Funding for UofL research is most since 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville recently completed its most successful year securing funding for research since 2012. UofL research on everything from gum disease to e-cigarettes, robots to sexual assault investigations was funded by grants to UofL faculty in 2018-19.

“This is great news for our community and those touched by UofL’s research in medicine, education, engineering, art and countless other disciplines,” said Dr. Robert S. Keynton, UofL’s interim executive vice president for research and innovation. “Our faculty work tirelessly to secure the funding needed to explore, test and translate that research, so it can change, improve and even save lives.”

Preliminary numbers from Keynton’s office show UofL faculty received more than $152 million in competitive awards last fiscal year, an increase of $14 million over the previous year.

Among the projects receiving grants:

• $18.1 million/5 years from the National Institutes of Health for a biomedical research center. Professor Nigel Cooper in Anatomical Science/Neurobiology runs the center which includes building a capacity for bioinformatics to serve the needs of genomics researchers at universities across the state.
• $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a small additive manufacturing platform using microrobots and 3D printing. Speed School of Engineering professor Dan Popa secured the grant. Popa directs the Next Generation Systems robotics lab.
• $1.5 million from the Kentucky Department of Education to support systems for improving students’ academic and behavioral (disciplinary) outcomes in every Kentucky school district. College of Education and Human Development faculty Terry Scott received the grant.

UofL faculty received a preliminary total of 950 grants from federal and state government as well as private sources in 2018-19.

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