Health

LSU alumni make up 2 of every 3 Louisiana physicians, dentists, and veterinarians. With two health sciences centers in New Orleans and Shreveport and a research center dedicated to biomedical research—Pennington Biomedical—working alongside our Flagship and other campuses throughout the state, LSU is in the business of saving and improving lives and tackling our biggest health challenges, such as cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

Meet Myron Lard: First to Investigate Soil Samples in Colfax, Louisiana, and East Palestine, Ohio

For the first time, Lard was able to make a new connection between environmentally persistent free radicals and cancer-causing dioxins using real-world samples.

Meet Julia Cazabon: First to Attend Medical School for Free on the LSU Health New Orleans Beer Scholarship

Julia Cazabon, a medical student at LSU Health New Orleans, is the first to receive full support through the Marcia and Billy Beer Endowed Scholarship Fund to attend all four years of medical school for free, thanks to a historic $7.5 million leadership gift—the largest ever to the LSU Health New Orleans Foundation.

Meet Gracie Chatman: First to Pursue LSUE’s Surg Tech Program at LSUA

In all operating rooms, there are surgical technologists who work elbow-to-elbow with surgeons to make sure they have the right instruments at the right time, and everything in and near the patient remains sterile. Now, LSU Eunice and LSU Alexandria are leveraging the strength of the statewide university to bring surgical technology training to Central Louisiana.

LSU Health New Orleans’ Dr. Christopher Thomas and Dr. Bud O’Neal

LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Health Pioneer New Sepsis Test, Saving Lives, Cost

In hospitals nationwide, more people die from sepsis than from anything else. It’s more deadly than opioid overdoses, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. But since August, a new sepsis test based on LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Health research and advances in microfluidics is saving lives and cost at Our Lady of the Lake Health in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Eunice area farmer Michael Frugé with LSU AgCenter researchers Ida Wenefrida and Herry Utomo

Fighting Hunger and Disease, One Strain of Rice at a Time

The LSU AgCenter is Louisiana rice farmers’ MVP, or most valued partner, in research and crop variety development. From creating a new market for jasmine rice, to producing varieties of rice that are better for diabetics and more sustainable and resilient to changes in the environment, LSU has been critical to the Louisiana rice industry for more than 100 years.

Driving Agricultural Innovation by Growing People First

Innovation isn’t always about the latest technology. Sometimes it’s about transforming an organization by making its people happier, healthier and more successful. At RoyOMartin, Louisiana’s largest landowner and maker of wood products, LSU alumna Donna Bailey and LSU/LSU Health Shreveport alumnus Dr. Brian Elkins have helped build an educational system as well as a healthcare system—within the company—to support RoyOMartin employees and their families.

Caring for People in Central Louisiana

As head of nursing at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, LSUA nursing alumna Barbara Griffin is not only providing critically needed medical care for people in Central Louisiana, but also ensuring jobs and professional advancement for hundreds of LSUA nursing alumni.

Optimizing Military Health and Performance

Scientists Claire Berryman and Stephen Hennigar joined LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center to build on three decades as the leading academic provider of nutrition science for the Department of Defense.

Building a Pipeline for Dental Care

With $520K in state support, LSU is expanding the LSU Health New Orleans dental hygiene program to LSU Alexandria to address acute workforce needs in central Louisiana.

State Investment in LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Helps Address National Vet Shortage

Initial $2.2 million in state investment is propelling the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine toward a bold goal of almost doubling admissions by next year from 120 to 200.

LSU Develops Patent-Pending Bait to Fight the ‘Pigdemic’

Wild, invasive pigs cause more than $90 million in damage to Louisiana farms each year and pose a growing threat to the environment, people and other animals.

LSU Health Shreveport Expansion Outlines Bright Future for Students, Region

With the new Center for Medical Education and Emerging Viral Threats more than 75 percent complete and on track to open this fall, students and leaders at LSU Health Shreveport are starting to see the impact the new building will have on them, their careers and health in north Louisiana.