Department faculty honored at 2015 Celebration of Faculty Excellence

Members of the Department of Medicine recognized for teaching excellence, endowed chairs, and patent and license awards
Department faculty honored at 2015 Celebration of Faculty Excellence

Several members of the University of Louisville Department of Medicine were recognized at the 2015 UofL Celebration of Faculty Excellence


As part of 2015 State of the University Week, the University of Louisville administration recently honored many faculty members at the Celebration of Faculty Excellence held in the Brown & Williamson Club at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

The awards were conferred by Interim Provost Dr. Neville Pinto and Dr. William Pierce, Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation.

"All of you have one thing in common, you have set high standards of excellence," UofL President Dr. James Ramsey said. "Your work enhances the prestige and respect of our university. You make us premier. You have distinguished yourselves among your colleagues, and your personal dedication to excellence is an inspiration to us."

Several members of the University of Louisville Department of Medicine were among those recognized.

Distinguished Faculty Awards

(Distinguished Faculty Award winners receive a medallion and a check for $1,000, and will also be featured on banners around campus.)

Jesse RomanJesse Roman, M.D.

Distinguished Faculty Awards in Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity - Career Achievement

Dr. Roman has devoted over 25 years to education, research, patient care, administration and leadership in academic medicine. He has over 200 primary papers, review articles and chapters in the areas of respiratory disease.

Dr. Roman’s research has been supported by over  $20 million from the federal government and other organizations over his career. He is known internationally for his work in the area of lung fibrosis and fibroblast and matrix biology.

 

Juan GuardiolaJuan Guardiola, M.D.

Distinguished Faculty Awards in Service - Service to the Profession

Dr. Guardiola has been one of the drivers of the development of standard of care for critical care patients. He has been instrumental in the development of the sleep disorders program.

Dr. Guardiola is currently PI on a multi-center VA cooperative study, and a Co-PI on two other projects.


New Endowed Faculty

Jason ChesenyJason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Chesney is a Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and has served as the deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center since 2012.

He holds the Brinkley Chair in Lung Cancer Research.

 

William TseWilliam Tse, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Tse is a Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Division of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

He holds the Marion F. Beard Chair of Hematology.

Dr. Tse serves as principle investigator of numerous national and international therapeutic clinical trials.

Earlier this year, Newsweek magazine named him one of the "Top Cancer Doctors" in the United States.


Patents & Licenses

Faculty members whose work has resulted in U.S. patents and licenses were also honored at the 2014 Celebration of Faculty Excellence.

Farrukh AqilFarrukh Aqil, Ph.D., Ramesh Gupta, Ph.D., and Manicka Vadhanam, Ph.D.

Their technology is a novel approach for delivering steady, low doses of therapeutic agents to a target site in a patient over a long period of time. The therapeutic drug is delivered by use of an implanted, biodegradable, cylindrical device.

The current key application for the implantable device has been the delivery of chemo-preventative and chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer.

Michael Merchant and Michael BrierMichael Brier, Ph.D., Jon Klein, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Merchant, Ph.D.

Their work in collaboration with Adam Gaweda, Ph.D., has resulted in a U.S. patent.

Their technology determines a patient’s response potential to Erythpoetin by measuring specific peptides present in a biological sample from the patient, thus allowing for more accurate dosing of erythopoetic agents in anemic patients.

John TrentJohn Trent, Ph.D.

His work has resulted in two patents this past year. The first is for discovery of inhibitor compounds against the chemokine receptor type 4, CXCR4, which is found on the surface of cells.

Also described are methods for the use of these inhibitor compounds for the treatment of disease – like several types of cancers and HIV infection – characterized by increased levels of CXCR4.

The second patent, done in collaboration with Robert Mitchell, Ph.D., is a class of potent inhibitors of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory factor (MIF)-dependent disease processes. The new inhibitors target the active site of MIF and covalently attach in an irreversible manner.

These inhibitor compounds can be used for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disease, and they represent a new generation of less toxic and more potent anti-MIF disease therapeutics than those currently in use.

Jian Cai, Ph.D.

His technology allows for the cost-effective, large-scale expression and production of lunasin from plants, which can then be used for pre-clinical and clinical trials to demonstrate lunasin’s potential cancer-chemopreventive, anti-cancer and nutraceutical activities.

Jun Yan, M.D., Ph.D.

His work has resulted in a license with Biothera. The licensed technology is a therapeutic composition including an antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEfG) and a beta-glucan, which in combination enhance anti-proliferative immunotherapy.