A Message from Aruni Bhatnagar

Everybody knows Louisville leads the world in horse races, distilling and baseball bats. But this year saw the emergence of another hometown enterprise catching global attention: human-environmental health research. It’s the study of the human body and our human environments as one system, and it gives rise to a whole new vision of health defined by a kaleidoscope of interrelated factors.

This year, the United Nations, the World Bank and the World Health Organization hosted UofL Envirome Institute researchers for presentations. We’ve been featured on NBC’s “TODAY Show”, in The Washington Post and published in leading scientific journals. Indeed, the world is interested in the way Louisville is looking at health and the highly useful and practical insights this is yielding.

Our aim is to use common sense from an uncommon perspective, and it’s helping to make research useful far beyond the academic gates. Our ongoing Green Heart Louisville Project, which explores nature-based solutions for improving urban environments beyond “green is good,” is yielding practical findings for every city official, urban planner, arborist, neighborhood group and engaged citizen. We’re learning there’s enormous potential for improving health by using better planting strategies. It’s akin to the difference between “eat your vegetables” and a research-backed, healthy diet and lifestyle regimen. It’s very exciting, yet it’s just the most publicly visible of many vital investigations we’re undertaking.

With the national research funding system in transition, we continue to work closely with colleagues at UofL, representatives in government and funders themselves to gain clarification where possible and to invite examination of all the work we do. Foundations right here in Louisville, including the Owsley Brown II, Humana and James Graham Brown Foundations, remain critical supporters and partners along with the National Institutes of Health and other national and international foundations and NGOs. In the six years since our founding as an institute, we’ve been supported by $80M in funding outside of the University of Louisville.

Our supporter and collaborator Christina Lee Brown partnered with the University of Louisville to develop a new, compact campus in downtown Louisville to house our institute and other University and civic assets. Named A New Vision of Health, it marries our research perspective with an open invitation to collaborate on improving our shared systems for living together. It’s not only highly anticipated by our researchers but also by the whole city.

We’re so grateful to all of our partners, neighbors and colleagues as we work toward a healthier city, nation and world for us all.

With sincere regards,

Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., FAHA

Director, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute