Published: July 2, 2026
Norton Children’s Research Institute, affiliated with UofL School of Medicine has appointed Jamie M. Furlong-Dillard, D.O., as its new chief scientific officer, effective July 1.
Dr. Furlong-Dillard is a pediatric critical care physician with Norton Children’s Critical Care and an associate professor at the UofL School of Medicine, and has nationally recognized expertise in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Dr. Furlong-Dillard will provide scientific leadership for all Norton Children’s physician-scientists and research staff across all specialties.
Dr. Furlong-Dillard plans to strengthen the mission of Norton Children’s Research Institute: Reduce barriers to research, strengthen external partnerships and elevate Norton Children’s as a national leader in pediatric science.“My goal is to continue building an environment where research is easier, more efficient and more impactful for investigators,” Dr. Furlong-Dillard said. “We have outstanding clinicians and researchers with great ideas, and our job is to help remove barriers that prevent those ideas from becoming successful projects.”That means streamlining processes, improving coordination across teams and reducing administrative burden so investigators can focus on the science and clinical questions that matter most. Through strengthening research support, her priorities include expanding access to industry-sponsored studies, multicenter collaborations and investigator-initiated research, as well as deepening the institute’s partnership with the University of Louisville School of Medicine.“I don’t think our goal should simply be to meet the minimum expectations of academic medicine,” she said. “We should strive to make Norton Children’s a nationally recognized destination for pediatric research.”
Dr. Furlong-Dillard’s clinical practice centers on supporting critically ill children through ECMO and cardiac critical care. She joined Norton Children’s and the University of Louisville faculty in 2018 after completing a fellowship at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, where she developed expertise in collaborative research and translational practice on a national scale.
With a lifelong interest in science, she seriously considered a career in bench research as an undergraduate.“While I ultimately chose medicine, I never lost the love of basic science,” she said.
Dr. Furlong-Dillard has been recognized for her contributions to multicenter ECMO research through her work with the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). She established the Norton Children’s ECMO Support and Transition (NEST) program, which provides resources and helps identify future needs for ECMO survivors and their families.“While ECMO remains a major area of interest, the work I am most proud of involves cardiac nutrition and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in children with congenital heart disease,” Dr. Furlong-Dillard said. “What started as a clinical question at the bedside evolved into the development of a congenital heart disease-specific NEC severity scoring system and treatment algorithm that is now being used in 10 other centers and a national repository of patient data.”She has been passionate about mentoring fellows, residents, students and junior faculty throughout her career, watching them develop into independent investigators and contribute their own ideas to advancing pediatric care.
Norton Children’s Research Institute began conducting pediatric clinical research in 2002 and has grown from a small clinical research unit into a comprehensive pediatric research institute supporting 161 active studies across more than 15 pediatric specialties. Currently, over 3,500 children are actively participating in ongoing studies, with research spanning drug, device, interventional, registry and specimen-based trials.Norton Children’s Research Institute supports clinical, translational and population science research and provides full-service research infrastructure, including study start-up, regulatory support, contracting, compliance and clinical operations. Since 2004, 424 funded studies have been conducted.“Ultimately, I believe the future of pediatric research will be driven by collaboration, innovation and a relentless focus on improving outcomes for children and families,” Dr. Furlong-Dillard said. “Success is not defined solely by publications or grants — it is defined by whether our work changes practice and improves the lives of the patients we serve.”Dr. Furlong-Dillard succeeds Kyle B. Brothers, M.D., Ph.D., pediatrician with Norton Children’s Genetics Center, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, who is now executive vice chair for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
See all current clinical trials and studies at Norton Children’s.