Louisville, Kentucky

I travelled down to Louisville, Kentucky to visit with colleagues and do some science over the past few days.  This was my first ever visit to Kentucky despite it having been long on my list of places to travel to.  There is lots of history in this part of the country with many existing homes being built in the late 1800’s, something we do not see much of our West.  Kentucky is also horse country, something I was hoping to get a bit of a chance to see on this trip, but alas, it was not to be.  Next opportunity will be coming up in July and we’ll see if that can be fit into the schedule.

This visit was an opportunity for me to visit with my colleague Maureen McCall as she hosted me for a talk at the University of Louisville Department of Ophthalmology Residents Day as well as providing an opportunity to get some valuable science done in the field of retinal degenerative diseases.

 

It was absolutely impossible to get a direct flight into Louisville making for a longer day than anticipated.  But I did manage to get aerial shots of Cincinnati, the Enrico Fermi nuclear power plant and Wright Patterson AFB, a place I’ve not been to in over 20 years.  It turns out I may even get back there in the not too distant future for other unrelated business… stay tuned.

 

A little time was spent in the lab getting to know the members of Maureen’s lab and I have to say that I was impressed.  Everyone was informed, well read, familiar with their science and eager to share.  I’ll also say that every single time I see receptive fields demonstrated electrophysiologically, I am amazed.  The science is well understood, but the demonstration is *always* impressive.

 

First nights meal was had at Seviche where I got to meet other friends of Maureen and her husband Ron.  The company was delightful and the meal was mighty impressive thus piquing my curiosity as to what else Louisville might have had to offer from a culinary perspective.  If you go, I highly recommend the smoked oyster and the spicy hamachi as starters and the filete al poblano for a main.

 

The next two days had me delivering a talk for Residents Day at the Rounsvall Eye Clinic followed by time spent in surgery where I met more members of Maureen’s laboratory and research program.  Great bunch of folks.  We are starting out a new collaborative project that we hope will further inform us as to the process of retinal degenerative disease and potential effects of interventions.

 

There were two more fabulous meals to be had in Louisville including one at a most interesting Proof on Main and at the Queen of Sheba.  Proof on Main was most interesting to say the least.  The food was spectacular, and the adjoining art gallery gives patrons an opportunity to walk through and observe, even participate in modern art installations.  Queen of Sheba is a Ethiopian joint with wonderful food.  A great time was had and I look forward to returning in late July after FASEB for more experiments.

 

The problem of course with this sort of schedule is that it does run one down a bit. My thanks to Maureen and Henry Kaplan for putting me up in most comfortable accommodations which helped substantially with the fatigue.

 

5 Replies to “Louisville, Kentucky”

  1. Next time be sure to stroll down Frankfort Avenue: lots of great local restaurants, Carmichael’s bookstore, the Printing House for the Blind (with free museum).

  2. Thanks Ricky. I’ll likely have another chance to get back to Louisville in the very near future. I’ll look into Frankfort Ave.

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