Kansas State University

Stefan Bossmann, chemistry, and Deryl Troyer, anatomy & physiology, are at it again! Their promising new brain cancer treatment is getting major funding and attention from National Science Foundation! Here’s a video from NSF about the scientists’ “microscopic drug-carrying containers, nestled inside white blood cells and loaded with tumor-zapping medicine.”

Bossmann, Troyer, Punit Prakash, in electrical & computer engineering, and others received a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Institute to develop a magnetic resonance imaging spectrometer that will be used to, among other things, heat and kill cancer cells while providing live, high-definition images of the heat’s effects. Read the full story.

Masaaki Tamura, anatomy & physiology, wrote a book chapter titled “Umbilical Cord Matrix Stem Cells for Cytotherapy of Breast Cancer” for the book Stem Cell Therapeutics for Cancer, which was published in December 2013. Dr. Troyer and his team helped write the chapter. Continue reading “Kudos to Our Researchers!” →

We’re giving 51 undergraduate students the chance to conduct cancer research projects this spring. All their names are listed on our Student Awardees webpage.

Our undergraduate Cancer Research Award program promotes early participation in laboratory research, encouraging students to consider careers in cancer research and medicine while they’re still deciding what academic and professional paths to take.

This mentored research program provides $1,000 awards to each student and $1,000 per student to their faculty mentors for research expenses. Students applied by co-writing research proposals with faculty mentors affiliated with the center.

Many awardees consider this laboratory research training one of the most important activities of their undergraduate education, helping shape their career decisions and improve their chances for success.

We’re happy to have been able to award a record $373,500 to cancer research faculty last fall semester! Thanks to a couple of major gifts, we were able to directly support two exciting research programs that are very close to human clinical studies.

We are very grateful to Les & Virginia Clow and the late Margaret Ruth Hannah for their gifts, which allowed us to direct $200,000 to the team of Stefan Bossmann and Deryl Troyer, and $117,000 to Mark Weiss, respectively, at this critical time in their research programs. The research of Drs. Bossmann and Troyer, using nanotechnology for cancer diagnosis and treatment, is featured in our 2012 and 2013 Conquest magazines. Dr. Weiss’s research with transplanted immune cells will be featured in a future issue.

Faculty winning Innovative Research Awards were Viktor Chikan, chemistry; Annelise Nguyen, diagnostic medicine/pathobiology; David Poole, kinesiology; and Robert Szoszkiewicz, physics. More information is on our Faculty Awardees webpage.

Continue reading “Center Provided Record Funding in Fall 2013” →

One hundred fifty women were treated to lunch, a souvenir item, breast cancer informational materials, and two touching and informative presentations at our 4th annual Pink Power Luncheon for breast cancer awareness on Oct. 4, 2014, co-sponsored by Komen for the Cure Kansas.

Terrah Stroda (pictured below, left), a 35-year-old breast cancer survivor and nurse-midwife at Flinthills Ob/Gyn in Junction City, gave a powerful presentation about her personal experience with breast cancer, as well as current information on breast health/cancer screening guidelines.

Kelli Netson (right), a neuropsychologist at KU’s Wichita Center for Breast Cancer Survivorship, provided information on psychosocial needs after breast cancer diagnosis that was useful to many, whether the diagnosis was their own or a loved one’s.

You can see photos of the luncheon on our Facebook page (even if you don’t have a Facebook account).

• March 3 – Spring award application deadline
• April 4 – Undergraduate Cancer Research Awards Banquet
• April 5 – Spring Advisory Council meeting