University of Louisville receives grant to launch Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center

The University of Louisville has received a total of $24 million in grant funding for the establishment and launch of the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center (LCTRC). Of the funding, $11.7 million comes from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the university itself will match the funding for a total of $24 million. All told, it is the largest investment in clinical research in the school’s history.

According to an article on the University of Louisville’s website, Kim Schatzel, the university’s president, is quoted as saying of the investment, “UofL has a long-standing commitment to improving the lives of Kentuckians. This grant represents significant progress toward that commitment, engaging researchers and community members in developing new treatments and training the next generation of experts who will improve lives for years to come.”

The purpose of the grant is to train the next generation of clinical researchers via the establishment and launch of the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center, which will help researchers combat prevalent healthcare issues like heart disease, cancer, and stroke. These issues are disproportionately affecting the population of Kentucky.

The NIH IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Development (CTR-D) Award program is responsible for funding the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center. These types of grants are competitive and, according to Jon Klein, the principal investigator for the LCTRC, “CTR grants are a unique resource that are awarded to only a small number of institutions. UofL’s success in securing this award shows our strength as a research institution and academic medical center, and will drive significant, positive impact throughout the Commonwealth.”

The LCTRC will offer two competitive programs that will help foster transformative research projects and elevate the careers of the next generation of clinical researchers. Dean’s Scholars and President's Scholars programs will, respectively, give medical students a paid full year of research, and pay faculty members for six months of research. Additionally, the programs will offer professional development opportunities and the opportunity to collaborate with mentors.

Additionally, the funding will allow the university to double its staff in the area of clinical trials, support “citizen science” research project efforts, enhance relationships with UofL Health and with Owensboro Health, and develop research tools.

Jiapeng Huang, who serves as a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine and the deputy director for the LCTRC, said, “The work that this funding will allow us to do is truly transformative. LCTRC will develop top notch clinical and translational researchers who cannot only secure more NIH funding, but also develop new therapies and technologies which will benefit our patients and communities in Kentucky. They will shape the future of Kentucky in a very meaningful way.”

For more information about the University of Louisville, visit the school’s website.