A transformative $4.5 million gift to the University of Louisville establishes the Gibbs Foundation Endowment in the School of Medicine, creating a lasting impact for groundbreaking respiratory disease research. The Gibbs Foundation investment will fuel scientific discovery, advance understanding of lung disease and help drive innovations in patient care.
The gift builds on nearly a decade of partnership between the Gibbs Foundation and UofL researchers working to advance ex vivo lung perfusion technology and improve outcomes for patients with acute and chronic respiratory conditions. It marks the fulfillment of a five-year pledge established in 2022 and represents the foundation’s continued confidence in UofL’s faculty, researchers and learners.
“This investment reflects a shared commitment to advancing groundbreaking lung research and improving patient care,” said President Gerry Bradley. “The Gibbs Foundation’s generosity ensures that our researchers can pursue bold ideas today, while guaranteeing that future generations of students and scientists will have the resources to carry this work forward.”
Advancing research with direct clinical relevance
Support from the Gibbs Foundation has already fueled significant advances at UofL, including the development of a negative-pressure ventilator system that has shown promise in clearing infection from pneumonic lungs outside the body. Looking ahead, UofL researchers plan to:
- Rehabilitate infected lungs using the negative-pressure apparatus and study transplantation outcomes, creating a platform to evaluate interventions with direct relevance to lung transplant medicine.
- Partner with a local organ procurement organization to evaluate lungs previously rejected for transplant due to pneumonia, with the potential to significantly expand the pool of lungs available for lifesaving transplants.
- Advance a UofL-developed breath analysis technology that predicts which cardiac surgery patients are at risk for post-operative pneumonia, with an upcoming clinical trial testing targeted, preoperative antibiotic strategies.
- Explore expanded uses of breath analysis for early detection of lung transplant rejection and rapid differentiation among conditions such as pneumonia, emphysema, heart failure and pulmonary embolism in emergency settings.
“With demand for research opportunities now exceeding our capacity, this endowment ensures the work, and the students and trainees who depend on it, can continue in perpetuity,” said Jeff Bumpous, executive vice president for health affairs and dean for the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Investing in the next generation of medical researchers
Beyond science, the gift sustains a robust training pipeline that has become a hallmark of the program. Participants range from undergraduate students at J.B. Speed School of Engineering to School of Medicine trainees, surgery residents and doctoral candidates, many of whom go on to competitive residencies, graduate programs and medical schools. The endowment will guarantee that, every year, at least one postgraduate student and two undergraduate students can work in the laboratory, gaining hands-on research experience.
“The Gibbs Foundation is thrilled to endow the incredible work being done at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute. The program began in 2016 and was the first major gift the foundation made. This partnership was a catalyst for greater philanthropic impact, and I am thankful to our founder, George Gibbs, who initiated the collaboration a decade ago,” said Hannah Roquet, executive director of the Gibbs Foundation.
See the photo gallery from the Sept. 3 announcement at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute.
