Johnson Cancer Research Center Newsletter – Page 7

WE AWARDED $237,380 LAST FALL!

Posted on February 6, 2018February 9, 2018 by marcia

K-State’s 2017-2018 Undergraduate Cancer Researchers

Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to invest $237,380 in K-State cancer research and education last fall! Our competitive awards foster excellence among K-State cancer research faculty and students, and help advance the most promising research projects. Awards are offered each semester. Spring award applications are due March 1.

Faculty Awards

We awarded $151,000 in Innovative Research Awards for eight research projects spanning six departments, and $2,500 to help pay travel expenses of two faculty affiliates visiting collaborators in Japan.

We also awarded $12,000 to two faculty affiliates planning Centers of Excellence in cancer research.

View full list of faculty awardees.

Student Awards

Thirty-three outstanding undergraduate students were selected for our Cancer Research Award program, which offers faculty-mentored laboratory research experiences and $1,000 awards to each student. Faculty mentors receive $1,000 per student to cover research expenses. We’ll recognize these students at our annual awards banquet April 13.

A Travel Award of $880 was provided to one graduate student to attend a meeting and present his research.

A Heart Research Award of $5,000 was provided to one graduate student.

View full list of student awardees.

BOLD NEW VISION

Posted on September 18, 2017September 20, 2017 by marcia

The Johnson Cancer Research Center is in its 37th year and impacting K-State research more than ever. We are now poised to expand our capabilities even further.

With outstanding scientists in 100 laboratories across five colleges, we are in a position to initiate the process of becoming a National Cancer Institute-Designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Center.

Currently, the NCI has only seven Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers. Basic research provides the basis for understanding cancer, and leads to the clinical research and new treatments that save lives. K-State excels in basic research.

NCI-designated cancer centers are recognized for their scientific prowess and are allotted more resources. NCI designation would help K-State achieve its vision of becoming a top 50 public research university.

A first step of this mission is to hire a new director—an effective administrator, proven fundraiser and world-class scientist who can guide the Johnson Cancer Research Center toward NCI designation.

To recruit an outstanding director, the highest priority is to endow that position. To do this, we need to raise $5 million. Accomplishing this now could mean millions of dollars more for K-State cancer research down the road, as the center achieves NCI designation.

As part of our growth, our scientists are already busy forming Centers of Excellence to fight cancer as teams, focusing on specific cancer problems through multidisciplinary approaches.

To learn more and support the Johnson Cancer Research Center in the College of Arts & Sciences, please visit our Bold New Vision webpage.

Respectfully,

S. Keith Chapes, Interim Director
Johnson Cancer Research Center
Professor, Division of Biology
Kansas State University

BIG EVENTS IN OCTOBER!

Posted on September 18, 2017September 20, 2017 by marcia

K-State Fighting for a Cure Day Oct. 14

Show your pride in K-State cancer research with a Fighting for a Cure shirt!

Wear the shirt to the home football game or anywhere Oct. 14 for the 4th Annual K-State Fighting for a Cure Day.

Join First Lady of K-State Football Sharon Snyder and the Snyder family, Emmy Award-winning “Modern Family” actor and K-State alum Eric Stonestreet, K-State Band Director Frank Tracz and many others in celebrating K-State’s fight against cancer and honoring the K-State family’s cancer survivors and researchers.

Get the shirt! Shirts are available from our center for $20 each. We’ll ship too! All proceeds support K-State cancer research.

Spread the word! Post photos on social media of yourself and friends wearing the shirt and use #HelpKStateFightCancer! See past photos: 2016, 2015, 2014.

Tailgate with us! Cheer on the ‘Cats with us Oct. 14 at the College of Arts & Sciences Tailgate Party in Cat Town!

Thanks to all who have supported this campaign over the years! You’ve raised $30,000 and immeasurable awareness for K-State cancer research!

Watch the Pride of Wildcat Land’s special halftime salute Oct. 14!

Rob Regier Memorial Golf Tournament Oct. 20

Regier Family — The Regier family hosts the tournament.

The 20th annual Rob Regier Memorial Golf Tournament will be Fri., Oct. 20, at Colbert Hills. Check-in opens at 11 a.m. with the shotgun start at 1 p.m. Prizes will be awarded during a steak dinner following the tournament.

Rob was a K-State graduate in pre-dentistry who passed away from cancer at age 26.

This year’s tournament is dedicated in loving memory of Beth Winans, who died of cancer last December.

Pink Power Luncheon Oct. 11

The Pink Power Luncheon for breast cancer awareness will be Oct. 11 at Holiday Inn at the Campus, 1641 Anderson Ave., Manh. The event is free but reservations are required.

The guest speaker will be Peggy Johnson, breast cancer survivor and Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Wichita Medical Research and Education Foundation. She will present, “Research and Breast Cancer Survivorship.”

See all upcoming events.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Posted on September 18, 2017September 21, 2017 by marcia

K-State scientists engineer virus to kill cancer cells

Zhilong Yang‘s team in biology has made a discovery that could lead to improved targeted therapies for cancer and many viruses.

Messenger RNA is the template to produce proteins in all organisms. Poxviruses, which can infect people, mammals and some reptiles, use a poly(A) leader in their messenger RNA to synthesize more proteins.

“If we can stop a poxvirus’s use of poly(A) leader, we can kill the virus,” said Shuai Cao, postdoctoral researcher. “This could help develop a novel anti-poxvirus strategy, which could be very important for finding cures for infections and diseases.”

This relates to cancer because a poly(A) leader is present in vaccinia virus, which…can be engineered to selectively infect cancer cells, Dhungel said.

OTHER FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

Jun Li and Duy Hua receive large NCI grant

Jun Li (pictured here with his lab team) and Duy Hua, both in chemistry, have been awarded $1,371,309 from National Cancer Institute for “Rapid protease profiling with a multiplex electronic method for detection of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.” Dr. Priyanka Sharma, of University of Kansas Medical Center, was a collaborator, detecting protease biomarkers in specimens from cancer patients. Previous support from the Johnson Cancer Research Center helped Li and Hua start this project in 2011. A patent on this cancer detection technology was recently granted.

Wallace helping military fight skin cancer

Nicholas Wallace, biology, received $510,231 from the U.S. Dept. of Defense to investigate the role of human papillomavirus in skin cancer. HPV is known as a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer, but the HPV family of viruses infects the skin of a majority of people. read more

Bossmann and colleagues publish book on magnetic nanomaterials

Stefan Bossmann, chemistry, and Hongwang Wang, grain sciences, have published their edited book, “Magnetic Nanomaterials: Applications in Catalysis and Life Sciences,” which appears in the Royal Society of Chemistry series “Smart Materials.” read more

Bossmann and Schlup honored for teaching excellence

Stefan Bossmann, chemistry, and John Schlup, chemical engineering, have been selected to receive the Segebrecht Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, which recognizes professors who provide inspiration and excellence in teaching. read more

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ™ names engineers’ graphene aerogel as world’s least dense 3-D printed structure

The world’s lightest 3-D printed structure is so lightweight that it can be placed on top of a cotton ball or the petals of a flower. The record-breaking material is 3-D printed graphene aerogel and it was developed by Dong Lin, industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and others. read more

David Poole, kinesiology, earned distinguished lectureship award from the from the Environmental and Exercise Physiology section of the American Physiological Society. read more

K-State researcher shows black pepper helps limit cancerous compounds in meat

J. Scott Smith, animal sciences and industry, recently discovered that black pepper reduces carcinogenic compounds in grilled meats. read more

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Biology student uses national fellowship to study baculovirus

Kathlyn Gomendoza uses undergraduate research fellowship from American Society for Microbiology to study baculovirus in Lorena Passarelli‘s lab in biology. read more

Undergraduate students study yeast ribosomes to reveal a fundamental process of cancer formation

Cancer Research Awardees Chelsea Moore, Eric Aube, Ian Harmon and others mentored by Katsura Asano in biology, are using yeast to better understand what goes wrong in cancerous cells. read more

Bassette selected for Amgen Scholars Program

Molly Bassette, an alumna of Peying Fong‘s lab, was an Amgen Scholar over the summer. She had a paid, mentored research experience at Univ of California, San Francisco, where she studied genes involved in cancer cell response to multiple myeloma treatments. read more

Sandhu received Grad Student Award

Bhupinder Sandhu, in Christer Aakeroy‘s lab in chemistry, received a University Distinguished Professor Graduate Student Award for her crystal engineering work to improve solubility of potential cancer drugs. read more

Undergraduate Cancer Researchers honored by Division of Biology

Jazmine Snow, Kathlyn Gomendoza & Haley Smalley were named 2016-2017 Biology Most Promising Students.

Adam Schieferecke received the 2016-2017 Haymaker Award for Excellence.

SPRING AWARDS AND STUDENT BANQUET

Posted on September 18, 2017September 18, 2017 by marcia

We awarded $247,269 for cancer research last spring!

Dr. Raelene Wouda & dog — Raelene Wouda was awarded $25,000 for her work deriving new canine tumor cell lines and characterizing their transcriptome and microRNA generation.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we invested $247,269 in K-State cancer research and education last semester! We awarded faculty $89,000 for innovative research projects, $50,755 for laboratory equipment, and $500 for travel to collaborate or receive training. We awarded graduate students $100,705 in summer stipends and $6,309 for travel. The awardees are listed on our Faculty and Student Awardee webpages.

Cancer Research Awards Banquet honored 46 undergraduates

Students selected for our undergraduate Cancer Research Award (CRA) program last fall were recognized at our annual CRA Banquet April 21. Also recognized were their faculty mentors and the donors who made the awards possible. All awardees are listed on our Student Awardees webpage and in this news release. View banquet photos

Stefan Bossmann, Julia Tung, awardee Jose Covarrubias, Sarah Young — The Sarah Young and Alex Tung Cancer Research Award was presented by Sarah Young (far right) and her daughter Julia Tung to Jose Covarrubias, senior in chemistry, for his research with Dr. Stefan Bossmann (left).

Dave Lewis & Fernando Nieto selfie on stage — Banquet emcee Dave Lewis, a radio news show host and the public address announcer for K-State football and men’s basketball, took a “selfie” onstage with guest speaker Fernando Nieto, a senior in biology and past awardee.

RECENT EVENTS RAISED $19,000!

Posted on September 18, 2017September 20, 2017 by marcia

Race to Save 2nd Base

Downtown Manhattan, Inc., had its inaugural Race to Save 2nd Base April 22. With the support of major sponsor AJ’s NY Pizzeria and other sponsors and participants, $1,500 was raised for K-State cancer research! View photos

Pink & Purple Polyester Party

The groovy party-goers, sponsors and planners of the 6th annual Pink & Purple Polyester Party, which was presented by CivicPlus April 7, raised $9,700! Attendees had fun supporting the fight against cancer with live disco music, retro costumes and decorated bras! View photos and mark your calendars for April 6, 2018.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink Rodeo

Lots of rodeo fans proved they were tough by wearing pink to the Kaw Valley Rodeo Fri., July 28! Thanks to the Kaw Valley Rodeo Association and its “pink committee,” and to the TETWP sponsors, spectators and volunteers, K-State has $5,200 more for cancer research! View photos

Walk Kansas 5K for the Fight

K-State Research & Extension’s Walk Kansas program sponsored the 2nd Annual Walk Kansas 5K for the Fight and fun walk May 6 to promote exercise and support K-State cancer research! Thanks to major sponsor Central Kansas Cancer Center, other sponsors, participants and volunteers, $2,600 was raised! View photos and mark your calendars for May 5, 2018.

GREETINGS!

Posted on April 6, 2017April 7, 2017 by marcia

Thanks for viewing our Spring 2017 Newsletter! We hope you enjoy this brief look at some of our achievements and activities.

Annual magazine showcases K-State cancer research

Many of you have received our 2017 Conquest magazine by now. This year’s layperson-friendly stories showcase Dr. Ryan Rafferty’s work to modify cancer drugs so they can both penetrate the blood-brain barrier and be less toxic, Dr. Nick Wallace’s efforts to combat human papillomavirus-caused cancers, and student researcher Raquel Ortega’s work on a cancer early-detection test. Also featured is the “lab-on-a-chip” early-detection test being developed by two chemistry professors and supported by actor and K-State alum Eric Stonestreet. We also look back at the career of our past director Dr. Rob Denell, who retired last fall, and at our 15th Bascom Lecture delivered by a renowned HPV expert.

We invite you to read Conquest online or request a paper copy.

Alumni Survey

We recently sent a survey to hundreds of K-State alumni who benefited from our funding, to learn how the support (thanks to our donors!) impacted their academic and professional lives. We got some great responses about how important and enjoyable the research experiences were, and wanted to share a few with you:

“Overall my undergraduate research opportunity though the JCRC was invaluable. It was perhaps the single most influential experience at Kansas State in the sense that it started my research career.” –Eric Nicholson, funded in ’91

“Overall great experience and gave me both mentorship and experience to further my career in the medical field.” –Lindsey Hahn, funded in ’09

“It was great to have the opportunity to work in the lab, as well as share my experience with my personal funder (at awards Banquet).” –Brandon Pfannenstiel, funded in ’14

“I greatly appreciated the additional funding while completing my undergrad education and observing a possible career path.” –anonymous, funded in ’06

We greatly appreciate the many responses we’ve received and hope to still hear from some of you. Please email us if you should have, but did not, receive a survey.

COACH SNYDER FIGHTING FOR A CURE

Posted on April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 by marcia

K-State Head Football Coach Bill Snyder, a member of the Johnson Cancer Research Center’s advisory council, announced Feb. 13 that he was being treated for throat cancer. His prognosis was excellent and he completed treatment in time for spring practice.

Since Coach’s announcement, many people have made donations in honor of him and purchased our Fighting for a Cure shirts. We are so grateful to the K-State Family for showing their support in this meaningful way. As is our protocol, we will notify Coach Snyder of every donation made in his honor.

Many fans plan to wear their Fighting for a Cure shirts to the Purple/White Spring Game April 22 in honor of Coach Snyder. We have shirts in stock and they are $20 each. Learn more on our website.

Many friends will also wear their shirts to the home football game and elsewhere Oct. 14 for the 4th Annual K-State Fighting for a Cure Day, when the Marching Band will do a special tribute and we’ll have a tailgate party.

#HelpKStateFightCancer

RUN OR WALK FOR K-STATE CANCER RESEARCH

Posted on April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 by marcia

Sat., April 22 – 8 a.m.
Downtown Manhattan

The Race to Save 2nd Base, presented by Downtown Manhattan, Inc., will feature a 5K run along Poyntz Ave., beginning and ending at AJ’s Pizzeria. Finishers will get a medal, pizza and a beer for their effort. Attractions include the K-State Marching Band, Willie the Wildcat, a bounce house and obstacle course for the kids and free cancer screenings. A portion of proceeds will support our center. Learn more and register.

Sat., May 6 – 9 a.m.
K-State Manhattan Campus

The statewide fitness initiative, Walk Kansas, which is organized by K-State Research & Extension, will hold its 2nd Annual Walk Kansas 5K for the Fight, 1.5-Mile Fun Walk and 50-yard Kids’ Fun Run on the K-State Manhattan campus May 6. Proceeds will support our center! All participants receive a race t-shirt, snacks and more. Place finishers receive custom medals. This is open to everyone, not just Walk Kansas program participants. Learn more and register.

See more upcoming events on our website.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Posted on April 6, 2017April 12, 2017 by marcia

Congratulations to our 2016-17 Undergraduate Cancer Researchers!

Forty-six students were selected for our Cancer Research Award (CRA) program, which offers faculty-mentored research experiences and $1,000 awards for up to 50 undergraduate students per year, plus $1,000 per student to cover research expenses.

This year’s recipients are listed on our Student Awardees webpage and in this news release. They and their faculty mentors will be recognized, along with the donors who make the program possible, at our annual CRA Banquet April 21. Photos of the banquet and each student receiving his or her award will be shared after the event. Watch our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Faculty Achievements

Dr. Masa Tamura, anatomy and physiology, and collaborators have received a $150,000 NIH business development grant for their NIH-funded work to develop an aerosolized lung cancer drug. read more

Dr. Nick Wallace, biology, received a Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program‘s Career Development Award for $360,000 over three years. He studies human papillomavirus, a cancer-causing virus.

Student Achievements

Zheng Zhao, doctoral student in biological & agricultural engineering working with Dr. Mei He, received a BioKansas scholarship for his work on the ExoSearch Chip, which could help doctors detect early-stage cancers more efficiently and accurately. read more

Tuyen Nguyen, doctoral student in chemistry working with Dr. Santosh Aryal, won first place and People’s Choice Award in the K-State 3-Minute Thesis competition. She is developing a new method to treat bone cancer faster than chemotherapy. It also could be used with MRI scanning to diagnose cancer more effectively. read more

Anil Pant, doctoral student in biology working with Dr. Zhilong Yang, won second place in the K-State 3-Minute Thesis competition. His research has uncovered some key findings about vaccinia, a virus that takes on traits of other viruses and could be developed into therapy for some cancers. read more

Vaithish Velazhahan, junior in biology working with Dr. Kathrin Schrick, was named a Goldwater Scholar. The award recognizes excellent undergraduate students who have active research projects and plan to pursue careers in mathematics, science or engineering.

Kathlyn Gomendoza, junior in biology working with Dr. Lorena Passarelli, received a Goldwater Honorable Mention. The award recognizes excellent undergraduate students who have active research projects and plan to pursue careers in mathematics, science or engineering.

Velazhahan and Gomendoza also presented their research at Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol Feb. 15.

OTHER FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

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