LOUISVILLE, Ky. ( August 27, 2025) – The University of Louisville (UofL) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund. The money will be used to hire three new researchers who will help develop new therapeutics and conduct clinical trials for the UofL School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Norton Children’s Cancer Institute (NCCI).

“This funding is another key resource in UofL and Norton Children’s ongoing work to build a cutting-edge pediatric cancer research program,” said Department of Pediatrics Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation division chief and NCCI chief Michael Ferguson. “For the last decade, the trust fund board has provided funding for individual projects. At our urging, for the first time, the money can be used to recruit researchers. This means that we will be able to develop new pediatric cancer drugs and make them available to Kentucky’s families before they are available anywhere else.”

Previous grants have provided some of the biggest findings within the Department of Pediatrics and NCCI. Examples include the trailblazing CAR T-cell immunotherapy research work conducted by the late William Tse. His revolutionary research involves reprogramming the immune cells of leukemia patients to kill their own leukemia cells that have resisted conventional therapy.

A basic science program that helps better understand how certain chemotherapy drugs impact the heart and what adjustments can be made to prevent those side effects is also funded by previous grants as well as work that is helping children manage pain during cancer treatment.

The new researchers are expected to join the Department of Pediatrics and NCCI in 2026. In addition to UofL, the University of Kentucky received a similar grant.