The Partnership

The University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital have an impressive track record of pioneering innovations in medicine during their 50-year collaboration. This year, Gray, Dowling and their surgical teams performed the 324^th heart transplantation at Jewish Hospital. Some of the other notable accomplishments of the collaboration between Jewish Hospital and the University of Louisville include:

• World’s first and second clinical use of the AbioCor® Implantable Replacement Heart (2001)
• World’s first bridge-to-heart transplantation after the use of a Thoratec® bi-ventricular assist device (1985)
• Region’s first two-year survival of a patient with a ventricular assist device (1998)
• Region’s first ventricular remodeling (1996)
• Region’s first dedicated heart and lung center (1995)
• Region’s first implantation of the MicroMed DeBakey continuous-flow ventricular assist device (2003)
• Kentucky’s first adult heart transplant (1984)
• Kentucky’s first use of the Novacor® ventricular assist device (1992)
• Kentucky’s first coronary stent implant (1993)
• Kentucky’s first hospital to be designated as a federally approved heart, liver, lung, pancreas and kidney transplant center (1988)

This cardiovascular partnership between the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital will now expand to include Kentucky’s Office for the New Economy. That office will help translate the institute’s focused biomedical research to venture capitalists and entrepreneurs so that they will invest in start-up biomedical companies located in Kentucky.

Because of the importance of commercializing ideas developed at the institute, the governance of the institute will differ from the typical University-based governance of other research institutes. The Cardiovascular Innovation Institute will be governed by a board of directors appointed by the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital. It will oversee the activities of the institute, including approval of the annual business plan and research plan. The board of directors will be assisted by a national panel of outside experts who will consult on current and future technical developments and provide guidance in setting priorities for the institute.