Infectious Disease group earns $1.5 million grant

Once again, a division of the University of Louisville Department of Medicine has scored major funding for vital research that will have a positive effect on the community.

The U of L Division of Infectious Diseases, led by division chief Julio Ramirez, M.D., was recently awarded a two-year, $1.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the management of hospitalized patients suffering from influenza.

U of L was the only domestic institution to receive this grant.

This research project will be available for hospitalized patients with influenza during the next two influenza seasons at each of the following participating hospitals: University of Louisville Hospital, Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Norton Hospital and Jewish Hospital.

Recognizing the importance of this community-based research project, the Chief Executive Officers and hospital administrators from each of the participating institutions has strongly supported the project through local implementation as well as helping monetarily by offering pharmacy and nursing support for the project at no cost.

The research funded by this grant will allow U of L and CDC investigators to expand their knowledge in the field of pneumonia and influenza. This research will focus on several points, including:

• What is the best treatment option for hospitalized patients with severe influenza?

• What is the best way to diagnose influenza?

• What are the clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with influenza?

• Are the current antiviral medications capable of killing the influenza virus strains circulating in our community?

• What are the long-term consequences of severe influenza infection in our region?

• What type of influenza viruses are causing severe disease in Louisville?

• What is the role of the pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza virus in patients with severe influenza in our community?

One of the main factors in U of L earning this grant is its prior research experience in the fields of pneumonia and influenza.

The infectious diseases research team has more than 100 scientific publications in the field of pneumonia and influenza and they are currently involved in two important research projects in this field: the Community Acquired Pneumonia Organization (CAPO) and the Department of Homeland Security-funded project, Severe Influenza Pneumonia Surveillance (SIPS).

Led by Dr. Ramirez, the research team will be a multidisciplinary group, and besides members of U of L's ID division will include the following individuals and their team members:

• Colleen Jonsson, Ph.D., director of the University of Louisville Center for Predictive Medicine

• Ruth Carrico, Ph.D. and John Myers, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences

• Hieu Tran, Pharm.D., Dean of the Sullivan University College of Pharmacy