Kentucky

The following story is outstanding news for the University of Louisville, City of Louisville, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  However, the money and the prestige from this grant for spinal research are only the "blings" to the news;  the impact on the lives of individuals is what makes it truly "ring". 

One of the individuals from Louisville benefitting from this development is Elizabeth Fust, an attorney from Louisville, who suffered paralysis from a spinal stroke at the age of 38.  T

U of L spinal injury research center gets federal grants
By Laura Ungar, Courier Journal, 2/19/08

                     

Elizabeth Fust was not yet 40 when a spinal-cord stroke stole her ability to walk, dress herself and be the active person she had been.

                  

"I was a perfectly healthy 38-year-old," said Fust, a Louisville attorney. "Then, instantly, I'm paralyzed."

   
In the two years since, she's gradually regained control of her torso and more of her independence through therapy at Frazier Rehab Institute. And yesterday, she came to the University of Louisville to support researchers announcing they had received millions of federal dollars that could help people like her in the future.

          

Researchers at U of L's Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center received three grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $4.7 million that they hope will lead to new therapies for people with spinal-cord damage and conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease. 

 

The researchers also earned a $300,000 grant from the Frankfort-based Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust. U of L officials said the NIH grants came at a time when federal research money is shrinking, and only one out of 10 grants gets funded.

      

"Louisville is successfully competing for these grants," Fust said. "I'm deeply proud we have this caliber of research in my hometown."

    

Officials said the grants reflect the success of the state's Bucks for Brains program, which matches state funds with money raised by universities to build endowments that pay researchers' salaries. Scott Whittemore, scientific director at the spinal cord center, and Dr. Theodore Hagg -- two of the researchers who earned the grants announced yesterday -- were hired through Bucks for Brains.

                

Started by former Gov. Paul Patton, Bucks for Brains created hundreds of positions -- which are maintained through endowments -- but after 2003 the legislature stopped appropriating funds, money that could be used to help create new positions.

          

Last month, Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said the state may not be able to put more money into the program. Attempts to reach Williams yesterday were unsuccessful.