Shirley Willihnganz, Executive Vice President and University Provost at the University of Louisville, KY 40292 502-852-5555 1-800-334-UofL (8635) Email: provost@louisville.edu.
The University of Louisville (http://research.louisville.edu) is a nationally known center of research activity. Researchers from every discipline are focused on creating new knowledge and making new discoveries, and the Office of Technology Transfer at the University is there to get those discoveries out into the marketplace.
Discovery, innovation and the transfer of information to the public sector is a major responsibility and challenge of a modern research University. The University strives to disseminate the knowledge developed by faculty, staff, other employees and students within for the public good; and further protects the interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky through a due recovery by the University of its investment in research.
The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) serves its mission by:
Assuring development and dissemination of the knowledge, technology and other creative activities created utilizing University Resources;
Protecting the ability of our Researchers to continue to use the innovations they develop for future research;
Ensuring proper protection and management of the University's Intellectual Assets and Creative Activities;
Providing Education about Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Start-Up Business resources; and
Actively promoting economic development in the Community, Commonwealth and Region.
Contact: University of Louisville, Office of Technology Transfer, 201 E. Jefferson St., Suite 215, Louisville, KY 40202 Phone: 502-852-2965 (http://louisville.edu/thinker/about-the-ott)
The J. B. Speed School of Engineering (SSE) serves the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the engineering profession by providing high quality educational programs to all students; engaging in research and scholarship that will extend knowledge; and assisting the economic development of the region, state and national economies through technology transfer.
SSE facts:
$19M in new research awards in 2006;
13 Research centers and laboratories within SSE;
The new 10,000 sq. ft. cleanroom for MEMS and nano-tech rated one of the top research facilities in the country;
UofL listed among the 3.8% of institutions designated as Doctoral Research University-extensive by the Carnegie Foundation;
Housed in 11 buildings on the Belknap Campus and Health Science Center.
Speed School of Engineering Centers:
Centers Center for Environmental Engr - Through research, education, and advocacy, KIESD tries to highlight connections between the environment and the economy, and between academia, government, and industry. KIESD brings public attention on the need to develop the economy in harmony with natural systems which work for people in their communities.
Center for Ergonomics - The Center's research and educational activities focus on integrating people, organization, information and technology at work, and improving quality and productivity through ergonomics and safety management. Examples include workplace design, office ergonomics, system/product usability testing and evaluation, ergonomics audits, training, prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (low back and upper extremities), development of ergonomics programs in harmonization with OSHA, and other work system design issues.
Center for Infrastructure Research - Participation and sponsorship of the center is open to all utilities, industries, governments, and organizations within the community who would benefit from, and contribute to, the knowledge base of urban infrastructure issues.
Center for Transportation Innovation - The center grew out of a collaborative effort with the University of Kentucky and the state’s Transportation Cabinet. The goal of the proposed center is to work with various units within UK, UofL, the Transportation Cabinet, and the U.S. Department of Transportation to advance the cause of transportation research for the betterment of the commonwealth in general and more specifically the Louisville metropolitan area.
Computer Vision & Image Processing Lab - CVIP has two broad focus areas: computer vision and medical imaging. The laboratory hosts unique and modern hardware for imaging, computing and visualization. This hardware includes two supercomputers from SGI (an 40-CPU ONYX2-R12000 and an 24-CPU ONYX-10000), an ImmersaDesk from Fake-Space/Pyramids Systems, over 20 high-end graphics workstations, and various imaging hardware. The laboratory is housed in a modern state-of-the-art research building and is linked, via a high speed network, to the University's Medical Center.
ElectroOptics Research Institute and Nanotechnology Center - The Center has initiated an ElectroOptics Research Institute that provides the nucleus around which universities and business concerns throughout Kentucky coalesce and pursue larger scale research and infrastructure grants.
Institute for Advanced Materials and Renewable Energy (IAM-RE) - Research focuses on the development of new processes based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for producing large single crystal quality wafers (Diamond and Gallium Nitride) and one-dimensional materials (nanowires and nanotubes) for a variety of inorganic materials.
KY. Pollution Prevention Center - The center helps organizations increase efficiency and profitability by identifying opportunities for waste reduction and other methods for improving environmental management. One of the important services the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center provides is an on-site visit to assist clients with problem waste streams. The service is free, nonregulatory, and totally confidential. Any group or business in Kentucky, no matter how large or small, can benefit from KPPC’s technical assistance.
Logistics & Distribution Institute - LoDI is responsible for sustaining a high quality research environment by facilitating interdisciplinary and applications-oriented research that will benefit both the Louisville academic and business communities.
Lutz Microfabrication Center - The Lutz Microfabrication Laboratory is utilized for both research and instructional purposes. It provides a state-of-the-art environment for teaching both the fundamental and current fabrication techniques used to manufacture integrated circuits (ICs), discrete microelectronic devices, MEMS devices such as sensors and actuators, and various electro-optic devices. Since the new laboratory houses the only general-purpose microfabrication cleanroom facility in the entire state of Kentucky, it also serves as an appropriate setting for technology transfer of information and projects related to microfabrication.
Materials Center - The Materials Center, located in the J.B. School of Engineering, has a broad array of analytical equipment for materials characterization and analysis. Mechanical properties, thermal properties, elemental analysis, organic analysis, corrosion testing and coating performance are within the center's capability. The center has state of the art equipment for air quality, surface characterization and imaging, and micro-fabrication, and the in-house experts that know how to use them.
The Materials Center mission is to "connect" the University’s existing material center capabilities, leverage current University assets, solve materials’ problems for the regional industrial base, and enhance facilities for research and teaching. The center specializes in materials characterization, problem analysis, and development projects.
Rapid Prototyping Center Speed - Users gain access to problem-solving technology as well as continuing research. Benefits also include access to U of L's Speed Scientific School students and graduates - engineers of the future with training in this state of the art technology. Members of the Rapid Prototyping Center consortium range from Fortune 100 companies to individual inventors. In business, time is money. Getting a quality product to market quickly is critical, and correcting design flaws early in that process is essential. Members have found that the Rapid Prototyping Center has assisted them in saving time, money, and costly delays in product development.
School of Engineering Laboratories:
Comparative Planetology Lab
Computational Intelligence Lab
Dahlem Supercomputer Lab
Food Processing Lab
Multimedia Research Lab
General Contact: J.B. Speed School of Engineering University of Louisville, Louisville KY 40292 502-852-6100 (www.speed@louisville.edu)
Centers and Institutes
The School of Medicine has entered a phase of dynamic growth stimulated by the addition of space in two new state-of-the-art research buildings and the recruitment of a new generation of endowed research professors through the Kentucky Commonwealth's Bucks for Brains program. This growth has resulted in a threefold increase in research funding over the past few years. The medical research centers are as follows:
Center for Genetics and Molecular Medicine - Offers a forum for interactive opportunities to share common interests in genetics and molecular medicine and have research activities grouped into five major core areas:
Biomarkers and Genetic Susceptibility
Endocrinology and Developmental
Biology Ethico-Legal and Social Implications
Functional Genomics
Molecular Toxicology
Each Core area involves investigators representing multiple departments and programs throughout the University.
Center for Health Hazards Preparedness - Formerly the Center for Deterrence of Biowarfare and Bioterrorism, coordinates research, education and service focusing on the early recognition and response to potential acts of terrorism and natural disasters.
Center of Excellence in Applied Microcirculatory Research - The Center for Applied Microcirculatory Research (CAMR) provides a program to develop microcirculation science into Medical Microcirculation as a new applied health care field. The CAMR program involves multidisciplinary teams of internationally recognized clinicians, basic medical scientists and engineers who are working to determine new microvascular indices of disease, to develop new and unique human microvascular measurements, clinical protocols and procedures, and to discover new physiological mechanisms as a basis for microcirculatory diagnostics in human medicine.
Health Sciences and Biostatistics Center - The Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics engages in education and research activities in the statistical sciences. Educational offerings feature doctoral and masters degree programs in biostatistics and decision science, an MPH concentration in biostatistics and courses in its developing program in bioinformatics. Methodological and applied research activities provide students with unique opportunities to participate in quantitative research in all aspects of public heath sciences, including such areas as medicine, dentistry, nursing and cancer research.
Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law - A free standing research and education institute within the School of Medicine in association with the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Philosophy, and the School of Public Health & Information Sciences. Research activities in fields such as genetics, public health policy, health privacy and confidentiality, access to health care, and new medical technologies are carried out at the local, state, national, and international levels. Our Mailing Address is: Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law 501 E. Broadway, Suite 310 Louisville, KY 40202 Call us at: Telephone: 502-852-4980 Fax us at: FAX: 502-852-4963.
Institute for Cellular Therapeutics - The mission of our basic research program is to promote scientific collaboration through a multidisciplinary team approach, encouraging development of independent faculty driven programs while fostering an environment where there is interdisciplinary crossover of scientific interest and expertise.
Institute for Molecular Diversity and Drug Design (IMD3) - IMD3 combines all aspects of modern medicinals research from basic science and the design and synthesis of new structures to the assays and clinical testing required to treat disease. "Molecular Diversity" refers to the new science of combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening. Literally millions of compounds are synthesized and tested in order to uncover new drug leads. "Drug Design" also reflects a relatively new approach whereby known targets (enzymes, receptors, DNA segments) are used to devise structures that can bind to them in a process known as molecular recognition. Physical tools such as NMR spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, and molecular modeling, as well as sophisticated organic synthesis methods, are critical to this process. And increasingly, combinatorial chemistry and targeted drug design are being seen as complementary approaches toward the same eventual goal, namely, the alleviation of human suffering.
James Graham Brown Cancer Center - The Center conducts both intensive clinical research and basic-science cancer research. Combining these research elements in a treatment environment provides the best opportunity for discovery of new techniques and therapies. Several improved approaches to treatment and prevention which were initiated by Brown researcher's have already been approved for use in clinical trials.
Jewish Hospital Cardiothoracic Surgical Research Institute
Kentucky Lions Eye Center - The three-fold mission of the Kentucky Lions Eye Center is to provide excellence in basic science research, eye care and education.
Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center - The Center is one of twelve spinal cord injury research centers in the United States. The mission is "to develop successful spinal cord repair strategies in the laboratory that can be taken to the clinic in a timely and responsible fashion".
Outcomes Research Institute - Outcomes research seeks to understand the end results of particular health care practices and interventions. End results include effects that people experience and care about, such as change in the ability to function. In particular, for individuals with chronic conditions—where cure is not always possible—end results include quality of life as well as mortality. By linking the care people get to the outcomes they experience, outcomes research has become the key to developing better ways to monitor and improve the quality of care.
Price Institute of Surgical Research - Basic and Translational Research Surgical oncology faculty members are involved in significant basic science and translational laboratory research programs, supported by the National Institutes of Health and a variety of other funding agencies. The types of cancer research conducted here include:
Development of novel adenoviral vector gene therapy treatments for cancer
Genetic studies of melanoma, breast, thyroid, GI, and lung cancers
Innovative studies to explore how nipple aspirate fluid might hold the key to early breast cancer detection and to determine molecular markers of the best response to chemotherapy
Studies of lymphangiogenesis in melanoma
Studies to evaluate patient decision-making in breast, lung, and colorectal cancer
Molecular staging of melanoma
Investigation of oxidative stress in the progression of Barrett's esophagus to adenocarcinoma
Nanoparticles and thyroid cancer
The role of estrogen in thyroid cell proliferation
The role of ethnic background in thyroid cancer
Development of a large prospective parathyroid database
Studies evaluating the impact of psychological and physiological stress on breast cancer
Laboratory-based studies evaluating the impact of smoking on breast cancer development
Collaborative work evaluating the impact of diet on estrogen metabolism in breast cancer
Studies evaluating methods of tailoring therapy for breast cancer patients
Novel agents for sentinel lymph node biopsy
Studies evaluating accelerated partial breast radiation in breast cancer
For additional information contact Shirley Willihnganz, Executive Vice President and University Provost at the University of Louisville, KY 40292 502-852-5555 1-800-334-UofL (8635) Email: provost@louisville.edu.
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