LOUISVILLE, Ky. –  The University of Louisville today announced the first multimillion dollar gift of President Neeli Bendapudi’s tenure to establish the Envirome Institute at the School of Medicine. The gift, $5 million, from the Owsley Brown II Family Foundation, supports the first institute dedicated to the study of the human envirome. Taking a holistic approach to researching how the human-environment interrelationship impacts peoples’ lives, the institute will build on the pioneering work of Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., the institute’s director, in the field of environmental cardiology. The institute will incorporate community engagement and citizen science to introduce a singular, new approach to the study of health.

Twenty-five years ago, the Human Genome Project completed the first map of our genetic code, revealing how our genes relate to our health, and potentially our susceptibility to disease. Built on a new vision of health, the Envirome Institute pioneers actionable knowledge about all forms of health and how they are affected by the environment beyond genomics. This gift from Brown catalyzes existing resources and adds new capabilities toward the ambitious, long-term mission of studying the human envirome with the same precision and rigor applied to decoding the human genome.

“All of us at the University of Louisville are grateful to Christina Lee Brown for the trust she has put in us to tackle such a large and complex idea as how our broad environment impacts our lives,” Bendapudi said. “Her generosity will enable our group of researchers, staff and students to explore new concepts associated with exploring the elements of a single person’s overall environment and determine how that affects their lives. The impact this will have will be felt well beyond Louisville.”

“This isn’t just the University of Louisville’s Human Envirome Institute. It is Louisville’s Human Envirome Institute,” Brown said, “Each of us, individually, must put health, broadly understood, in the center of all of our public and private efforts. And we are encouraged by the will and determination of the new president, Neeli Bendapudi, to immediately step in and support the Institute’s efforts and importance to both the city of Louisville and the university.”

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity — the University of Louisville serves as the perfect home for this new unique, holistic, interdisciplinary, educational model. It is truly a world-class organization,” Bhatnagar said.

The institute will open a door to a healthier future in Louisville and across the globe. The research of Bhatnagar and colleagues has pioneered the field of environmental cardiology and begun to uncover the important influence of the environment on heart disease. The institute, by studying the relationship of our health to the natural and the social world around us, will amplify the potential of this broad and promising territory.

Humans live in complex, variable and diverse environments that are fashioned by their unique mix of history, culture and social organization. Until recently, we lacked the material and conceptual tools required for studying the health effects of the natural, social, cultural and economic dimensions of the human environment as a whole. As in the graphic Circle of Harmony and Health (below), health should be understood holistically as psychological, intellectual, spiritual, cultural, nutritional, economic and environmental health.

This institute serves as a unifying capstone organization over several existing centers including the Diabetes and Obesity Center, the Superfund Research Center and the Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center. Together these centers have successfully attracted more than $100 million in extramural funds over the past decade. This new interdisciplinary, connected institute creates new potential to expand those resources significantly. Additionally, a Center for Healthy Air, Water and Soil will be established within the Envirome Institute to advance the work that the Louisville community began five years ago.

The Envirome Institute also introduces a more public science and opens a welcoming door for the residents of Louisville. Enviromics can involve the participation of whole communities in the process of data collection as well as in the benefits from health initiatives that may be free or subsidized. As part of a medical institution, the institute is committed to healing and helping turn discovery into actionable change, with Louisville as a living, urban laboratory.

More about Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D.

The newly appointed director of the Envirome Institute, Bhatnagar is the Smith and Lucille Gibson Chair in Medicine. He also is director of two University of Louisville centers, which now fall under his leadership within the Envirome Institute – the Diabetes and Obesity Center and the American Heart Association Tobacco Research and Addiction Center.

Bhatnagar’s work has led to the creation of the new field of environmental cardiology. His studies show how pollution affects the heart and blood vessels and how exposure to polluted air affects the risk of obesity and diabetes. His research, supported by several grants from the National Institutes of Health, has led to the publication of more than 250 research papers and 20 book chapters. He has mentored 55 students, fellows and trainees.

More about Christina Lee Brown, Activist & Philanthropist

Christy Brown is a global leader in creating new ways to empower “citizen scientists” to lead healthier lives by advocating for a culture of health using nature as the standard and encouraging all decisions to be made through the lens of health. She believes passionately in the potential of urban and rural communities to effect positive change by working together, at the same time celebrating their commonalities and differences.

Having a strong passion for community led Christy to become a co-founding board member of the Berry Center. Its mission is to accept no permanent damage to the ecosphere, taking the human health of local communities into consideration.

Understanding that healthy air, water and soil are the keys to the health of all life, Christy founded the Institute for Healthy Air, Water & Soil in 2014. As the institute began to lean into its work, a bigger mission began to occur all around, attracting both local and national ambassadors. The work of the Institute for Healthy Air, Water & Soil will transition into the newly founded Center for Healthy Air, Water & Soil. 

by Jill Scoggins

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and University of Louisville School of Medicine Dean Toni Ganzel, MD, will join with students, faculty, staff, patients and visitors to the UofL Health Sciences Center to launch the new Medical Mile walking path at the UofL Health Sciences Center.

The ribbon-cutting will take place at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, at the Medical Mile starting point on the sidewalk next to the Health Sciences Center Plaza near Kornhauser Library, 500 S. Preston St.

The Medical Mile follows a 1-mile path from the HSC Plaza north to East Muhammad Ali Boulevard, east to South Hancock Street, south to East Chestnut Street, west to South Floyd Street, north to East Muhammad Ali again, and finishing up by going south on South Preston back to the starting point. A map of the path can be found here. The mile is marked along the way with the Medical Mile graphic image and with one-fourth, one-half and three-quarter mile markers as well.

The creation of the Medical Mile was part of the School of Medicine’s SMART Wellness Task Force and the Being Well Initiative, said School of Medicine Chief of Staff Karan Chavis, and is the product of the work of the committee under the leadership of former co-chair Miranda Sloan and current co-chair Tamara Iacono.

“We know that walking is great physical activity that virtually anyone can do, and with the sidewalks we have surrounding our buildings, we have a ready-made way to create a dedicated walking space for people,” Chavis said. “Through the spring and summer, we are encouraging people to create ‘walking trains,’ picking up people along the way and walking together.”

Not long after Tuesday’s sunrise, UofL employees and students started gathering on the steps of Grawemeyer Hall in anticipation of Neeli Bendapudi’s first day on the job as the institution’s 18th president. By the time she pulled into her parking spot shortly before 8 a.m., about 200 people in total were present.

“I don’t normally get to work this early. Not even close. But this is just too exciting to miss,” said one employee.

Escorted by Louie, Bendapudi made her way through the crowd, stopping to shake as many people’s hands as possible while an abundance of local TV crews followed.

“Please, call me Neeli,” she said to each employee.

 By the time she arrived at the microphone at the top of Grawemeyer Hall, Bendapudi seemed genuinely surprised by the turnout.

“It gives me goosebumps,” she said.

Bendapudi offered a few remarks before making her way to her new office:

“There’s no other place I’d rather be than here today. Let’s not forget why we’re here: We’re here for the students – to make sure we create the best place for them to learn and thrive and go on and solve problems that we can’t even imagine today.

“I commit to you, to all of the faculty and staff – whether you’re in the classroom, taking care of the grounds, whether you’re making sure the heating and cooling works – I commit to you we’ll try our best to make it a great place to work for you.

“And for all of you from the community: the fact that we have so much media presence here today speaks to the interest – the love – that the community has for the university and how much they want the town-gown partnership to be strong, to be sustainable, and to be something that lifts everybody. So, to all of you in the community, I give you my word that we will all work together to make sure you see us as a great place to invest your trust, your support, your guidance.

“In order to do those three things – a great place to learn, work, invest – we need to be a place that says ‘you’re a partner, you are here, you belong as much as anybody else does.’ We have to be a place that celebrates diversity, fosters equity and achieves inclusion for everybody.

“We have work to do … Our best days are ahead.” 

Eleven-year-old Layla Goodwin stood proudly in her bright yellow t-shirt that declared her a “Future Entrepreneur.” The Portland Elementary School fifth-grader, who someday wants to design her own clothing line, was soaking in the sunshine and the lessons in mid-April as she and her classmates ran lemonade stands on Belknap Campus to learn the basics of business.

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Asha Clark and 30 other seniors from Jefferson County Public high schools stood proudly at the annual Upward Bound Academic Banquet as their names were called and their scholarship awards were recognized. Collectively, the group received more than $1.7 million dollars in scholarships and other aid from various colleges and universities. Clark was one of seven students who received more than $100,000.

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After she graduates from the Brandeis School of Law next month, Mashayla Hays will head to Pittsburgh, where she will begin a year-long fellowship with reproductive rights organization If/When/How.

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The University of Louisville athletics department finished third in the 2018 NCAA Division I Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition for its community outreach efforts.

The Cardinals totaled approximately 9,000 hours of community service during 2017-18.

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The University of Louisville is one of 31 colleges and universities in the U.S. to join as an inaugural member of the Higher Education Anchor Mission Initiative.

The Higher Education Anchor Mission Initiative is a joint project of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), a national organization dedicated to connecting urban universities and their partners, and The Democracy Collaborative, a national research institute developing strategies for a more democratic economy and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

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The University of Louisville is a member of Passport Health Plan, which broke ground on its new headquarters building on March 14. Five UofL schools will lease space in Passport’s new building, which is on the site of the former Philip Morris cigarette plant at the intersection of West Broadway and 18th Street downtown. 

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Louisville middle school students recently enjoyed a day of science. But instead of sitting in a typical classroom, they spent the day on UofL’s campus. 

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UofL employees, students and alumni are invited to participate in the UofL Alumni/Cardinal Day of Service April 13-14.

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The UofL Alumni Association and UofL Office of Community Engagement co-hosted the 2017 Louisville Alumni/Cardinal Day of Service Oct. 6 -7. Faculty, and staff, as well as alumni councils and chapters across the nation, co-hosted service events as a way to kick off Homecoming 2017. 

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The Signature Partnership Initiative at the University of Louisville began in 2007 with one major overarching goal – increase education attainment for those living in Louisville’s west end neighborhoods. It became a comprehensive effort, addressing hurdles that can prevent educational attainment including access to quality health care, employment opportunities, social and human services and K-12 educational partnerships.

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In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a number of UofL representatives have stepped up to help those affected the most. 

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This was the second year for the Nonprofit Fair, hosted by the Honors Student Council's service committee.

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UofL's Human Rights Advocacy Program has been recognized as an outstanding model of community engagement. The program, established in 2014 by the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, works to advance the rights of immigrants, refugees and noncitizens through scholarship and engagement.  

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Dan Hall, UofL’s vice president for the Office of Community Engagement, joined the university in the fall of 1985 after spending seven years in Washington, DC, working on Capitol Hill with Louisville Congressman Ron Mazzoli.  Read more

Instead of a beach getaway, a handful of UofL nursing students spent their spring break giving back to the Louisville community and those in need.  Read more

University of West Florida latest school to visit UofL for SP immersion

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