U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow visited LSU Health Shreveport recently, highlighting the importance of medical education and federally funded research while meeting with students and touring the institution’s newest academic facility.

Letlow, who represents Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, toured the Center for Medical Education Building, a facility designed to support team-based and active learning for medical students. 

The visit also included a public forum where she met with students from LSU Health Shreveport’s School of Medicine, School of Health Professions and Sciences, and School of Graduate Studies.

During the discussion, students asked questions about issues affecting Louisiana, including the role federal funding plays in advancing medical research.

“I am a huge believer in research. That is how we’re going to change the world. That is how we’re going to cure cancer,” Letlow responded to a group of PhD candidates who actively work in cancer and cardiovascular research.

 “I have the awesome responsibility of serving on the appropriations committee, that actually holds the purse strings for how much funding NIH receives, and I go to bat every year. There are certain people who want to cut back, but it’s too important. It is absolutely vital.”

The Center for Medical Education Building features large instructional classrooms, smaller active-learning classrooms, the Bakowski Center for Culinary Medicine, and skills and simulation labs that support clinical training.

Letlow’s visit reflects an ongoing connection to LSU Health Shreveport. She previously delivered a commencement address to graduates and shared her family’s experience receiving care through Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Her late husband, Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, was hospitalized there before his death in 2020.

According to LSU Health Shreveport, Letlow’s return to campus underscores her support for healthcare education and research while highlighting the institution’s mission to train future healthcare professionals and scientists.

LSU Health Shreveport is one of two health sciences centers in the Louisiana State University System and serves as the only academic medical center within a 150-mile radius.

 The institution includes the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, School of Health Professions and Sciences, Graduate Medical Education programs, and a research enterprise.