This chair was established through Research Challenge Trust Fund matching monies as a result of the J. Samuel Bumgardner bequest. A 1928 graduate of the medical school, Bumgardner was Louisville's first otolaryngologist.

The holder of this chair is charged with researching the molecular and cellular mechanisms at work in infectious diseases. This is one of three U of L medical chairs or professorships established through Bumgardner's generosity and Kentucky's Research Challenge Trust Fund.