K-State partnership with Stormont Vail to open doors for health care research collaboration
Monday, Oct. 30, 2023
Kansas State University and Stormont Vail have expanded their partnership and will collaborate on clinical health care research with the launch of a new clinical research space at the Stormont Vail Manhattan Campus. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University and Stormont Vail Health Research Collaboration has been expanded with the launch of a new clinical research space to create more opportunities for clinical health care research collaboration between K-State faculty and students and Stormont Vail practitioners and patients.
The partnership between K-State and Stormont Vail began in 2020 with a collaborative study between the health care system and Carl Ade, K-State associate professor of kinesiology, and it has extended to be a universitywide opportunity.
"K-State research has needs for clinical expertise as well as patients for research studies, and Stormont Vail has clinicians who want to be involved in research and patients who want to be involved in studies," Ade said. "It's a great opportunity for both parties to engage in a mutually beneficial partnership."
Ade serves as the liaison between Stormont Vail and K-State, connecting university researchers to physicians and patients at Stormont Vail and vice versa.
"My team wants to bridge the gap and make it easier for K-State researchers to access the clinical expertise and patients and for Stormont Vail to access the scientific powerhouse that is K-State," Ade said. "This benefits the patients of this region — they can give back through research studies, and it gives patients in this part of the state access to research trials they might not have access to otherwise."
According to Ade, if a Stormont Vail physician or nurse has an idea but no time or resources to explore it, they can reach out to him for connections to faculty members who are working in that research area. Likewise, if a faculty member is leading a research project that requires a clinical study, Ade can facilitate a connection with Stormont Vail's clinical research center to see if the study is feasible and potentially seek out eligible patients to participate.
"The recent openings of the Stormont Vail Health Manhattan Campus and Flint Hills Campus in Junction City surround the university with new Stormont facilities, resources, health care providers and patients," said Mary Martell, vice president and regional administrator for Stormont Vail. "What we can do together is unlimited; it's an exciting time for our health system, the patients and communities we serve, and for the next generation of the scientific platform we are creating with K-State."
The new dedicated research space is provided by the C. Clyde and Midge Jones family. It includes an exam room with clinical space for research studies at Stormont Vail's Manhattan Campus.
All research will be faculty-driven, and there will be opportunities for students to be closely involved.
"This is a great opportunity for pre-health students and those who work in research labs," Ade said. "They may be able to go collect data in a clinical setting and be involved in these types of studies that are typically only available at institutions with medical schools."
Though the expanded partnership and new space were just formalized in fall 2023, there are already multiple collaborative projects in early stages, including those with researchers from K-State's Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health and Human Sciences, and the Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity, or CNAP, Center.
"This partnership will enable exciting new collaborations between K-State researchers and Stormont Vail that, in turn, can lead to new technologies, practices, diagnostics and therapies for improved health and health outcomes," said David Rosowsky, vice president for research at K-State. "This is another example of K-State's commitment to defining the next-gen land-grant university by contributing to community health and well-being in Kansas."
Questions about the partnership can be directed to Ade at cade@k-state.edu.
The Kansas State University and Stormont Vail Health Research Collaboration supports the goals of the K-State 105 initiative, K-State's answer to the call for a comprehensive economic growth and advancement solution for Kansas. K-State 105 forges the connections and partnerships that create access to additional expertise within other state institutions and agencies, nonprofits and corporations — all part of an effort to build additional capacities and strengths in each of the 105 counties in the state.
