Young, who will begin his new position in March, comes to Louisville from Memphis, most recently serving as director of operations/technology and business development for the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation at the UniversityÌęof Tennessee Health Science Center.

With more than a decade of expertise in academic health care simulation, he will lead the design, development, integration and strategic direction of the Academic Simulation Center. Young received a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from the University of Alabama Birmingham, and master of business administration degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

“This position will be vital to promoting a contemporary, innovative and impactful Simulation Ecosystem for UofL,” said Jeffrey Bumpous, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We are fortunate to have Jarrod Young, an established leader in health sciences simulation, to make the center a learning, research, workforce development and community engagement powerhouse for the region.”

Young said the leadership and vision of the university and local clinical partners shows that Louisville is committed to impacting the future of health care by investing in interprofessionalÌęeducation and training.

“I am honored to join the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center as we collectively aim to support the future of clinical education and patientÌęcare through health care simulation,” Young said. “My vision is to support the current health care simulation experts at the universityÌęwith my knowledgeÌęand experience growing a large health science simulationÌęcenter into a world-class program.”

The new $280 million building on the Health Sciences Center Campus will house the Academic Simulation Center as well as serve students and faculty from UofL’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Public Health and Information Sciences. The space will foster collaboration that supports goals of the university’s and contribute to the elite level of health care education in the region. The university plans to complete the building by fall 2029.Ìę

The largest of these gifts, a $3 million investmentÌęin the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) atÌę,Ìęwill help create eight new private family rooms designed to improve outcomes for medically fragile newborns.

“Through their investment in UofL and UofL Health, Kosair for Kids makes it possible for us to provide critical care to pediatric patients and their families—from the NICU, to Frazier RehabÌęInstitute, to the School of Dentistry,” said University of Louisville President and Chair of the UofL Health Board of Directors Gerry Bradley. “Family-centered care is proven to improve outcomes, and these investments will truly change lives. We are honored to join Kosair for Kids in making this care possible for the children of our region.”

Each year, the NICU at UofL Hospital provides care for more than 400 newborns, with nearly 90% coming from low-income households.ÌęThe NICU expansion will convert outdated open-bay nursery space into private rooms, allowing parents to stay with their infants, strengthening family bonds and supporting improved medical outcomes.

“We are deeply grateful to Kosair for Kids for their extraordinary generosity and continued partnership with UofL Health and UofL. This investment in our NICU is transformational,” said UofL Health Interim CEO Jason Smith. “It means more families can remain together during critical moments of care and more babies will have the best possible chance at a healthy start. Thanks to Kosair for Kids, we can extend hope and healing to the youngest and most vulnerable in our community.”

In addition to the NICU expansion, Kosair for Kids will also be supporting two additional initiatives:

• $47,300 toÌęÌęto purchase specialized pediatric rehabilitation equipment, including the Bioness L300 Go Plus System, which helps children with neurological conditions strengthen mobility and independence.
• $50,000 to the , ensuring children and families experiencing financial hardship continue to receive essential oral health services.

For more than a century, Kosair for Kids has been dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of children in Kentucky and southern Indiana. These latest gifts build on its longstanding collaboration with UofL and UofL Health, helping ensure every child has the best opportunity to grow, heal and thrive.

“I am pleased to announce Dr. Hill as the new Dean of the School of Dentistry,” said Interim Provost Kathryn Cardarelli. “As a distinguished alumnus of the University of Louisville, Dr. Hill brings exceptional expertise and leadership in dental education, along with a deep understanding of UofL’s unique values. I am confident that under Dr. Hill’s guidance, the School of Dentistry will continue to thrive and innovate in patient care, research, and community service.”

Hill said she’s enthusiastic about leading one of the nation’s oldest dental schools into the future. “I am truly honored by the confidence that leaders including President Bradley, Interim Provost Cardarelli and the Board of Trustees have shown in me,” said Hill. “I am fully committed to continuing the school’s legacy of service to the community and educational innovation that goes back to the 1800s.”

A native of Estill County, KY, Hill obtained her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Kentucky University and attended the UofL School of Dentistry, earning her DMD in 1987. She then earned a certificate in general practice residency at the UofL School of Dentistry and completed her residency in periodontics at the University of Kentucky in 1990.

Before joining the UofL School of Dentistry full-time, Hill worked in private practice in Elizabethtown, KY.

Hill has published extensively on oral health, with an emphasis on periodontal research. She is also active in dental and dental education organizations, holding leadership positions includingÌęcommission on change and innovation liaison and women’s liaison for the American Dental łÉÈËֱȄ Association.

As part of the UofL community for more than 40 years as a student, faculty member, associate dean, interim dean and now dean, Hill said she finds joy not just in teaching the next generation of dental professionals, but also in developing the next generation of faculty. As the dental school’s leader, she said she plans to continue the school’s focus on being a national exemplar in oral health education, research and community engagement with continued emphasis on community-centered care and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

“To achieve our goals, we must take a relationship-driven approach to engaging the broader university community and external stakeholders,” she said. “Our success is tied to partnerships across campus, within Louisville, throughout Kentucky and beyond.”

“Carrying the floss had nothing to do with me wanting to do dentistry,” she said. “It had everything to do with me not liking things in between my teeth.”

But McPheeters knew she wanted to be some type of medical professional.

“I would look up anatomy in encyclopedias, intrigued with the human body and thinking, ‘wow, this is inside of me.’”

She said a mentor from her hometown of Chicago who helped minority students pursue professional careers was instrumental to guiding her to dentistry. After dental school graduation from Indiana University in 2016, she began her career in public health dental practice, but always with an eye towards academia later in her career.

That timetable was unexpectedly accelerated after her second child, Joshua, was born in 2018 with Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome – a very rare genetic condition that causes severe developmental delays. The syndrome has no treatment and is usually fatal before birth or within the first year of life, but miraculously Joshua continues to beat the odds.

The demands of a special needs child and the arrival of COVID-19 prompted McPheeters to explore a career shift to academic research. In January 2021, she joined UofL and couldn’t be happier with the transition.

Her son’s special needs also became the inspiration for the professor’s decision to conduct oral health care research for special needs children.

“I had this idea to come up with some things to teach the community,” she said. “We have home nursing, however most clinicians don’t have any training on how to brush teeth or care for the mouth because most of the times they’re focused on things like, ‘Hey, is their heart working OK?’”

She applied for and received a Ìęto create a curriculum to help providers with oral care training for special needs patients.

“Most times we don’t see special needs patients until they’re in their 20s or 30s, and they need a full-mouth teeth extraction because someone hasn’t brushed with them, so I knew there is a need in that area. There are specialty clinics, but they have a two-year waiting list, so being on the prevention end will be helpful in so many ways.”

With the grant, she collaborated with local company Ohio Valley who provides home health services, and stocked them with special dental supplies for the community. McPheeters will present results of her initial community engagement research in March 2025. With the success of the Gheens grant, she plans to apply for larger grants that will allow her to continue and expand the work.

Coming from a big city, McPheeters has appreciated a slower pace and friendly vibe that is more aligned with family and work-life balance. She said she loves UofL’s emphasis on welcoming diversity.

“I never wake up dreading coming in to work, and when I come here, it brings joy to my day. I could be having a really tough morning, but if I’m able to mentor a student and touch their life in a way where I can encourage them and give them some good advice, it makes my day.”

The UofL dental practice is part of Goodwill Industries of Kentucky’s newly built, 120,000 square-foot West Louisville Opportunity Center.

The center, which is designed to be a “one-stop shop” for life-changing resources including dental and medical care, workforce training, career coaching, youth mentoring, second-chance banking, and restorative justice services, is expected to serve more than 50,000 people each year.

According to a recent , Kentucky ranks 43^rd in the nation in dental care. As with other UofL community dental practices, the west Louisville practice is designed to serve people with unmet dental care needs, including individuals who have Medicaid or no dental insurance. In addition to serving Goodwill’s clients, the dental practice serves the broader community of west Louisville, which is a nine-neighborhood area comprised of mostly African American residents.

Gerry Bradley, executive vice president and university provost at UofL, and former dean of the UofL School of Dentistry, said the new clinic will provide great benefit for the west Louisville community as well as populate a new generation of highly qualified dentists who will work alongside licensed dentists in their clinical rotations.Ìę

“For the School of Dentistry, the definition of student success means entering the workforce as a competent, confident dental professional who practices evidence-based patient care, leads with compassion and has a purpose-driven, service-oriented mindset,” Bradley said.

Margaret Hill, interim dean for the School of Dentistry, said that dental care can be truly transformational for patients who need it.

“People looking to enter the workforce and progress in their careers can be aided by taking care of oral health, which can help restore overall health and build confidence, both of which can be barriers to moving forward.”

View pictures from the ribbon-cutting event on .Ìę

Nash is currently a professor and dean at Georgia Southern University’s Waters College of Health Professions. No stranger to UofL, Nash is a two-time alumna and has spent 17 years employed with the university. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing degree in 1997 and PhD in Nursing in 2010. From 1997 until 2022, she served as an instructor, assistant professor and associate professor at the School of Nursing. Nash also has held a number of leadership positions including: director of practice for international affairs, associate dean of practice and service, assistant vice president of inter-professional practice partnerships on the Health Sciences Center campus and as an executive team member of the .

In 2005, Nash was hired by UofL as the founding director of the , a clinical practice that provides free care to backside workers in the thoroughbred horse racing industry. The clinic offers a full range of primary care services, including mental health. In 2011, Nash developed and implemented the School of Nursing and advanced practice inter-professional education collaboration, which utilizes advanced practice nurse practitioners to guide students in obtaining consultations for medically compromised patients. Additionally, she founded UofL Care Partners, a nursing and dental clinic founded based on results of a needs assessment and in response to the lack of access to care for patients receiving dental care at the School of Dentistry.

She is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. She has received dozens of accolades and awards including recognition as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2021, Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2017 and was a finalist for Business First’s Health Care Hero in 2016.

“We are delighted to bring an accomplished educator and leader back to UofL,” said Provost Gerry Bradley. “Dr. Nash will lead an outstanding School of Nursing to new levels of excellence in the years ahead.”

Nash says becoming dean of the UofL School of Nursing has always been her dream job. Originally from southern Indiana, she considers the Louisville area home, and says she’s had the honor of watching several of her previous students become faculty members and colleagues.

The new nursing dean says her vision for the School of Nursing is “to refine and accelerate every mission area, but with an initial focus on the research mission. I want to help the school really define its areas of distinction.”

“Again and again, Louisville took a chance on me. I was in the second cohort for the master’s degree and the first cohort for my PhD in nursing, and I feel like a pioneer in that way,” Nash said. “When I was hired to start the Kentucky Racing Health services program, they took a chance on someone who had not done something at that level. It means a lot to me that they had faith in my ability, and it’s come full circle now.”

The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an extension of aÌęCenter of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant awarded in 2018Ìęto study the connection between those microorganisms — such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and protozoans — and disease. The work could lead to discoveries in, among others, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, periodontitis and colorectal cancer.

The grant will support research by three faculty members focused on microorganisms in the mouth, GI tract and the blood-brain barrier, said Richard Lamont, principal investigator for the grant and chair of School of Dentistry Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

“Collectively, these three projects provide innovative approaches to an increased understanding of the host-microbe interface as it defines health and disease and these advances will establish the basis for new therapeutic approaches,” Lamont said.

The School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology also is involved in the COBRE research, including interim chair Haribabu Bodduluri, the center’s co-director.

“An essential feature of these awards is the support of shared resources for development of new research areas,”Ìęsaid Bodduluri.Ìę“In the past few months since the renewal, we were awarded supplemental funding to the COBRE that enhances the research core facilities and initiates a novelÌę‘Team Science’Ìęproject.”

Gerry Bradley, interim university provost, said the NIH grant allows UofL to further the COBRE’s groundbreaking research, development of new innovations and training the next generation of scientists.

“This huge commitment from the government reinforces that UofL is one of the top dental schools in the United States in terms of the value of research work conducted here and research funding dollars,” he said.

The original COBRE grant allowed UofL to establish an interdisciplinary research program to study associations linking microbiome with inflammation and disease. The grant provides junior research faculty with seed funding to build potential for independent research funding. The first five faculty researchers involved are successfully continuing their research with other financial support.

“As a top-tier research institution, UofL works to expand understanding and find solutions to important problems,” said Kevin Gardner, executive vice president for research and innovation. “The work of Drs. Lamont and Bodduluri, along with theirÌęteam, for example, could lead to life-changing therapies, treatments and more that could dramatically improve the lives of people living with numerous conditions.”

Kevin Sokoloski, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and participant in UofL’s initial COBRE grant, said the program helped his research by connecting him with a robust scientific community focused on inflammation and pathogenesis.

“Our ongoing involvement in the COBRE program has accelerated our success and continues to enhance our scientific mission,” Sokoloski said.

The newly funded researchers are:

• Fata Moradali,Ìę(Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases), who will address periodontitis, a common condition driven by a synergistically virulent bacterial community that triggers destructive inflammatory responses in the periodontal, or gum tissues.
  Ìę
• James Collins,Ìę(Microbiology & Immunology), who will investigate the GI tract pathogenÌęC. difficile, an evolving organism whose ability to cause disease can be enhanced by the nutritional microenvironment.Ìę
  Ìę
• Yun Teng,Ìę(Department of Medicine), who will focus on the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Increased permeability of the BBB accelerates the aging process and the progression of age-related diseases.Ìę

View the press conference .Ìę

Watch the press conference:

Since 2011, Open Arms Children’s Health has cared for the dental needs of children across the Louisville community, particularly those for whom dental services are often difficult to access. While it serves all children in the community, the dental clinic at Open Arms specializes in providing quality dental care for children placed in foster care, children with autism spectrum disorder, children of refugees and children with medical complexity.

The UofL School of Dentistry will elevate the dental services provided at Open Arms Children’s Health to a higher level through expanded staffing and a full range of pediatric dental care. These services are supported by faculty, residents and students from a dental school ranked in the top 50 worldwide, according to theÌę.

“This partnership is such a natural progression for the Home,” said Paul Robinson, Home of the Innocents president and CEO. “When our dental clinic first opened, UofL’s School of Dentistry was right there with us helping to make sure we could provide the best dental services to our community. We are very excited to welcome them back to our campus and look forward to working with them.”

“Clinics like this one are a win-win. They help meet the oral health needs of underserved populations, while also providing externship opportunities for dental students and residents,” said T. Gerard Bradley, dean of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. “Through these experiences, our students become not just more skilled, but also more compassionate. It takes both to be an outstanding dental provider.”

All other Home of the Innocents services will remain unchanged, including The Village Pharmacy, Kosair Charities Pediatric Convalescent Center, all on-campus and community-based Behavioral Health Services and The Aquatic Therapy Center.

The daughter of a woman who worked two jobs to support her children, Martin joined the Kentucky Army National Guard as a young college student in Bowling Green. However, the timing wasn’t right and she admittedly wasn’t ready for the challenge, leaving after a month of basic training and receiving a discharge.

After that she worked in restaurants and a factory but found new inspiration when a church acquaintance hired her as an assistant in a dental office. With the Black female dentist as her professional role model, she set out on her career path.

“You fix people’s teeth and they hug you and cry because they are so thankful,” Martin said. “You can see the difference it makes in people and their confidence and their overall quality of life. Making that difference is so rewarding. I didn’t find the dental field; it found me.”

That plan meant Martin would need financial help to complete her schooling, so she pleaded for a waiver from the Guard to rejoin and this time completed her basic training with honors. After earning her undergraduate degree and working as an enlisted soldier for a decade, she was commissioned as an officer upon acceptance into UofL’s School of Dentistry, using her National Guard benefits to help pay for her advanced degree.

Today Martin co-owns a Louisville dentistry practice with Kristin Harris, a friend since her dental school days. “She is so determined with everything she sets her mind to,” Harris said. “I admire her ability to give 100% to every project she starts, and the dedication she has to both her career and her family equally. That balance can be difficult, but she seems to carry it with ease.”

Martin is in her 24^th year with the National Guard, working in Poland as a dentist with the 1163^rd Area Support Medical Company during her second deployment, after serving in Afghanistan in 2015.

“Growing up, I never would have dreamed in a million years that I would be a dentist,” Martin said in an interview with National Guard News. “I want others to know they can do it too. Whatever your dream is – no matter how big it is — you can do it. You just have to be willing to dig in and fight for it. To never give up.”

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“It’s an outlet. Music has gotten me through first loves and true love, stress, anger, loss and pain. It’s a way to transcend myself beyond reflection. It’s something I can create and control. It’s definitely a natural feeling,” he said.Ìę

Inspired by his brother and father’s own guitar playing, Daniel picked up the guitar and started singing around age 10. His first public performance was during a high school culture day when he sang a duet with a friend. The support of friends and family led him to continue his passion for music, eventually landing in a college band.Ìę

Daniel had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase his musical abilities in front of a national audience on ABC’s American Idol, where he wowed judges and made it to the second round on March 8.Ìę.Ìę

Daniel says he plays both the guitar and ukulele and enjoys making variations of well-known music.Ìę

“I love playing songs that everyone has heard, but I like to take liberties and alter how people hear a song. Anything that I can make different is fun for me,” he said.Ìę

As it relates to his future goals, Daniel plans to open a dental practice while also keeping music at the center of his life.Ìę

“I want to show people that you can be passionate about multiple things — that you really can have everything you want,” he said. “The School of Dentistry has been so supportive of my goals outside of school. It means a lot that they see me as a whole person.”Ìę

On the local level, Daniel will begin performing monthly at The Exchange in New Albany, Indiana, beginning this June.