Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center Established at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 10, 2008) − Sales of highly sought-after tickets to this year's internationally-known Barnstable Brown Gala in Louisville will leave a lasting impact on Kentucky and beyond for decades to come. The annual star-studded bash allows the Barnstable-Brown Foundation to support diabetes research, education and patient care in Kentucky--a state where diabetes prevalence is seventh-highest in the nation.

Starting this year, Patricia Barnstable Brown and her family have pledged funding to develop the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky, making the university their sole beneficiary.

"Patricia Barnstable Brown and her family -- known across Kentucky and the world for their annual Derby-eve gala -- are generously supporting a cause of great importance to this state, and one I know they hold particularly dear to their hearts," said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr.  "As part of our mission to be a resource for Kentucky, UK cannot neglect any problem facing our state, particularly diabetes. Developing this center will be a defining moment and will propel us forward."

Proceeds from the gala, which originated two decades ago, have always gone to further diabetes research and care. Barnstable Brown's husband, David Brown, passed away from complications of the disease in 2003.

For the first time this year, the gala's charitable focus will develop a large-scale center at UK that officials say will bring together the university's breadth and depth of researchers, educators and clinicians focused on diabetes and organize them to attack the problem collaboratively and, therefore, faster.  

"Kentucky needs few things more urgently," said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK executive vice president for health affairs.  "Patricia Barnstable Brown and her family are extraordinarily generous and their gift takes us to a different level.  There are few places that can organize and focus resources around such critical health issues facing this country, so this really puts us in elite territory. This gift will catapult UK into national prominence as a diabetes center and help address the health needs of Kentucky, where diabetes rates are well above the national average.  We will build our programs to such a level that when people across the nation think diabetes, they will think 'Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center.'"

"The Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center will be a powerful catalyst to integrate the resources that already exist at UK, which span 14 colleges and programs, including the Barnstable Brown Pediatric Diabetes Laboratory that was established at UK with a generous gift from the gala two years ago," said UK College of Medicine dean, Dr. Jay Perman.  "Clearly, there already exists on campus a critical mass of extremely competent and well-funded faculty committed to clinical care and research focused on diabetes.  The goal in developing the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes and Obesity Center is to serve as a focus to enhance faculty efforts in diabetes and obesity care and research. It will bring regional, national and international recognition of the high quality clinical care and research performed at the University of Kentucky."

The vision for the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center is to: