LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kupper Wintergerst, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the University of Louisville School of Medicine, was named the ARGI Financial Physician of the Year in the Fifth Annual MediStar Award ceremonies at the Marriott Downtown Tuesday evening. Nine UofL-related finalists were among 28 total for the eight awards presented.
The MediStar Awards are presented by Medical News, a publication focused on health care news in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
Named for its underwriting sponsor, the ARGI Financial Physician of the Year Award is presented to a physician who has demonstrated outstanding leadership on a local, state or national level to improve accessibility, affordability and quality of health care.
Wintergerst’s primary research focus is on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in children. He has worked to advance hospital diabetes programs by developing protocols to more safely manage diabetes. He is lead investigator on a seven-state newborn screening program initiative for thyroid disease. Additionally, he has developed and participated in a variety of projects that focus on improving access and quality of care.
Patrick Murphy, M.D., of the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine also was a finalist for the award.
Winner of the Crowe Horwath Innovation Award was ApoVax Inc., a Louisville biotechnology company that was founded in 2001 by Haval Shirman, Ph.D., the Dr. Michael and Joan Hamilton Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Disease, as a spin-off based on technology he developed at UofL. Shirman continues to serve as the company’s chief scientific officer.
The award is presented to an individual or organization that has positively impacted health care delivery costs through the development, design or implementation of new technology. ApoVax is developing novel technologies and vaccines for cancer, infectious diseases and Type 1 diabetes as well as a therapy to prevent organ or tissue rejection in transplants.
The UofL Office of Technology Transfer also was a finalist for the award.
Other UofL-related finalists included: