The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has granted the University of Louisville Physicians Diabetes and Obesity Center full recognition as a certified Diabetes Prevention Program. The three-year designation recognizes programs that effectively deliver a quality, evidence-based program that meets all of the standards for CDC recognition. The UofL program is one of just two in Louisville to earn full recognition.

More than 84 million Americans – one in three adults -- now have prediabetes. Of those 84 million, nine out of 10 of them don’t know they have it. Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within five years.

In Kentucky, diabetes and prediabetes are at epidemic levels, according to the American Diabetes Association. More than 531,000 people in Kentucky, or 14.5 percent of the adult population, have diabetes. Of these, an estimated 108,000 have diabetes but don’t know it, greatly increasing their health risk. In addition, 1.168 million people in Kentucky – 35.5 percent of the adult population – have prediabetes with blood glucose levels higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Every year an estimated 27,000 people in Kentucky are diagnosed with diabetes.

The center is located in the UofL Physicians Outpatient Center, 401 E. Chestnut St., and serves as the clinical arm of the UofL Diabetes and Obesity Center headed by Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., which focuses on research into prevention of diabetes. “It is immensely gratifying to see the science of diabetes prevention being implemented to improve the public’s health,” Bhatnagar said. “It is through programs such as this that we will turn the tide in the fight against the epidemic of type 2 diabetes.”

In addition to the CDC recognition, the UofL Physicians - Diabetes and Obesity Center, in a partnership with ULP Department of Medicine, is recognized by the American Diabetes Association for Quality Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support.

The Uof Physicians - Diabetes and Obesity Center was created in part from support by KentuckyOne Health to provide preventive care and education and to promote research in diabetes and obesity. The Center is directed by Sri Prakash Mokshagundam, M.D. “Once you have diabetes, you can’t get rid of it, but if you have prediabetes, which is higher than normal blood sugar levels, or if you are at risk for developing diabetes, you can prevent it with lifestyle changes,” Mokshagundam said. “Diabetes also can be effectively managed with physician-directed care.

“We want people to know they have the power to change their outcome.”

The program is directed by Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Beth Ackerman, who cited UofL’s own employee wellness program, Get Healthy Now, in earning the recognition. “This recognition was made possible through collaboration with UofL Get Healthy Now and its director, Patricia Benson, assistant vice president for health, wellness and disease management,” Ackerman said. “We currently offer the program to UofL employees who are covered by the university’s health plan, and will begin offering it to other patients in January.”

The UofL Physicians Diabetes and Obesity Center works to:

• Elevate the health status of our community by raising awareness of the risks for diabetes and heart disease;
• Facilitate prevention and management programs;
• Be a resource to our patients and community health care providers; and 
• Support researchers in their efforts to fight the growing epidemic of diabetes and obesity.

The Diabetes and Obesity Center at UofL Physicians offers diabetes self-management education and support if a patient is newly diagnosed or has had diabetes for many years. The center’s diabetes educators assess each patient’s needs and help them individually or to enroll in an education class to meet those needs. Classes cover:

• Diabetes Prevention
• Diabetes Self-Management 
• Pregnancy Planning
• Diabetes Medications
• Diabetes and Technology
• Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Weight Management
• Monitored Activity Options

Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator Paula Thieme is the quality coordinator of the diabetes self- management and support program. For information or to make an appointment, call 502-588-4600.

The James Graham Brown Cancer Center has been granted a three-year/full reaccreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. 

Accreditation by the NAPBC is granted only to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. The Brown Cancer Center first received NAPBC accreditation in 2009.

To earn accreditation, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. The standards include proficiency in the areas of center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement. 

“A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease,” said Nicolas Ajkay, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, UofL Division of Surgical Oncology, who directs the breast cancer program as a surgical oncology specialist with UofL Physicians.

“I am extremely proud of this accomplishment. The breast program at the Brown Cancer Center was the first in Kentucky and remains the longest running NAPBC accredited breast program in our region,” said Beth Riley, M.D., deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center and a breast cancer specialist. “This continued commitment to excellence and quality care is evident among our dedicated team of specialists.  Several areas of the program were also nominated for ‘Best Practice’ highlights on a national level which speaks to the high level of care we are able to provide.”

The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast. This mission is pursued through standard-setting, scientific validation and patient and professional education.  Its board membership includes professionals from 20 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care. 

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 232,000 patients are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States annually. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who deal with benign breast disease require medical evaluation for treatment options.

Receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient has access to:

• Comprehensive care, including a full range of the latest treatment services
• A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
• And, most importantly, quality breast care close to home.

For more information about the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, visit the organization’s web site at www.accreditedbreastcenters.org.

More than 300 Special Olympics athletes and students from Jefferson and Bullitt Counties received free athletic physicals and health screening exams at University of Louisville’s Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 17. University of Louisville physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) resident and faculty physicians provided the service as part of MedFest, an event organized by Special Olympics of Kentucky (SOKY) in partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools.

MedFest, part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Initiative, is an annual event providing free pre-participation physicals for SOKY athletes and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community age 8 through adult. The physicals are required for the athletes to compete in Special Olympics activities or unified track or bowling through the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.  Optional dental, vision and hearing screenings also are offered to the students and athletes.

<<CLICK TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE EVENT

“It’s so important for our athletes to receive the medical screenings that they need. We know that through MedFest screenings, underlying conditions a lot of times are determined,” said Kim Satterwhite, senior director of field and athlete services for SOKY.

Priya Chandan, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the UofL Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who serves as clinical director for the event, said participation in MedFest is not only a service to the community, but also a learning opportunity for the providers.

“Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience health disparities, partly because many physicians in the community are not trained to provide care for them,” Chandan said. “It’s important for our trainees – medical residents and students, nurse practitioner and nursing students, and other providers – to have this opportunity to interact with this population.”

Maria Janakos, M.D., a resident physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation, was one of 10 UofL physicians who volunteered to provide pre-participation physical exams at this year’s event.

“The athletes are amazing individuals who have tremendous motivation and determination to succeed,” Janakos said. “It is rewarding to have the opportunity to interact with them. One of the individuals I met loves to play basketball. He told me his favorite athlete was LeBron James.”

MedFest has been held every year since 2005. The location alternates between Louisville and Lexington, however UofL PM&R physicians and trainees provide the screenings every year.

Dallas Derringer, one of the athletes at the event to obtain a physical for bowling, basketball and softball, expressed gratitude for the service:  “This physical is going to help me be ready!”

Nov. 20, 2018

Research led by scientists at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky has produced a more complete picture of the domestic horse reference genome, a map researchers will use to determine the role inherited genes and other regions of DNA play in many horse diseases and traits important in equine science and management.

By re-analyzing DNA from a thoroughbred named Twilight, the basis for the original horse reference genome, scientists generated a more than ten-fold increase in data and types of data to correct thousands of errors in the original sequence that was released in 2009. Since then, there have been dramatic improvements in nucleotide sequencing technology and the computational hardware and algorithms used to analyze data. It is now easier and less expensive to build a reference genome.

The new equine reference genome, known as EquCab3.0, was published today in Communications Biology, representing the work of 21 co-authors from 14 universities and academic centers around the world. The horse reference genome is publicly availablethrough the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Genome sequencing allows researchers to read and decipher genetic information found in DNA and is especially important in mapping disease genes – discovering diseases a horse might be genetically predisposed to developing.

Data gathered from future genetic and genomic studies of horses will use the new reference as a basis, which also has implications for tackling serious diseases in humans, said principal investigator Ted Kalbfleisch, Ph.D., of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the UofL School of Medicine.

“Because we can sequence a horse and map it to the reference genome, we can know what genes might be affected by a mutation and come up with a hypothesis for what went wrong,” Kalbfleisch said. “Looking beyond the horse, we all want to cure cancer and other diseases that affect humans. Being able to accurately generate reference genomes gives us the tool that we need to map an individual’s genomic content. Having a high-quality reference genome makes it possible for us to know where an individual has a mutation and personalize therapies that will be right for an individual and the specific disease they have.”

Senior author James MacLeod, V.M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center added, “Increased accuracy of the horse reference genome achieved through this work will greatly facilitate additional research in many aspects of equine science.  Medical advances for horses as a patient population, both in terms of sensitive diagnostic tests and emergent areas of precision medicine, are addressing critical issues for the health and wellbeing of these wonderful animals.”  

Financial support for the research was provided by the Morris Animal Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture and several additional grants to the laboratories of individual co-authors. 

Every snowflake has a unique crystal shape. Every human possesses unique fingerprints.

At the next Beer with a Scientist, Stuart J. Williams, Ph.D., will explain that every brand of bourbon has a unique signature as well. Like fingerprints, these patterns, called whiskey webs, can be used to verify a bourbon’s authenticity.

“We have discovered that if you evaporate a small, diluted drop of bourbon on a surface, it leaves behind a pattern unique to bourbon,” Williams said. “Moreover, each pattern is unique to a specific brand of bourbon. We are using these findings to detect counterfeit bourbons, as well as to investigate fundamental mechanisms of self-assembly and to introduce colloid science to bourbon enthusiasts.”

Williams, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Louisville, researches fluid dynamics with an emphasis on flow visualization, microfluidics and colloid science. Colloids are a combination of tiny particles of one substance that are suspended in a liquid, solid or gas, but do not join with that substance.

Bourbon enthusiasts – and anyone else – can learn more about colloid science and see images of the unique and beautiful whiskey webs at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Holsopple Brewing, 8023 Catherine Ln., Louisville. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

Admission is free. Purchase of beer or other items is not required but is encouraged. (Bourbon is not available.)

Organizers encourage Beer with a Scientist patrons to drink responsibly.

UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D., created the Beer with a Scientist program in 2014 as a way to bring science to the public in an informal setting. At these events, the public is invited to enjoy exactly what the title promises:  beer and science.

November 27, 2018

Levi Beverly, Ph.D., believes he can use his cancer research to help in the quest to understand a cause and find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, and the National Institute on Aging is providing funding to allow him to investigate further.

To generate new ideas in Alzheimer’s disease research, the National Institute on Aging, one of the National Institutes of Health, has offered researchers in other fields already funded by the NIH additional money to explore links between their current field of research and Alzheimer’s disease. Beverly, a UofL cancer researcher, has received one of the first round of these $385,000 awards.

“They are hoping to spark some new directions, uncovering potential new areas for research,” said Beverly, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Louisville. “This will get more people involved in the work and develop some preliminary seed data.”

Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases affect more than 5 million people in the United States. As the population ages, this number is increasing.

Beverly’s primary research grant from the National Cancer Institute is to study ubiquilin proteins in cancer. Ubiquilin proteins are critical adapters that appear to be central to signaling pathways driving Alzheimer’s disease as well as cancer.

“The protein ubiquilin is lost in both cancer and Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases,” Beverly said. “What we hope to discover is how this protein, which is associated with aberrant cell growth in cancer, also is associated with aberrant cell death in neurodegenerative diseases.”

Beverly plans to use the new funding to determine whether and how ubiquilin regulates contradictory signaling pathways in neuronal cells and epithelial cells, and how the loss of ubiquilin affects multiple types of tissues.

Robert Friedland, M.D., professor of neurology at UofL who has conducted research in Alzheimer’s disease for more than three decades, is collaborating with Beverly on the project.  

“We have known for many years that protein folding patterns are critical to neuronal damage in Alzheimer's,” Friedland said. “The work Dr. Beverly has done with ubiquilin has uncovered pathways that may be involved in key mechanisms of both Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. We anticipate that the interaction of researchers in cancer and neurodegeneration will help advance both fields.”

With combined annual national expenditures of approximately $300 billion for cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases in the United States, these conditions represent two of the largest burdens on the health-care system. Beverly believes the laboratory research conducted in this project will facilitate the development of therapeutic interventions for these diseases.

“Only by understanding the basic molecular, biochemical and genetic causes of these diseases will we be able to make significant progress in treating these patients,” Beverly said.

November 15, 2018

The University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center and School of Medicine will present a free seminar open to the public on immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. The event will be held in rooms 101-102 of the Kosair Charities Clinical and Translational Research Building, 505 S. Hancock St.

Charles Graeber, New York Times bestselling author of “The Good Nurse,” and Thomas Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D., a cancer researcher at the University of Chicago, will discuss Graeber’s new book, “The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer.” The book examines the ways in which cancer proliferates by avoiding the immune system, and the important new cancer immunotherapies that are beginning to unleash the immune system to fight – and beat –  the disease. 

Following the discussion, a question-and-answer session will be held.

Lunch will be provided at the seminar at no cost but seating is limited. For details, contact Diane Konzen at the Brown Cancer Center, diane.konzen@louisville.edu.

At 6 p.m. on the same date, the Kentucky Author Forum will present Graeber and Gajewski at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, 501 S. Main St. Several admission packages are available. Details can be found on the Kentucky Author Forum website found here.

The University of Louisville Research Integrity Program will host two free presentations of the Oprah Winfrey movie, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” followed by question-and-answer sessions to discuss the issues raised by the movie.

The first showing will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, in the basement auditorium of the Donald E. Baxter Biomedical Research Building (Baxter I) at 580 S. Preston St. on the UofL Health Sciences Center campus. The second showing will be at 2 p.m., Thursday, at the Floyd Theater located on the third floor of the UofL Student Activities Center, 2100 S. Floyd St. on the UofL Belknap Campus. Admission is free for both showings.

In 1951, cancerous cells from Baltimore resident Henrietta Lacks helped lead to breakthroughs that changed medicine. Her case sparked legal and ethical debates concerning the rights of individuals in determining how their tissue and genetic material are used – rights that are still being debated to this day.

The movie originally aired in April 2017 on HBO and stars Oprah Winfrey as Lacks’ daughter Deborah, who headed her family’s effort to find out exactly how their mother’s cells were used and what rights they had to reap the same financial rewards from the use of the cells as the researchers. Winfrey also was an executive producer of the film, taken from the best-selling book of the same name by Rebecca Skloot.

Following the HSC showing, Debra Schaller-Demers, director of research outreach and compliance at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and Paula Radmacher, UofL export control administrator, will lead a discussion with audience members on the issues raised by the movie. Following the Belknap campus showing, Schaller-Demers and Radmacher will be joined by UofL faculty members Avery Harman and Faye Jones for the discussion.

For information, contact Carla Jones, training and outreach coordinator with the Research Integrity Program at UofL, 502-852-2403.

Selected for its excellence in creating innovative methods to reduce health care costs and improve quality of life for older adults, the Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging at the University of Louisville recently received the MediStar’s Bluegrass Care Navigators Aging Care Award.  

During a ceremony held October 30 at the Muhammad Ali Center, the institute was lauded for its Flourish Program, an innovative, evidence-based approach to health care grounded in the concepts of social determinants of health and integrated care coordination 

The program is based on the institute’s Flourish Care Coordination Model, which links clinical and behavioral health care plans with a community care plan. Patients in the program receive detailed assessments, weekly and monthly monitoring, interdisciplinary health care consultation and care planning, coordination of care, community resource planning and support, as well as behavioral and mental health support. 

In addition to improving health outcomes, the Flourish model hopes to reduce health care costs by leveraging new rules through Medicare Advantage that will pay for non-skilled in-home service providers beginning in 2019.

The institute was one of seven award winners. UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences faculty member, Sarah Moyer, M.D., also was honored for her work as a co-chair of the Louisville Health Advisory Board. She is director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.

Ophthalmology residents are learning to perform advanced eye surgeries earlier in their training at the University of Louisville thanks to a unique partnership with Suburban Excimer Laser Center and training on laser equipment from J&J Vision, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

“This is a novel public-private venture that provides a unique opportunity to combine the resources of a Fortune 500 company, the UofL ophthalmology program and a private laser center staffed with highly experienced clinicians,” said Richard Eiferman, M.D., clinical professor of ophthalmology with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, who oversees the training.  

The UofL Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences is one of only three programs in the United States in which the residents are trained for LASIK and PRK procedures during residency. The physicians in the laser center train the residents in performing the procedures, while representatives of Johnson & Johnson instruct them in the use of J&J Vision Surgical equipment for these procedures.

The program’s success promptly led to expanding it to include ophthalmology residents from the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences as well. Eight residents from UofL and six residents from UK are participating in the elective program.

The final stage of the training takes place at Suburban Excimer Laser Center, in which the residents perform surgeries under the direction of Eiferman, a clinical professor in the UofL School of Medicine, Frank Burns, M.D., and Mark Cassol, M.D., a lecturer in the UofL School of Medicine.

Earlier this year, two senior residents from UofL were the first medical residents in the United States to complete all of the required training and become FDA certified to perform the laser surgery prior to completing their three-year residency program. The certification typically is achieved by physicians engaged in specialized cornea fellowships following ophthalmology residency.

Only two other eye programs in the United States, Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, have similar programs.

Sidharth Puri, M.D., chief ophthalmology resident at UofL, said access to this training gives UofL residency graduates a significant advantage.

“This is a big strength for our program. It gives residents top notch exposure to the newest surgical techniques available,” Puri said.

To assist these residents in their training, the program is offering more affordable eye surgery to UofL faculty, staff, students and alumni. Resident procedures, staffed by Richard Eiferman, M.D., Frank Burns, M.D., and Mark Cassol, M.D., range from $495-$795 per eye for custom LASIK. For an appointment, call 502-588-0550.

November 1, 2018

Last year, Jaclyn Maria and her husband were leaving University of Louisville Hospital with a brand new bundle of life, Luca. Taking home their baby boy the day before Halloween was a special time for the family, after a challenging journey awaiting his arrival.

Jaclyn had been on bed rest at the hospital for 10 weeks after going into labor at 22 weeks. She delivered Luca on Oct. 1, 2017, at 32 weeks, and he stayed in the NICU for a month.

Jaclyn says she had a unique experience at the Center for Women and Infants at UofL Hospital. She worked with a music therapist to write songs for her baby and visited with a therapy dog to ease her anxiety.

“I had a daily a routine, and the weeks passed quickly,” she said.

“The staff did so much to spoil us and make the season of Halloween with our son special despite being in the NICU,” Jacyln said. “Thanks to the staff, we have fond memories of what could have been a very difficult time for our family.”

She received a Halloween card with Luca’s footprint, and a group of volunteers who knit costumes for the NICU babies made him a sock monkey outfit with his name and birthdate.

“It was a gift you don’t expect that means so much, and we treasure that,” she said.

As a way to pay it forward, Jaclyn launched a fund-raiser this year to fill enough Halloween baskets for every family in the NICU. Filled with candy and care items like tissues and lotion, she delivered the baskets in time to make it a special Halloween for those in a similar circumstance.

“We can’t believe it has been a year – they did so much for us while we were here and we are glad to bring cheer to others,” Jaclyn said.

Building upon the success of the past five years, the American Heart Association (AHA), the world’s leading voluntary health organization devoted to building longer, healthier lives, in partnership with the University of Louisville, has received a nearly $18 million, five-year renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products to continue support for the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center.

Under the direction of Rose Marie Robertson, M.D., the association’s deputy chief science and medical officer, and Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., the Smith and Lucille Gibson Chair in Medicine at UofL, the Center examines the short- and long-term cardiovascular effects of tobacco products and the overall toxicity of tobacco products and their constituents.

The AHA Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center received $20 million in its initial funding in 2013 through this same interagency partnership between the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration as the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products began its investment in the Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS). The AHA Center is a multi-institutional network focused on creating a broad scientific base to inform the FDA’s regulation of tobacco product manufacturing, distribution and marketing.

The renewal grant awards were based on the scientific and technical merit of the applicant organizations. The AHA Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center’s quality of research and productivity in its first five years created a strong foundation for future research and led to the renewed funding.

“We are honored to continue to be a part of this important national movement to protect the public health from the tragic consequences of tobacco product use that takes the lives of more than 480,000 Americans each year,” Robertson said. “In light of the fast-paced shifts in the landscape of new tobacco products, an accelerating trend of the use of these products by our nation’s children and an emerging generation of dual or poly-tobacco product users, the need for a better understanding of the health effects of these novel products has become even more imperative.”

During the past five years, more than 50 investigators from 12 institutions throughout the nation have collaborated on 82 publications from the center that examined topics such as the reasons behind the growing prevalence of adults and young adults who are vaping, the toxicity of flavoring chemicals used in e-cigarettes and the preliminary indicators of the growing use of poly-use, or the practice of using multiple tobacco products at the same time.

To date, researchers have found the use of tobacco products such as traditional cigarettes, hookahs, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes and e-hookahs leads to a decrease in immune cells and prevents repair of damaged endothelial cells, increasing the risk of contracting secondary infections. Additionally, use of electronic hookahs can increase the risk of blood clots.

“Dr. Bhatnagar and his colleagues continue to demonstrate their leadership in the field of environmental cardiology, which obviously includes the use of tobacco,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D. “This renewal demonstrates the significance of the research being conducted and the potential impact it has on anyone who uses tobacco or similar products.  

“Hopefully it will impact those who are considering using tobacco both by providing information regarding health effects that can be used in health risk warnings, and also by providing FDA data regarding the toxicity of individual constituents within tobacco-derived aerosols.”

Research at the nine institutions –Boston University, Johns Hopkins University,  New York University, University of Louisville, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Wake Forest University, Stanford University, University of Iowa and National Jewish Hospital – participating in the AHA Center over the next five years will focus on understanding the toxic potential of combustible and newer forms of tobacco products, identifying the biological markers of cardiovascular injury caused by components of tobacco products and assessing the risk of heart disease for different racial and ethnic groups of people from the use of newer tobacco products.

“Identifying the biomarkers of cardiovascular injury caused by tobacco use can lead to improved standards for testing of novel tobacco products and lead to policies regulating the level of harmful chemicals present in tobacco products, thus aiming to reduce the overall burden of cardiovascular injury in the general population,” Bhatnagar said.

The researchers hope to identify specific substances from tobacco products and in their smoke or aerosols that contribute to heart disease. This includes flavoring chemicals used in electronic nicotine delivery systems such as  e-cigarettes, e-hookahs, JUUL and others, along with chemical solvents used in such products.

The center also has responsibility for training the next generation of tobacco regulatory scientists who will continue research into tobacco and its health effects. To this end, 23 people have been trained as fellows in tobacco regulatory science and 11 fellowship projects have been funded over the first 5 years. The center has also funded 12 short-term projects to study emerging topics of interest to tobacco regulation.

The renewed center has been designed to retain this flexibility to respond to FDA’s research needs in a shifting landscape of tobacco use through rapid-response research funding and independent fellowship grants that can enhance the center’s research database alongside its flagship projects.

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The American Heart Association is a leading force for a world of longer, healthier lives. With nearly a century of lifesaving work, the Dallas-based association is dedicated to ensuring equitable health for all. We are a trustworthy source empowering people to improve their heart health, brain health and well-being. We collaborate with numerous organizations and millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, advocate for stronger public health policies, and share lifesaving resources and information. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute and its Center for Healthy Air, Water and Soil at the University of Louisville will host a satellite mini-conference of the World Health Organization’s Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 30-31. The conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day at the University Club, 200 E. Brandeis Ave.

“We are pleased to be an official satellite mini-conference host site of the World Health Organization’s first global conference on air pollution and health,” said Ted Smith, Ph.D., Center for Healthy Air, Water and Soil Director. “This conference is a prime opportunity for Kentuckiana citizens who are interested in the impact air pollution has on health and well-being to share ideas and learn from experts around the globe as well as those in our own community.”

The mini conference will include video streams from the plenary session of the main conference in Geneva with an opportunity for discussions in Louisville to be shared with the main conference each day.

Tuesday’s session will open with remarks from Smith. A session will follow that examines the scientific evidence that exists showing the impact air pollution has on health with a discussion to follow mediated by Daniel Conklin, Ph.D., UofL professor of medicine.

Wednesday’s session will cover engaging the health sector as a leader of change in public policy, and communication, advocacy and partnerships to develop opportunities and remove barriers for promoting clean air policy.

Admission is free but reservations are required to receive a box lunch. To register, go to the online registration form here. For additional information, contact Lauren Anderson at lauren.anderson@louisville.edu.

The event is organized in collaboration with the United National Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Economic Commission for Europe and The World Bank.

The need to make psychological therapies widely available is the focus of the “Building Hope” public lecture on Thursday, Nov. 1.

David M. Clark, Ph.D., professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford in England and director of the Oxford Centre of Anxiety Disorders & Trauma, will present “Thrive: How Psychological Therapies Transform Lives and Save Money.” The event is part of the “Building Hope” public lecture series sponsored by the University of Louisville Depression Center and will be held at 6 p.m. at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne St.

“Effective psychological treatments are available for most mental health problems, but the public rarely benefits. This can be changed,” Clark said. “The clinical and economic arguments for increasing access to psychological therapies are overwhelming.”

The lecture kicks off the Depression Center’s 12th annual conference at the Clifton Center on Friday, Nov. 2, that will focus on translating science into clinical practice for depression and anxiety disorders.

Conference sessions are geared toward psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, primary care physicians and other mental health clinicians. Focusing on some of the most promising developments in biological psychiatry and psychotherapy, participants will learn about advanced methods for challenging clinical problems.

Keynote speakers include Clark, Mark A. Frye, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Mayo Clinic and director of the Mayo Clinic Depression Center, and Laura Wright McCray, M.D., associate professor and residency program director of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont.

Continuing education credits are available for attendees.

Attendance is free for UofL physicians, nurses, faculty members, students, residents and fellows. Registration for other health care professionals costs $100. For more information, call 502-588-4886 or visit the website.

The conference is supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Centerstone Kentucky, Norton Healthcare and Passport Health Plan.

The UofL Depression Center is Kentuckiana’s leading resource for depression and bipolar disorder treatment, research and education. It is a charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, a consortium of leading depression centers that develops and fosters connections among members to advance scientific discovery and provide stigma-free, evidence-based care to patients with depressive and bipolar illnesses.

October 25, 2018

What does the University of Louisville have in common with the Columbia University in New York, Princeton University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom? All are members of the United National Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

“Inclusion in this international effort recognizes our efforts over the decades to impact our world in a meaningful way when it comes to sustainability,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi today in announcing UofL’s membership at the Louisville Sustainability Symposium, which UofL is hosting for the first time.

“From the Conn Center looking for renewable energy sources and our university-wide efforts to reduce our carbon footprint to our recent creation of the Envirome Institute that focuses on health sustainability, we have a long history of trying to leave a better planet.”

UofL joins just 684 universities and research centers throughout the world that advise the United National on sustainable development.

Additionally, UofL will be a founding member of the U.S. Solutions Network later this year.

“The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network is honored to welcome the University of Louisville to the global network,” said Columbia University Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, advisor to the Secretary General of the UN and Director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. “The SDSN looks forward to working closely with the Envirome Institute and city and community leaders to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Our efforts together will help to advance wellbeing in Louisville and around the world.”

The national and regional networks support the localization of the 17 goals set out by the UN and agreed to by 193 nations in 2015. Local networks will promote long-term pathways for sustainable development, promote high-quality education and research collaboration for sustainable development, and support governments in understanding and addressing the challenges of sustainable development.

Through these efforts, the networks are working to create a future in which poverty has been eradicated, the planet is protected and people are ensured the ability to enjoy peace and prosperity.

“We feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to be a founding member of this nation’s grass-roots effort,” Bendapudi said. “All of us at the university in collaboration with our community partners look forward to spearheading efforts to better understand how our environment, in the broadest sense of the word, impacts us as individuals.”

Led by Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., the Smith and Lucille Gibson Chair in Medicine, the UofL Envirome Institute takes a holistic approach to researching how the human-environment interrelationship impacts peoples’ lives. In addition to building on Bhatnagar’s pioneering work establishing the field of environmental cardiology, UofL will incorporate community engagement and citizen science to introduce a singular, new approach to the study of health.

“Our researchers, staff and students will explore new concepts associated with examining 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,” Bendapudi said.

In recognition of her support, the University of Louisville will rename its most recently created institute to The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. The UofL Board of Trustees voted on the name change today.

“I cannot think of a better way to honor Christie for her tremendous generosity that has allowed the institute to become a reality and to get off to such a strong start,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.

In May, Brown committed $5 million in support of the institute, which takes a holistic approach to researching how the human-environment interrelationship impacts peoples’ lives. In addition to building on the pioneering work of Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., that established the field of environmental cardiology, UofL will incorporate community engagement and citizen science to introduce a singular, new approach to the study of health. Bhatnagar is the institute’s director, as well as the Smith and Lucille Gibson Chair in Medicine.

The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute develops new infrastructure for transdisciplinary knowledge, bridging academic research with community engagement it transforms the city of Louisville into an urban laboratory and establishes the university as a repository of knowledge about the envirome. The Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute offers global leadership in developing new models of living by making decisions through the lens of health.

The Kentucky Cancer Program at the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center is teaming up with the Bullitt County Health Department to honor breast cancer survivors in October.

The “Think Pink” event will be held beginning at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre, 395 Paroquet Springs Dr., Shepherdsville.

Former Kentucky First Lady Judy Patton and breast cancer survivor Tabitha Spencer, RT,, R(M), of Baptist Health Louisville, will speak. Health information booths also will be set up on a variety of topics related to breast cancer.

The event is free but RSVPs are required by calling the Bullitt County Health Department at 502-955-5355.

For more information, contact Pam Temple of the Kentucky Cancer Program at 502-852-6318 or pam.templejennings@louisville.edu.

The majority of older adults take at least one prescription medication daily, and according to 2016 data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than 500-thousand Medicare Part D beneficiaries take opioids, with the average dose far exceeding the recommended amount. This can lead to health risks such as breathing complications, confusion, drug interaction problems and increased risk of falls.

To help tackle the issue of opioid misuse in older adults, the Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging at the University of Louisville has been working with individuals in rural Kentucky who are involved in the institute’s Flourish Program, which is designed to deliver interdisciplinary care coordination to those with chronic conditions.

Of the 154 patients who have received services, medication management issues related to opioid prescriptions and interactions with other medications were a factor with more than 90 patients. Medication safety also proved to be a problem, with family members or caregivers taking opioids from patients in at least 10-percent of cases.

The institute recently received supplemental federal funding to their Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program grant, specifically to expand work in Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties related to opioids and older adults. This effort also will be offered in Jefferson, Barren, Metcalf and Hart counties.

“This additional funding will allow us to dramatically increase our ability to screen for potential opioid misuse and to educate patients, students and practitioners on best practices for pain management for older adults,” said Anna Faul, Ph.D., the institute’s executive director.

Joe D’Ambrosio, Ph.D., the institute’s director of health innovation & sustainability and assistant professor at the UofL School of Medicine will lead an interdisciplinary clinical team of faculty from nursing, social work and counseling psychology to serve as mental health clinicians for the project.

He said the institute is developing a new program to train students and clinicians on how to identify and treat opioid-related substance abuse among older adults. The programming also will be offered to community mental health partners including Centerstone, the region’s largest mental health care provider.

A team of researchers at the University of Louisville has garnered $16.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore several angles related to how different aspects of our environment contribute to the development or health impacts of diabetes and obesity.

“More than 90 million adults in the United States are obese and more than 30 million adults suffer from diabetes. Our faculty, staff and students work every day to understand the causes and impacts of both so that we can develop the next generation of preventions, cures and treatments,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D. “This group of dynamic researchers now is looking at how our environment, in the broadest sense of the word, plays a role. This understanding has the potential to change not just people in Louisville, but literally the world. This is some of what makes UofL a great place to learn, work and invest.”

Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., director of the UofL Diabetes and Obesity Center and the recently created Envirome Institute, which houses the Diabetes and Obesity Center, earned a competitive renewal grant that provides funding for essential core programs for all researchers in the center. Additionally, the center grant helps set the director of the research with an emphasis on metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms leading to diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance; stem cell biology; and environmental determinants of cardiometabolic disease. This marks the second successful five-year renewal that Bhatnagar has earned.

Petra Haberzettl, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, and Bradford Hill, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, received funding to examine the effects of air pollution on stem cell health.

Jason Hellman, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, received funding to explore how exercise can reduce inflammation. His previous work has shown previously uncovered new mechanisms of sustained inflammation in atherosclerotic lesions in diet-induced obesity.

Matt Nystoriak, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, is examining how the heart talks to blood vessels to increase blood flow during exercise.

Timothy O’Toole, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, received support to study how the molecule carnosine can be activated in protecting humans against airborne particulate matter.

Kentucky has an abundant supply of water – sometimes too much. So it may seem like we need not worry about our water use as much as people living in drier areas such as California or Arizona.

That is not necessarily the case.

At the next Beer with a Scientist, Robert Bates, a water expert and nearly 30-year employee at Louisville Metro Sewer District, will explain that, while it is plentiful here in Kentucky, water still is a precious commodity and recycling it makes sense. He will discuss water recycling in the United States, the “Louisville water cycle” and how some local organizations are recycling water to make beer.

Now an operations specialist with GRW, an engineering consulting firm based in Lexington, Bates was in operations management for more than 10 years at MSD’s Morris Forman Water Quality Treatment Center, the largest wastewater treatment facility in Kentucky. He also is a past president of the Water Environment Association of Kentucky/Tennessee (WEAKT) and has co-authored several peer-reviewed scientific publications on wastewater.

“There is no new water, so the more we can do to protect this most vital resource, the better,” Bates said. “Plus, no water, no beer!”

His talk begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at Holsopple Brewing, 8023 Catherine Ln., Louisville. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

Enjoy this popular event, organized by Louisville Underground Science, at its earlier time and new location. Admission is free. Purchase of beer, other beverages or menu items is not required but is encouraged.

Organizers continue to encourage Beer with a Scientist patrons to drink responsibly.

UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D., created the Beer with a Scientist program in 2014 as a way to bring science to the public in an informal setting. At these events, the public is invited to enjoy exactly what the title promises:  beer and science.