BY MELISSA PATRICK
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS
UK HealthCare and the University of Louisville have been awarded grants from the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.
The $2.5 million grant awarded to UofL will be used to hire three new researchers who will help develop new therapeutics and conduct clinical trials for the UofL School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, according to a UofL news release. The new researchers are expected to join UofL in early 2026.
“This funding is another key resource in UofL and Norton Children’s ongoing work to build a cutting-edge pediatric cancer research program,” according to Michael Ferguson, chief of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation in the UofL School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and chief of Norton Children’s Cancer Institute.
He added, “This will allow us to develop new pediatric cancer treatments and bring them to families in Kentucky and surrounding states before they are available anywhere else – ensuring children here have first access to the latest approved therapies.”
The $500,000 grant awarded to the UK Markey Cancer Foundation will be used for the Care Advancing Treatment Succession (CATS) Financial Assistance Fund for pediatric cancer patients and their families, according to a UK news release. This $500,000 investment in the CATS Fund is in addition to another $500,000 announced in May, according to the release.
The CATS Fund provides families with funding for housing and utility assistance, transportation assistance, medical equipment, nutritional supplements and an emergency fund for natural disasters based on social work-identified needs.
“Kentucky remains a national leader with our commitment to supporting childhood cancer families through our continued investment in funding research to ensure our families receive the best care,” Elizabeth Turner, chair of the Trust Fund, said in the UK release.
First Lady Britainy Beshear recognized September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month during the grant presentation.
“In Kentucky, we prioritize our kids and our families,” Beshear said. “To every child battling cancer, please know you are not alone. You are loved, and this month and all months, we celebrate you and your loved ones.”
Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.