“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

Support of TILs cell therapy

Half of this incredible investment in the Brown Cancer Center, $1.5 million, supports the TILs program by providing funding for research staff, supplies and faculty time dedicated to clinical trials. The goal is to increase capacity and access for participants in clinical trials for TILs and other immunotherapies.

The Brown Cancer Center is a lead enrolling center in TILs trials and has had patients travel to Louisville from all over the United States. The success of the program is directly related to the Gibbs Foundation initial investment of $1.5 million in 2022.

This philanthropic investment follows FDA approval of the cell product AMTAGVI (lifileucel), developed by Iovance Biotherapeutics for the treatment of melanoma patients. The Brown Cancer Center participated in these clinical trials leading to this FDA approval and is one of the first authorized treatment centers.

Although the initial FDA approval is specific to metastatic melanoma, the expansion of this cellular therapy to other cancers is being tested at Brown Cancer Center and elsewhere with a goal to obtain FDA approval in several solid tumor types in the future. Read more on the FDA approval in the .

Creation of Gibbs Pancreatic Cancer Research Program

Through $1.5 million over three years, the Gibbs Pancreatic Cancer Research Program will be created at the University of Louisville to support efforts in testing novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Five $50,000 pilot grants will be awarded to researchers each year for the development of novel therapeutics to treat pancreatic cancer and increase clinical trials dedicated to treating pancreatic cancer. This center will also provide funding for trial research staff and faculty time dedicated to these projects.

“The Gibbs Foundation is thrilled to be continuing our partnership with the Brown Cancer Center and the fight against cancer. Based on the positive outcomes of so many patients who have been through the TILs program, it is a battle we are winning,” said executive director of the Gibbs Foundation Hannah Roquet. “The creation of the Gibbs Pancreatic Cancer Research Program is especially meaningful as it continues the legacy of our founder, George Gibbs, who fought his own battle valiantly, and provides the opportunity for groundbreaking research in a cancer that has taken the lives of many too quickly and without warning. ��We are looking forward to the future of this very special program.”

The Gibbs Foundation, Inc. was established in 2014 by George Gibbs of Louisville who died in 2022 of pancreatic cancer at age 87. The Gibbs Foundation previously supported health research at UofL through gifts of more than $2.5 million to create and expand the��Gibbs Lung Research Program.

“The Brown Cancer Center has one goal – to end cancer,” said Jason Chesney, chief administrative officer and director of the Brown Cancer Center, who also serves as chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the UofL School of Medicine. “As more cancer centers across the country begin to implement TILs programs, we will be saving more lives. Through the philanthropy of the Gibbs Foundation, we continue to be one step closer to achieving this goal. Their dedication to finding a cure and increasing access to novel therapeutics is astounding.”

More information on TILs therapy and UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center is available at .

These are the ingredients that make up raiseRED, the University of Louisville’s largest student-run philanthropy that has raised over $4.1 million for pediatric cancer and blood disorders research and patient support since 2013.

Celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, raiseRED will be held Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-25, at the Swain Student Activities Center Ballroom.

raiseRED is a dance marathon that benefits UofL’s Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute outpatient clinic. Participants raise a minimum of $200 per person to participate, with many raising even more.

The event kicks off at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24, and culminates with the big reveal of total dollars raised at the Community Celebration from 10:30 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Feb. 25.

In between, students will kick up their heels. To keep up their spirits – and help keep their eyes open – several events-within-the-event are held. Among them are:

• Buzz for the Cure: A long-standing raiseRED tradition, students pledge to shave their head, or do a major chop, during the dance marathon if they reach their fundraising goal.
• Angel Hour: The people in participants’ lives who have been impacted by cancer and blood disorders are recognized and remembered.��
• Mail Call: Letters of support from participants’ loved ones are read to cheer them on.
• Neon Silent Disco: The speaker system goes silent and participants wear headphones to dance to music only they can hear.
• And new this year: The Hypnotic Experience. Hypnotist ‘TG’ Rivers will tap participants to be hypnotized to entertain the crowd.

It’s the cause, however, of battling childhood cancer and blood disorders that is the core of the effort, said raiseRED Executive Director Valerie Tran, a senior majoring in industrial engineering.

“raiseRED is a year-long effort to help children with cancer and blood disorders in the Louisville area, and I’m so humbled to see the courage these kids show,” Tran said. “I know what we are doing and the funds we raise can make a difference in the lives of these children and their families every day.”

For information and to donate, visit the

Researchers at the University of Louisville are developing a new vaccine for lung cancer that’s stable and scalable, in addition proving as much as 80 to 100% effective at preventing certain tumor growth in mouse models.

Prevention is key because, while conventional treatments and therapies may kill most of the cancer, a small percentage of cells are resistant. Those are cancer stem��cells, which have the ability to reproduce and sustain the cancer.

“Those cells sit there, and they have the capability of regrowing the entire tumor by themselves,” said co-inventor and assistant professor of medicine, Dr. Kavitha Yaddanapudi.

A vaccine sidesteps those cells by helping the body build immunity to cancer before it develops. So far,��the UofL vaccine has been tested against lung cancer and melanoma in mice, and 80 to 100% of the vaccinated mice used in each animal trial were cancer free when compared to the non-vaccinated control group.

The research team hopes to develop the vaccine to be effective against all cancer types and is now working toward human trials. They’re working with the UofL to protect and commercialize the intellectual property.

The vaccine contains vesicles isolated from embryonic stem cells, an idea inspired by�� who have had multiple children seem to be less likely to develop cancer.

“That brought up the idea that cancer cells and embryonic cells were pretty similar,” said co-inventor Dr. John Eaton, a professor emeritus in medicine, pharmacology and toxicology at UofL. “And it turns out that’s true.”

Through development, the team was able to streamline the vaccine, giving it a longer shelf life, more stability, and making it easy to make in large quantities.

“We tried to simplify, simplify, simplify,” said co-inventor and an associate professor of medicine, Dr. Chi Li.

The research to now has been primarily backed by $325,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. They’re now looking for funding to support additional research and development.

Check out more about the trials in the video below:��

Listen to the team’s.

McMasters is the Ben A. Reid Sr., MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He also serves as director of the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Clinic and is associate director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at UofL.

In his keynote address, titled “The Fundamental Difference Between Palliative Treatment and Palliative Care,” McMasters noted the audience was filled with those who have devoted their lives to the care of patients with cancer, and will perform research that will relieve suffering, improve quality of life, extend survival and find a cure.

Using one of his patients as an example, he argued that while regular tests and treatments make sense for patients whose cancer can be cured or their lives extended (with good quality), for those with recurring cancer who will eventually die from the disease, there is no evidence early detection of asymptomatic recurrence is any better than waiting until they are symptomatic. For those patients, regular tests and treatments can rob them of their quality of life.

“Our duty to our patients is to care for them, not just for their disease, but for who they are,” McMasters said. “Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to put the patient through treatments and tests that in the end, won’t affect whether they live or die. They are often better served by living free of pain and suffering, happily in the company of those they love, doing the things that make life worth living.”

McMasters has personal experience of losing a loved one to cancer. He lost his son, Owen, to leukemia.

Also speaking on the topic during the keynote address was Shishir Maithel, MD, chair of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University.

McMasters specializes in melanoma, breast cancer, sarcoma, hepatobiliary tumors and pancreatic and gastric cancers. At the Brown Cancer Center, he works to identify the most effective combination of treatment including surgery, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and radiation therapy for patients with all stages of melanoma.

He has been principal investigator or co-investigator of over 30 clinical trials, and president of the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Society of Surgical Chairs, the Western Surgical Association and the Southeastern Surgical Association. In 2018, he was named editor-in-chief of Annals of Surgical Oncology, and he has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and a book.

The technology, dubbed “ALAN” (for Aptamer-Linked Au Nanoparticles), has shown promise as an agent for radio-sensitizing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast, as well as for the treatment of many forms of cancer.��

In exchange for the technology, UofL will receive cash payments on the achievement of certain milestones and royalties on future sales, as well as potential equity in the company. Qualigen also has a sponsored research agreement with UofL for further development.��

“We have very high hopes that working together, with the strengths that we have at Qualigen and what UofL has here with the research center, that we can do something good going forward,” said Michael Poirier, the company’s president and CEO.

UofL’s Dr. Paula Bates, who developed the base technology, said this drug is more targeted than many currently available cancer treatments. Those treatments may also harm healthy, non-cancerous tissue.

“The key is that the ALAN technology can kill cancer cells, but not normal cells,” said Bates, a professor of medicine.

The aptamer itself has been previously tested in more than 100 patients and has had no evidence of severe side effects. At least seven of those patients either saw their cancers disappear or shrink substantially.��

In the new ALAN technology, the aptamer is attached to gold, which should make it more durable and active than the original formulation. The new ALAN formulation is expected to enter clinical trials by 2020.

Bates worked with a team of researchers from the UofL School of Medicine and J.B. Speed School of Engineering on development. That team included Drs. Kyung Kang, Tariq Malik and Marty O’Toole.

“Together, we came up with a technology that has a lot of promise,” said O’Toole, an assistant professor of bioengineering. “It’s rewarding to know our work could really help people.”

The technology was developed with support from the university’s robust innovation programs, including the and , a National Institutes of Health Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH), as well as a Kentucky Commercialization Fund grant.��

The UofL protected the intellectual property and helped develop the commercial partnership with Qualigen.

“We are excited to work with Qualigen on the product development of our nanoparticle-based drug to fight cancer,” said Dr. Allen Morris, the office’s director. “This is more than just a license — it’s a collaboration.”

On Tuesday, an unsuspecting Jones was led by co-workers into the M. Krista Loyd Resource Center at the cancer center, where she was presented with her award by Marc Lehmann’s father, George.

Marc Lehmann, a UofL student, passed away in 2012 after an eight-year battle with cancer. He had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia just a few months after high school graduation.

The Spirit of Service Awards in his name are given to oncology support staff who show compassionate patient support.

At the Brown Cancer Center, Jones provides psychosocial support and clinical case management for patients in the neuro, bone marrow transplant and gynecological oncology clinics. She works closely with bone marrow transplant patients with complicated issues that require lengthy care.

In her award nomination, nurse manager Dianne Thomas wrote that Jones “possesses a warm and friendly mannerism that is evident on your first encounter.” She noted Jones’ dedication and compassion to low-income patients, and her ability to build a strong rapport. Thomas noted that Jones has carved out new avenues for funding for patients, and “has become a valuable asset to her peers, as well as patients.”

She said Jones “deserves to be recognized for her dedication and loyalty.”

The Marc A. Lehmann Spirit of Service Award Foundation’s mission is to conduct and promote initiatives that encourage medical care with empathy and compassion, and to recognize physicians, caregivers and support staff with long-standing service to patients and their families in the areas of hematology and oncology.

Each October, the foundation holds an awards banquet at Vincenzo’s Italian restaurant, where five deserving oncology support staff from the community are recognized, along with one physician.

This year’s banquet will be held on Oct. 26. The featured speaker will be Jason Chesney, MD, director of the Brown Cancer Center, and the featured physician will be Kelly McMasters, MD, chair of the Hiram C. Polk Jr., MD, Department of Surgery at UofL and director of the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Clinic.

Paul Resch, director and advisory committee member of the foundation, is a leukemia survivor himself. He told Jones that in addition to doctors, he knew from experience how important the support staff was to cancer patients.

“It’s the feet on the ground that touch us every day that make a difference – whether it’s a touch, or a conversation. You’re blessed that you have those skills, and you’re sharing them with others. And it does make a difference.”

Heather Hibbard, BSN, RN, manager of the medical oncology and infusion center at the University of Louisville , is being honored for making a difference in the lives of cancer patients. Hibbard is one of seven health care providers who will be in the spotlight at the Third Annual Commitment to Compassion Luncheon, sponsored by Passport Health Plan, Insider Louisville and the Compassionate Louisville Healthcare Constellation. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Hibbard uses her training as well as her personal experience to make life a little easier for cancer patients. Her father and grandfather were diagnosed with lung cancer within one month of each other, and passed away one month apart in 2013. Although it was a painful time for her, that experience helps her understand how to improve care provided to the patients at the Brown Cancer Center.

Hibbard says she wants to provide the kind of care for patients and families that she would want to receive. To help make things easier, she developed a lab and line room where patients can have their vitals and lab work done before seeing the physician. This reduced patient wait times by two thirds.

“Cancer does not have to be a death sentence, but the patients need top-notch, nurturing and individualized care,” Hibbard said. “My one goal in life is to make a difference in cancer care – to give others hope that we are doing everything we can as an oncology center. I have a great group of people who want better care for their patients and I help them in reaching that goal.”

It is often little things that make a difference for patients.

“You don’t ever hear, ‘thank you for accessing my port,’” Hibbard said. “But you do hear ‘thank you for being gentle with me,’ ‘thank you for listening,’ ‘thank you for calling home health and getting things set up so my life is a little easier.’”

The Commitment to Compassion luncheon, emceed by television health and science reporter Jean West, will include recognition of the compassionate care honorees, a performance by the West Louisville Boys Choir and a panel discussion on “Innovative and compassionate care in West Louisville.” Reservations are available .

“I witnessed what cancer did to our families. I went home with them to help them with the aftermath of their treatment. I held their hands at the end, and I let them go,” Hibbard said.

Her father and grandfather passed away one month apart in 2013. Although it was a painful time for her, Hibbard began to draw on her personal experience to improve care provided at the UofL Brown Cancer Center.

“I did not know if I was going to be able to walk back in this office at all. But believe it or not, it actually made me stronger,” Hibbard said. “I started saying, ‘What can I do to be a better nurse?’”

As a nurse manager, Hibbard is in a position to make things easier for many of the patients at the Brown Cancer Center. For example, to improve appointment turnaround times, she created a lab and line room where patients can have their vitals and lab work done before seeing the physician. This reduced patient wait times from 60 minutes to 20 minutes.

“She has streamlined a lot of our processes,” said Beth Small, RN, a nurse clinician at Brown Cancer Center. “She lets us do our job as opposed to micromanaging us. Every doctor, every nurse and every patient is different. She gives us the autonomy to address issues and take care of our patients and our physicians the way we need to.”

She also takes the extra steps to help when patients are having more than their share of difficulty.

“She knows that not everyone has fairy tale life. When we have patients in need, she has organized and pulled us together to make sure they have Christmas or whatever they need. Someone might need shoes, someone might need clothes. We have patients who have that much need,” said Small, who was a charge nurse at the cancer center and interviewed Hibbard when she was hired.

Hibbard believes she can help improve care for patients by improving life for the nurses and staff.

“Take care of them, and they take care of the patients,” Hibbard said.

Path to nursing

To help the nurses increase their knowledge, Hibbard began inviting monthly educational speakers. She��is familiar with intentional development, having begun her career as a certified nurse’s aide. The nurses she worked with told her she would make a great nurse, but she was apprehensive about nursing education.

After her children were born, however, she made the decision to push herself. She joined the Brown Cancer Center as a medical assistant and started college while all three of her children were still in diapers. First, she obtained an LPN degree, then an RN, and in 2016, she received her BSN.

Now Hibbard mentors other nurses to help them achieve their goals.

“Heather exhibits the role of the servant leader.��She grew up as a professional in the Cancer Center, and she now leads by example and works with people where they are as individuals – not just as employees.��We have several staff members who have grown under Heather’s leadership and several who are in school,” said Kimberlee Hanna, MBA, BSN, RN, OCN, interim director for medical oncology and infusion at the Brown Cancer Center and Hibbard’s supervisor.

Hanna said Hibbard is constantly working on ways to improve processes within the cancer center, which recently transitioned from management by KentuckyOne Health to University Medical Center.

“She takes problems and looks for different ways to approach them.�� This leader always keeps the patient at center of focus,” Hanna said. “As a leader, she is very positive and very focused on the direction the cancer center is going. I’m always encouraged by her level of drive, courage and creativity.”

Hibbard says she wants to provide the kind of care for patients and families that she would want to receive.

“Every patient is so important. I see a glimpse of my father in each one of them. The daughter who is with them, or sister or mother, I see them as me,” Hibbard said. “I’ve been out to make things different so they don’t have to go through the things I went through with my father and my grandfather.”

It isn’t always big things that make a difference, however.

“You don’t ever hear, ‘thank you for accessing my port,’” Hibbard said. “But you do hear ‘thank you for being gentle with me,’ ‘thank you for listening,’ ‘thank you for calling home health and getting things set up so my life is a little easier.’”

In recognition of her exemplary care for patients, Hibbard received the Daisy Award for Exceptional Nurses in April.

“I’ve been a nurse for 36 years and probably the biggest compliment I can give her is I’d let her take care of me any day,” Small said. “She is a wonderful nurse.”

“Think Pink: An Evening to Educate and Celebrate” will be held Oct. 18, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre, 395 Paroquet Springs Drive, Shepherdsville. Admission is free.

Emcee Bryan Shaw of WHAS11-TV will introduce three survivors who will share their individual journeys and accomplishments since being diagnosed: Lara McGregor, Mary Lee Edwards and Alana Auslander Price, all of Louisville.

Both McGregor and Edwards became activists as a result of their experience with breast cancer. McGregor is founder of Hope Scarves, a non-profit organization based in Louisville that raises funds for research and provides scarves to patients with breast cancer as a way to show support. Edwards is an instructor of LIVESTRONG classes at the Louisville YMCA. LIVESTRONG is a non-profit organization, based in Austin, Texas, that provides services, raises funds and advocates for patients and families.

Participants at “Think Pink” are invited to wear pink to show support for survivors and in recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Only 200 seats are available for the event so reservations in advance are required by calling 502-955-5355.

Breast cancer continues to plague the United States: One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.��Great strides in fighting the disease have been made, however. In 1980, the 5-year relative survival rate for women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer — cancer confined to the breast — was 74 percent. Today, that number is 99 percent.

“Think Pink” is sponsored by the Kentucky Cancer Program at the University of Louisville, Bullitt County Health Department and Bullitt County Cooperative Extension Service.

For information, contact Pam Temple-Jennings of the Kentucky Cancer Program, 502-852-6318.