08/0421
K-State Current - August 4, 2021
K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.
K-State News
Improving immunotherapy treatment for cancer patients the goal for engineering research team
Immunotherapy can leverage the body's immune system to fight cancer. While excellent responses have been observed for some patients, a considerably larger number have received little benefit.
A team at Kansas State University, led by Punit Prakash, associate professor in the Mike Wiegers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been funded by the National Science Foundation to research monitoring of a cancerous tumor's immune state in order to assess immunotherapy interventions that will drive more tumors to a favorable state.
"As the team works toward development of this experimental platform for closed-loop monitoring and modulation of tumor immune states, the outcomes may ultimately contribute to improvement of cancer immunotherapy treatment," said Prakash, designee of the Paul L. Spainhour professorship in electrical engineering and a Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone research scholar.
Co-principal investigators on the three-year, $750,000 project, "A CPS approach to tumor immunomodulation; sensing, analysis and control of prime tumors through immunotherapy," are Jungkwun Kim, assistant professor and Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone research scholar; and Bala Natarajan, professor and Clair N. Palmer and Sara M. Palmer electrical engineering professorship designee and Steve Hsu Keystone research scholar, both in electrical and computer engineering at K-State.
With an additional $500,000 in funding through the NSF Cyber-Physical Systems Program, collaborating on the project will be Rahul Sheth, a physician and associate professor in the interventional radiology department at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
While immunotherapy has revolutionized the landscape of cancer care over the past decade, numerous barriers to immunotherapies hinder their efficacy in the majority of cancer patients. The team's research through this funding will seek to both uncover the mechanisms of resistance and rationally deliver targeted therapies to overcome these hurdles.
"Modeling the tumor as an 'in-body cyber-physical system,' our project will explore development of a microneedle platform that includes a sensor array for measuring biophysical parameters of the tumor microenvironment," Kim said.
"Sensor measurements will drive novel model-informed machine-learning techniques and enable estimation of the tumor's immune state," Natarajan said, "which will then guide delivery of interventions through the same microneedle platform."
The interdisciplinary project is aligned with K-State 2025 and the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering goals of advancing research, scholarly and creative activities, and discoveries that benefit society as a whole.
K-State Faculty Highlights
University distinguished professor listed in top 0.01% of scholars studying muscles
David C. Poole has now been listed in the top 0.01% of scholars writing about muscles by expertscape.com in acknowledgement of his novel research and discovery. This recognizes Poole as a World-renowned Expert.
Poole's discoveries have helped define how oxygen is transported from the lungs to be used by mitochondria to power muscles. Using innovative models, including humans, racehorses, dogs, elephants and rodents at rest and during exercise, he has identified key sites of muscle metabolic control in health and disease. These observations have driven a paradigm shift in the understanding of how muscle capillaries function and advanced novel therapeutics for heart failure.
"This extraordinary recognition is a testament and validation to the impactful research Dr. Poole has made over his career," said Craig Harms, interim dean, College of Health and Human Sciences.
He earned his bachelor's degree in sports science/applied physiology from Liverpool Polytechnic, England, and his master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, with postdoctoral training in medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He was the first recipient of the higher Doctor of Science in Physiology from John Moores University in Liverpool in 2000.
Poole believes that outstanding teaching and research go hand in hand. He has taught more than 5,000 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate/professional students at Kansas State University and has mentored more than 60 master's students and 18 doctoral students as co-director of the university's Clarenburg Cardiorespiratory Laboratory with Professor Timothy I. Musch. Poole holds the Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Scholars.
Poole has authored nearly 400 research publications, reviews and three books. He is or has been editor/associate editor for four scientific journals and currently serves on nine editorial boards. Poole has won top college awards at the university for research and teaching in the Colleges of Health and Human Sciences and Veterinary Medicine. He was honored by the British first lady, Cherie Booth Blair, in 2000 and the Danish National Academy of Sciences in 2010. He was the 2018 Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecturer from the Environmental and Exercise Physiology (EEP) section of the American Physiological Society. Poole is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), past president for the Central States ACSM (2001-2002) and was elected Chair for the EEP section of the American Physiological Society (2021-2024). In addition, he is this year’s J.B. Wolffe Memorial Lecturer for ACSM’s annual meeting.
Poole has been awarded more than $5 million as principal investigator and $22 million as co-investigator in research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Heart Association. His h-Index is 79 with more than 22,000 citations.
Poole is a university distinguished professor, teaching in kinesiology and anatomy and physiology.
ExpertScape provides a free, online resource that objectively ranks people and institutions by their expertise in biomedical topics.
Grain scientist receives Early Career Engineer of the Year Award
Kaliramesh Siliveru, assistant professor of grain science in the College of Agriculture, has been awarded the 2021 Early Career Engineer of the Year Award by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers' Association of Agricultural, Biological, and Food Engineers of Indian Origin. This award recognizes the outstanding engineering achievements in design, research, development, or management made by young professional agricultural, biological and food engineers in the past three years.
"Since joining the grain science and industry department in January 2018, Siliveru has established a very active research, teaching and outreach program in the areas of grain processing, materials handling and mathematical modeling that has caught the attention of the grain-based food and feed industry and attracted substantial funding in support of his efforts and program establishment," said Gordon Smith, grain science and industry department head.
Most cereal grains undergo different unit operations before reaching out to the consumer. Understanding the postharvest processes and processing characteristics of these granular materials is important to deliver a uniform and safe product to the growing population. To achieve the goal of delivering a uniform and safe product, Siliveru conducts research in milling technologies, food safety, process automation and simulation, particle technology, and materials handling. Most of Siliveru's research work is conducted collaboratively with faculty in the grain science and industry or biological and agricultural engineering departments, and with scientists from the USDA-ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, as well as with other universities.
Siliveru's current research topics include the modeling the fumigation in grain storage structures to predict the fumigant transfer to enable the safe storage of grains; the development of novel milling methods for processing sorghum, with the aim of bringing back the ancient grain to the dinner table; the development of process kill steps for resolving the outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella in wheat flours; and the flow characterization of food and feed materials.
Earlier this year, Siliveru was awarded the 2021 Andersons Early-in-Career Award of Excellence, by NC-213-the U.S Quality Grains Research Consortium, as well as the 2021 Gamma Sigma Delta Early Career Award, by Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honor Society of Agriculture, ETA Chapter, for his early-in-career achievements in the field of grain processing and storage.
Siliveru's faculty mentors, Charles Stark and Subramanyam Bhadriraju, are pleased to see his work recognized.
"Within a short period of time Dr. Siliveru has established an impactful research program on grain processing funded through federal and industry grants, and by training both graduate and undergraduate researchers," Bhadriraju said. "He also teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses on grain processing and particle technology. The three early career awards he received are a testament to his significant impact on the improvement of grain handling and processing operations through research, teaching, and extension contributions."
Stark said, "The diversity of awarding bodies recognizing Dr. Siliveru's innovation in research and dedication to teaching demonstrates the impact of his work on the field of grain science and the great potential he has for future success in shaping the next generation of grain scientists."
K-State Student News
Jayden McCall, third-year veterinary student in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, is one of 14 students selected nationally for a Veterinary Student Research Fellowship to Address Global Challenges in Food and Agriculture.
The fellowship, which includes a $10,000 stipend for mentored research, is through the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research in partnership with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. The program invests in future veterinarians and provides the opportunity to pursue research on agricultural productivity, public health and environmental sustainability. Veterinarians trained in these areas are key to addressing many real-world challenges.
McCall's research project focuses on African swine fever virus, which causes a highly contagious and deadly disease of swine for which there is no vaccine. He is identifying protective antigens, viral proteins that induce a protective immune response in the body, within the virus's genome. This information is critical to developing an efficient vaccine against the virus, a tool that will greatly benefit global pork producers.
McCall's research mentor is Waithaka Mwangi, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
"Jayden is a hardworking and highly motivated student," Mwangi said. "He has potential to make significant contributions to African swine fever virus vaccine development efforts as judged by his selection to receive this national award. The award committee mentioned that he was 'selected as one of the most promising among a group of veterinary students interested in pursuing wide-ranging research across the agricultural and veterinary sciences.'"
McCall, who is from Valley Center, is currently working with Mwangi through K-State's Veterinary Research Scholars Program, an annual summer program that provides veterinary students with in-depth, hands-on research opportunities with experienced faculty mentors. The program's goal is to motivate students toward a research-focused career, with many of its students pursuing research related to food and agriculture.
"I began working with Dr. Mwangi almost two years ago and was immediately interested in the research done in his lab group," McCall said. "Always having had an interest in immunology and vaccine development, this project has been a great way to dive deeper into the subject and gain hands-on experience in the techniques needed to perform this work. I applied for the FFAR Fellowship because African swine fever virus has had a massive impact on the global pork industry."
As part of the three-month fellowship, McCall will attend the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in August.
"Jayden has been an exemplary student in the Veterinary Research Scholars Program and we are very proud of him for being named a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research fellow this summer," said Kate KuKanich, director of the scholars program and a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. "His work with Dr. Mwangi to develop an African swine fever vaccine will benefit swine health and food safety globally, and we are grateful to the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges as this fellowship will further strengthen his potential for future impactful research."
McCall said the production of an effective vaccine against this virus has never been more needed and would provide great security to pork producers around the world.
"Upon graduation with my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in two years, I plan to finish my doctoral training with Dr. Mwangi and then continue to pursue development of therapies and vaccines against African swine fever virus and other infectious diseases affecting animal health.”
Winners announced in K-State Innovation and Strategy Case Competition
A Kansas State University competition has awarded five student teams with more than $5,000 in scholarships.
The second K-State Innovation and Strategy Case Competition gave students experience in analyzing a current business case and providing strategic recommendations for the company. The competition is organized by the Center for Principled Business in the College of Business Administration and is open to all students and majors in the university. This year's case focused on Zoom videoconferencing, and how the company can leverage its broad adoption into sustainable future growth.
This year's final round of the competition was streamed live on YouTube and can be viewed at the link. In total, nearly 300 students and 70 teams participated in the competition. For the first round, students submitted written case reports which were judged by a panel of faculty members and community partners. Five teams advanced to the final round, with a panel of K-State alumni industry professionals. This year's judges included Victor Ojeleye, financial planning and analyst lead, Cargill; Rebecca Robinson, chief corporate engagement and economic development officer, Kansas State University Innovation Partners; and Nick Chong, head of global support and services, Zoom.
"This case competition was organized as a way to help students develop critical thinking and decision-making skills," said Marcia Hornung, director of the Center for Principled Business. "We are proud to offer this learning opportunity for our students and are thankful for the investment from faculty and community members, and industry partners who volunteered their time in support of students."
This year's winners :
First place, Team Strategery, $500 per team member
- Jessica Schenk, Lauren Walker, Hannah Schneider and Caroline Kimberlin.
Second place, Team I&S, $350 per team member.
- Caleb Cramer, Rory Myers, Zamir Venica and Grace Worcester.
Third place, RHED Consulting, $250 per team member
- Haley Smith, Derek Shaheen, Reagan Nelson and Evan McCleary.
Honorable mention, Team 10 Strategists and Team Business as Usual, $150 per team member
- Bailey Bush, Dustin Allison, Michael Rask and Natasha Manjunath.
- Natalie Dreiling, Sara Kuckelman, Mary LaBelle and Grace Pitts.