Leaders in the Field of Medicine Share Their Impressions of Louisville

Dr. John Eaton

A Professor of Medicine and the Deputy
Director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center
Having grown up in Michigan and lived extensively in Florida, Dr. John Eaton hardly gave a thought to a city that is, geographically and culturally, in the middle. "I knew nada about Louisville before I came here," says the Prospect resident of his move with wife Diane Konzen. Still, he enjoys the "rather slow pace, upbeat attitude and—until they closed the bridge on River Road—the easy commute." A professor of Medicine and the deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, where he currently is developing a lung cancer vaccine, Dr. Eaton relishes working at the cancer center the most. "It's the best part."

Dr. Edward Halperin

Dean U of L School of Medicine
U of L School of Medicine's Dr. Edward Halperin isn't just the dean, he also sees patients at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center—a place he'd heard good things about for a long, long time, and his forebears even longer. "When Kentucky was the Wild West, Louisville was the center of Western medicine," Dr. Halperin says, noting, "at one time, there were five medical schools in the city." Today Dr. Halperin takes advantage of this proximity to the Health Sciences campus and its "outrageous ambition" by walking or riding his bicycle to work from his home downtown, an area he feels strongly about. "I believe that when individuals consider the sidewalk their front yard, it reduces crime and increases the vibrancy of cities," he says.

Dr. Eugenia Wang

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Director of the Gheens Center on Aging
Dr. Eugenia Wang, a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the director of the Gheens Center on Aging, has been all over—and her experiments to space aboard the shuttle—but when it came to family, she found hers in Louisville after marrying a native thirty years ago. "I was born in mainland [China] and grew up in Taipei, Taiwan." After educational and work stints in Michigan, Cleveland, New York and Montreal, Dr. Wang and her spouse moved to Prospect in 2000. "People are very friendly," she says. "[Louisville] has grown a great deal. It is my husband's hometown and four generations of his family have been here, so it is hard for me to be objective about the Derby City. It is home!"

Irene Litvan

Professor of Neurology and director of the Division of Movement Disorders
Professor of Neurology and director of the Division of Movement Disorders Irene Litvan says that when she came to Kentucky from Bethesda, Maryland, family and friends raised objections. "They had their prejudices, but I did not find them to be true," says the Highlands resident. "On the contrary, I was surprised by the warmth of the people, the diversity of the society, the state Bucks for Brains program and the strong willingness of the University of Louisville to be one of the best in the country." She adds that she loves "the hospitality of the Louisvillians—contagious to everyone who lives here—Actors Theatre and the possibilities that a smaller city gives you."

Dr. Jon Klein

Diabetic Kidney Disease Expert
Diabetic kidney disease expert Dr. Jon Klein, named one of the fifty most influential people in genomic technology by Genomic Technology magazine, could write his own ticket—but makes Louisville his home. "My happiest surprise is meeting more and more creative people outside the university with progressive ideas about the environment, technology, the arts and public service," says the James Graham Brown Foundation Endowed Chair in Proteomics, "and it's been exciting to watch the gains made by U of L over the last twenty-five years." The East End resident and soon-to-be empty nester currently is considering a move downtown. "I think [Louisville has] a high quality of life with a vibrant arts scene, abundant green space for an active lifestyle, terrific locally owned independent restaurants and beautiful neighborhoods."

Dr. Stuart Williams

Scientific Director of the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute
Arizona native Dr. Stuart Williams first came to Louisville in the early 1980s and so was very aware of the work studying the smallest blood vessels in the body and wound repair being done at his future home. "My work involved studies of heart transplantation and the artificial heart being developed in Tucson," says the scientific director of the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, "and for this reason I actively followed the work of [heart transplant pioneer] Laman Gray and his colleagues." Dr. Williams and wife Carol, who reside east of downtown, recently welcomed their son Kyle from Phoenix, a student in U of L's MBA program. All is good, Dr. Williams says, but for a few climatic differences. "I like everything but when it rains and the temperature is 28 degrees."