The endowment will support the university’s School of Medicine in respiratory disease research and enhance patient care techniques.
The University of Louisville has received a $4.5 million gift from the Gibbs Foundation to create the Gibbs Foundation Endowment within the School of Medicine. The Gibbs Foundation Endowment will support the university’s respiratory disease research to advance scientific discovery and help innovate within patient care.
According to an article on the University of Louisville’s website, university President Gerry Bradley was quoted as saying of the gift, "This investment reflects a shared commitment to advancing groundbreaking lung research and improving patient care. The Gibbs Foundation's generosity ensures that our researchers can pursue bold ideas today, while guaranteeing that future generations of students and scientists will have the resources to carry this work forward."
The Gibbs Foundation and the University of Louisville have a longstanding relationship that has created significant advancement in patient care. During this relationship, the university’s researchers have worked to advance ex vivo lung perfusion technology and improve outcomes for patients with acute and chronic respiratory conditions. Additionally, it has led to the development of a negative-pressure ventilator system that clears infection of pneumatic lungs outside of the body.
Jeff Bumpous, the executive vice president for health affairs and dean for the University of Louisville School of Medicine, noted, "With demand for research opportunities now exceeding our capacity, this endowment ensures the work, and the students and trainees who depend on it, can continue in perpetuity.”
In partnership with the Gibbs Foundation, further research UofL researchers plan to undertake includes partnering with a local organ procurement organization to evaluate lungs that have been rejected for transplanting due to pneumonia; advancing breath analysis technology that predicts which cardiac surgery patients are at risk for post-operative pneumonia; rehabilitating infected lungs using the negative-pressure apparatus; and expanding breath analysis for early detection for lung plant rejection.
The Gibbs Foundation Endowment will also support at least one postgraduate student and two undergraduate students in working within the research labs to gain hands-on research experience.
Hannah Roquet, who serves as the executive director of the Gibbs Foundation, said, "The Gibbs Foundation is thrilled to endow the incredible work being done at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute. The program began in 2016 and was the first major gift the foundation made. This partnership was a catalyst for greater philanthropic impact, and I am thankful to our founder, George Gibbs, who initiated the collaboration a decade ago.”
For more information about the University of Louisville, visit the school’s website.