President Tate's Scholarship first Agenda

Biomedical

Opportunity

Humanity faces a moment of both unprecedented adversity and opportunity: to keep people healthy and economies thriving, we must solve health-based challenges quickly and at scale. Within our home state of Louisiana, the linkage between health disparities and the broad prevalence of chronic health diseases poses a clear threat to the well-being of all Louisianans. 

Importance

In Louisiana, declining health conditions touch all ages, levels of socioeconomic status, and communities – perpetuating a cycle of poor health and financial burden that impacts multiple generations of families. In Louisiana alone, we spend more (per capita) on healthcare than 41 other states, and yet we rank in the bottom 10% when it comes to overall health. Our people suffer disproportionately from cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease—resulting in unbearable costs and the loss of life and livelihoods.  

Vision

With eight institutions spanning Louisiana and all levels of higher education and research, LSU is well poised to help meet the challenge of improving the state's health outcomes head-on. Through discovery and innovation, talent development, and partnerships with local communities and industry stakeholders, LSU will: 

  • Bring together top talent and resources, ranging from clinical research to artificial intelligence, to improve health outcomes
  • Pursue National Cancer Institute designation for the state of Louisiana 
  • Ensure that sustained, premier cancer care and research are accessible for every Louisianan close to home

Impact

Biomedical Research in Action

A new partnership between a Pennington Biomedical physician-researcher and an LSU School of Medicine oncologist has led to early detection and treatment of the fastest-growing cancer in young women in Louisiana.

LSU Kinesiology Professor Senlin Chen, PhD, and his team are developing a novel obesity prevention program to use in Louisiana schools, combining such tactics as virtual pets and coaches with the best science to encourage healthy behaviors.

In this episode of "On Par," meet the LSU student who's in a league of her own: scholar student and undergraduate researcher, Kenedi Lynch. Kenedi is a senior in the Ogden Honors College. She is a 2023 Goldwater Scholar and Astronaut Scholar, as well as a Stamps Scholar. She's the president of LSU's Research Ambassadors and the President of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-medical honor society on campus. Find out how she balances it all and what she still hopes to accomplish as a future physician-scientist.

Explore All Five Priorities

LSU has aligned core areas of strength and potential strength with Louisiana’s most important challenges and opportunities.