master’s degree and doctoral public health students, nursing students, medical residents, clinical fellows and faculty.

“UofL is true a research engine,” said Kevin Gardner, executive vice president for research and innovation. “This event is a unique opportunity to engage with UofL students, faculty and staff and showcase the full breadth of their work to produce groundbreaking discoveries and new innovations that save and improve lives.”

A full list of award winners and a slide presentation of the winners, including the names of their mentor(s), as well as photos/recording of the closing ceremony are available on the .

The closing ceremony included a keynote address by John D. Carpten, a renowned expert in translational genomics whose research spans multiple disciplines. Carpten is a pioneer in cancer disparities and is highly regarded for his superb leadership in the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer Study Network. He serves as professor and chair of translational genomics, director of the Institute of Translational Genomics, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Carpten’s lecture, “Closing the Gaps in Cancer Health Equity,” has inspired substantial scientific inquiry.

R!L’s symposium featured seminars, presentations and lectures on a variety of subjects, including nursing research, environmental health sciences, core facilities, anti-racism research, faculty development and more. Highlights included presentations by research scholars who received funding by the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, the Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences’ series of presentations, Research Integrity’s lecture by Jean Shin of the Scientific Workforce Diversity Office at the National Institutes of Health, a documentary film “Healing in the Valley” and the Kentucky Science Center’s half-day program for seventh to twelfth-grade students with a focus on biomedical sciences. The full schedule of events is on the .

Throughout May, Phase I of the tested 1,372 health care workers at hospitals in the system. Samples were collected by UofL’s and tested at ��at the Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The study found just two participants had an active infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. An additional 14 workers tested positive for antibodies, suggesting that they have been exposed to the virus. Unfortunately, due to low amounts of blood in some samples, antibody levels could not be tested in 128 workers.

The Co-Immunity Project, launched in April with an announcement by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, is a collaboration between the and the Brown Envirome Institute. The purpose of Phase I of the project was to test health care workers at the , and UofL Health systems to identify those who have been exposed to COVID-19 and to determine how their body produced a response, or antibodies, to such infection. This information will help identify potential donors of high-quality plasma for treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Interested health care workers collected their own blood and plasma samples and delivered them to researchers with the Brown Envirome Institute. The samples were then tested at the RBL, one of only 12 such NIH-funded laboratories in the nation and the only one in Kentucky. Results from Baptist Health and Norton Healthcare will be provided at a later date, but researchers say the results from workers at UofL Health facilities provide data that can be used to provide information about the pandemic and its effects.

UofL Health consists of five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 250 physician practice locations, the UofL Health – Frazier Rehab Center and the UofL Health – James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

“The rates of infection and exposure among our health care workers is surprisingly low,” said CPM/RBL Director Kenneth Palmer, a co-investigator of the project. “Even though the number of individuals who tested positive for the antibody is more than those who had the active virus, this is still a low number, especially for those who are working in high-risk environments such as hospitals.”

“This is good news,” said UofL Assistant Professor of Medicine Rachel Keith, who conducted the study, “It shows that the precautionary measures adopted by our hospitals are working, and that patients seeking care in our hospitals are at a low risk of being infected by their health care providers.��

“These results show the need for appropriate precautions, indicating that with proper PPE and social distancing, we can minimize the threat posed by the virus to our health care community.”

Researchers advised, however, that because so little is known about the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, much more research is necessary.

“The rates of infection among health care workers nationwide remains unknown. A recent study of health care workers in Germany who had direct contact with COVID-19 patients did find that only 1.6% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This is within range of the 1% of antibody-positive health care workers our study found in Louisville,” said Brown Envirome Institute Director Aruni Bhatnagar, a co-investigator with the project.

“However, fewer individuals with antibodies against the virus also could mean that few individuals have acquired immunity, and therefore many of our health care workers may be vulnerable to the virus still lingering in our community. They may remain susceptible should infections increase again, either in the fall or some other time.”

Individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies against the virus are being asked by Norton Healthcare to donate plasma to help treat high-risk patients. More information is available on the .

opened earlier this month to the community to sample 2,400 participants who reside in different parts of Jefferson County to determine the existing prevalence of COVID-19 infection and immunity in the general population.

The project also will re-test health care workers across UofL Health in July to see whether the rates of infection and immunity have changed since May. The results from this second survey will be critical in monitoring how an increase in non-critical care activities in UofL hospitals has affected SARS-CoV-2 infections and see what changes occur to the levels of antibodies in those who showed a positive antibody response in Phase I testing.

As part of the agreement, Norton Sports Health will provide medical support for all of the university’s 23 sports programs. This support includes conducting all sports physicals and providing access to Norton Healthcare’s network of sports health physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and primary care providers.
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“We’re looking forward to this partnership,” said Russell F. Cox, president and chief executive officer, Norton Healthcare. “Norton Sports Health offers comprehensive treatment for local athletes of all ages and skill levels. We look forward to supporting UofL and keeping its premier athletes in the game.”
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In addition to offering its team of health providers, Norton Sports Health also will provide funding for athletic trainers on the sidelines, campus training rooms and state-of-the-art imaging equipment.
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“The health and wellness of our players is our top priority. We’re excited to team up with Norton Healthcare, an organization that has proven to offer the same level of passion, drive and expertise as our athletes,” said UofL AD Vince Tyra.
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Care will extend beyond the physical as Norton Sports Health also will offer mental health services, including access to counseling and sports performance specialists.
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“Our goal is to care for the whole athlete,” said Steven T. Hester, MD, MBA, division president, provider operations, and system chief medical officer, Norton Healthcare. “With our streamlined and comprehensive group of medical providers, we have the ability to provide the services athletes need both quickly and efficiently.”
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To support the process, all UofL athletes will have access to����and Norton eCare visits. .��

Zappos.com commits $1.5 million��

Additionally,Zappos.com has committed $1.5 million to University of Louisville Athletics. The 5-year commitment will serve as the primary source for refurbishing the approximately 37,800 lower bowl seats at Cardinal Stadium.

Those seats were part of the original equipment installed during the 1998 stadium construction.��Throughout the past 21 years, weather has faded the seats from their original red color. An industrial UV protective coating will be applied on the existing seats through a special process to restore the color and strengthen the seats. With the cost to replace the seats estimated to be more than $6.5 million, the UV coating is a valid solution.��

As part of the commitment, the Zappos name will be emblazoned above the Cardinal Stadium field suites.��

In conjunction with the seat-coating project, all of the 3,000 bucket-style seats in Ulmer Stadium (softball) and Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) will be replaced with new slat-back seats. About 1,000 of the extracted seats will also be coated with the UV protection and kept in storage as reserve stock for Cardinal Stadium.
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“Being a good community member is extremely important to us and that includes our family here in Kentucky,” said Justin Brown, senior director of Operations at Zappos.com.�� “Since we’re a company obsessed with providing the best customer service, what better way than contributing to their comfort while coming out to cheer on our Cardinals.”

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The LOI allows the organizations to explore a more meaningful partnership as the organizations work toward a definitive agreement later this summer.��

The goal is to further align strategic, operational and financial interests to support pediatric care, teaching and research.

“We want to ensure we continue to promote healthy children and communities while maintaining our strong academic training programs and research, which translate into better care for children,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D. “We’ll do that by leveraging the strengths of the UofL School of Medicine, ULP – Pediatrics and Norton Healthcare.”��

“For many years, Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s Hospital have worked closely with the University of Louisville through our academic affiliation,” said Russell F. Cox, president and chief executive officer of Norton Healthcare. “Each day, dedicated providers from both organizations work together to deliver quality care that children and their families need. Together we have grown specialty services for children in the important areas of heart, diabetes and cancer care. With this new initiative, we expect this type of growth to continue, and we are committed to identifying even better ways to meet the health care needs of children and families.”

Formerly Kosair Children’s Hospital, Norton and Kosair Charities reached a mutual decision in June to end their 35-year naming rights agreement with the name “Kosair” removed from all Norton-owned medical facilities and practices, including Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Norton Children’s Medical Center and Norton Children’s Medical Associates along with the downtown children’s hospital.

As Division President of Women’s and Children’s Services, Thomas D. Kmetz emphasized during the announcement in the hospital lobby Tuesday morning, only the name will change. “Our name may be changing, but our commitment to children (will not),” he said.

The children’s hospital is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and is a part of the UofL Health Sciences Center.

“Our affiliation with Norton Children’s Hospital is integral to the Department of Pediatrics’ quadruple mission in education, patient care, research and community engagement,” said Gerard P. Rabalais, MD, the Billy F. Andrews Endowed Chair in Pediatrics. “As the hospital makes this change, we look forward to our continued partnership in providing the best of care to the children of Kentuckiana and beyond.”

Norton Healthcare is embarking on what it calls a “gradual change in all signage and other materials” to incorporate the new name.

As he hummed, he carefully monitored 11-day-old William Receveur, who was born six weeks early and weighs just 3.2 pounds.��

He paused to give Amy Rodgers Smith, another music therapist from Morgantown, West Virginia, lessons on how to introduce massage with the music and gauge William’s response, especially for signs of distress.

But on this day, baby William was a happy listener.

“As we moved forward … you could just feel him melt into me a little bit more, his whole body relaxed and he made more consistent eye contact and we got a few smiles from him and these little rumbles they call purrs and that’s a sign of positive interaction and relaxation,” said Rodgers Smith.

And that’s what music therapists are hoping to achieve with preemies like William, a state of relaxation that can help them adapt to the outside world.

“Babies born prematurely have difficulty regulating what is happening to them in their environment,” said Darcy DeLoach, director of Music Therapy at UofL. “Music, as an intervention, provides a very structured way for the brain to process another layer of input while staying calm. So we’re teaching premature babies how to regulate what’s happening to them when they get a bath, when they’re being held, or when they’re seeing lights or hearing sounds. Music calms them and allows them to see pleasure around them. Then they’re able to tolerate whatever the next thing is in their schedule better.”�� ����

Research has shown that music therapy for premature babies can ultimately reduce reliance on medication, decrease the length of time in the hospital and promote brain development.

DeLoach said music therapy is increasingly recognized as a treatment option for premature babies and babies who were exposed to drugs in utero, a problem that has worsened in the region with the recent heroin epidemic.

Last week, DeLoach and Detmer provided special training for 12 music therapists from the U.S. and Canada who want to learn how to help preemies with music therapy. The training was offered through the National Institute for Infant & Child Medical Music Therapy in partnership with Florida State University. The institute, now in its 15th year, was held in Louisville for the first time at Norton Healthcare.

Rodgers Smith, an institute participant, said NICU music therapy currently isn’t an option in her home state of��West Virginia.

“I hope to start the education process there,” she said. “Hopefully I can take what I’ve learned back and demonstrate the value.”

Lee Receveur, mom of baby William, said learning ways to help calm her child and recognize his stress signs has been beneficial. And, it helps alleviate feelings of helplessness while waiting to go home.��

“It’s another opportunity to spend time with him and work with him,” she said.

Check out a video about the music therapy training:��

Areas receiving grants are pediatric cardiac regenerative medicine, pediatric surgery research, the Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit, the UofL Autism Center at Kosair Charities, the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit, and the Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

“Research is vital to advancing the care we, as partners, can provide to children,” said Steven T. Hester, MD, MBA, system senior vice president and chief medical officer, Norton Healthcare. “The pediatric specialists at the University of Louisville are doing work that can help us provide even better care and, hopefully, cures.”

“We appreciate the funding provided by Norton Healthcare to further our work in understanding and ultimately curing diseases and conditions that affect children,” said Gregory C. Postel, MD, interim executive vice president for health affairs, University of Louisville. “At UofL, we have set an ambitious yet achievable agenda in pediatric research that will advance medical knowledge and provide novel and innovative treatments for the children of Kentuckiana and beyond.”

“We see firsthand the benefits that research provides to children,” said Thomas D. Kmetz, division president, Women’s and Children’s Services and Kosair Children’s Hospital. “Supporting this research agenda is incredibly important not just to children, but also in continuing to attract additional pediatric specialists to Louisville.”

The $1.25 million provides one year of funding to the six research areas:

• $100,000 for pediatric cardiac regenerative medicine, led by Bradley B. Keller, MD, for research focusing on identifying the biomechanical origins of congenital heart disease and the development of implantable engineered cardiac tissues for repair and restoration using patient-derived human pluripotent stem cells. The goal of these studies is to repair and regenerate damaged heart muscle as an alternative to cardiac transplantation.
• $100,000 for the pediatric surgery research lab, led by Mary E. Fallat, MD, to support research in surgical techniques and outcomes, trauma practices and necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects mostly the intestine of premature infants where the wall of the intestine is invaded by bacteria that cause local infection and inflammation that can ultimately destroy the bowel wall. Research in this area directly impacts the care children and neonates receive when they need surgical services.
• $100,000 for the Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, led by Janice E. Sullivan, MD, to support the unit’s medication, quality improvement and device clinical trials. The goal of this unit is to improve health care provided to children through development of new or improved treatment practices and evaluation and approval of medical devices or medications for children.
• $250,000 for the UofL Autism Center at Kosair Charities led by Gregory N. Barnes, MD, PhD, to support the Precision Medicine Initiative in Autism Spectrum Disorders. The goal of this study is to use a child’s DNA to develop individualized treatment approaches to better restore the function of neural circuits in the brain, thereby improving behavior and cognitive skills.
• $300,000 for the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit led by Charles R. Woods Jr., MD, to support research projects around overprescribing of psychiatric medications and antimicrobial agents in children, as well as improving data availability to frontline state workers in the foster care system. The goal of this research unit is to improve the effectiveness, quality, safety and delivery of health care and prevention/health promotion services to children.
• $400,000 for the Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute led by Lu Cai, MD, PhD, for support in research programs in the areas of diabetes- and obesity-related multi-organ diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, neurobiological and carcinogenic susceptibility, molecular and cellular mechanisms and potential interventions. The focus of the institute is on basic and translational research, bringing these programs forward as quickly as possible from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside.

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