University of Kansas Medical Center News

Faculty and staff at KU Medical Center support a food pantry serving students in all three schools on the Kansas City campus.

People with head and neck cancer have complex nutritional needs and relatively high rates of malnutrition, but little research has been done on nutrition therapy for these patients.

A pilot study conducted at KU, the first to look at creatine supplementation in people with dementia, indicated moderate improvements in cognitive function.

The new complex will enable physicians and researchers to collaborate in real time on personalized treatment options and make them available to patients more quickly.

KU graduates earning more than 850 degrees and certificates were honored in Kansas City with ceremonies for the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions.

KU School of Health Professions graduate Peyton Still said he found the perfect mix of problem-solving, numbers and people in his chosen health care career path.

Three programs based at KU Medical Center are now in the top 10 in the nation.

During this first week of Daylight Saving Time, experts at KU Medical Center offer some advice for adjusting to the time change and maintaining a consistent circadian rhythm.

Professor and cancer biology chair becomes first KU Medical Center faculty chosen as a senior member

KU School of Health Professions doctoral student created capstone project to boost wheelchair users’ access and improve visitors’ experiences at the historic museum

Nutrition researcher at KU School of Health Professions points to protein for significant and long-lasting health benefits for older adults and those trying to lose weight

Food-insecure patients with blood cancers who are receiving transplant or cellular therapy will receive bags of food during clinic visits as part of the trial.

The best advice from experts at KU Medical Center on ways to boost your physical activity.

Before 2025 begins, take a look back at some of the news across KU Medical Center over the past year.

Students accepted into KU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program will now have the option of taking online courses combined with periodic on-campus lab experiences

Jacob Sosnoff, Ph.D., associate dean for research in the School of Health Professions since 2021, has had his work cited by others more than 10,000 times.

Observational study by KU School of Health Professions faculty members quantified how each child may have benefited from pet ownership

The report card gave a physical activity grade of a D-, with just 20% to 28% of children getting the recommended daily hour of physical activity.

Originally part of KU School of Medicine, today the School of Health Professions houses multiple nationally ranked programs

Medical students gain real-world experience on how to use food to help patients avoid a lifetime of health problems.

KU Medical Center faculty and staff commemorate a century for their flagship building with 1920s music and a fascinating lesson in university history.

Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, earned a third Fulbright award, this time to South Africa to identify opportunities for research collaborations and student and faculty exchanges.

Finalists will be featured in the Beauty in Kansas wall calendar, and the grand prize winner’s photograph will appear on the cover of Kansas Country Living magazine.

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the All of Us Research Program is working to collect data from a million different people to drive new treatments and cures.

Nationally high rankings in primary care, physical therapy and in the nurse midwifery program all reflect a commitment to caring for Kansans and beyond.

Program supports students with economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuing careers in the health professions

Five graduates share stories about their extraordinary roads to graduation

Resource fair with local nonprofit provides bridge between academics and real-world experience

KU School of Health Professions professor introduced rehabilitation methods to area where number of head and neck cancer patients is among the highest in the world.

A new research grant awarded to the KU Medical Center will support investigation into a neurological condition and has its roots in a Powerball jackpot.

Landon Center on Aging researchers study how to prevent serious injury in older adults by collecting data from people who volunteer to fall in the lab.

Here are just some of KU Medical Center’s accomplishments and successes over the past year.

The inaugural geroscience symposium is part of KU Medical Center’s broader effort to foster research relevant to aging, age-related diseases, healthspan and longevity.

KU Medical Center has nearly doubled its federal research portfolio since 2017 and increased its clinical trial revenues by 45% since 2021.

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the All of Us Research Program is working to collect data from a million different people to drive new treatments and cures

Rural Health Education and Services at KU Medical Center invites entries to highlight the unique beauty of Kansas and its people

Children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than other children, making learn-to-swim programs essential for their safety.

The KU Cancer Center will build a new facility designed to place research and treatment side by side.

New initiative lets rural-based students and health professionals access training for long COVID and other pulmonary conditions.

Rural Health Council facilitates collaboration and synergy among KU Medical Center researchers and faculty members, while the Rural Health Partners invites health care professionals across Kansas to provide input.

The Center for African American Health will partner with the community to enhance and improve the health and wellness of Black individuals and African Americans living in Kansas and beyond.

The KU Center for Community Access, Rehabilitation Research, Education and Service (KU CARES) will develop and implement innovative rehabilitation strategies to improve the health and well-being of people with disabilities in Kansas and nationwide.

The University of Kansas schools of Health Professions, Medicine and Nursing honored students who weathered pandemic challenges and graduated only days after the COVID-19 public health emergency was lifted.

U.S. News & World Report has postponed the 2024 rankings for Best Medical Schools but has released the 2024 rankings for specific programs in its Best Graduate Schools rankings.

Students in KU School of Health Professions practice what they are learning in the classroom by providing Kansas City-area patients with free physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Jacob (Jake) Sosnoff, Ph.D., and LesLee Taylor, Ph.D., will participate in the leadership program from the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP).

KU researcher Sandra Billinger, Ph.D., was part of a multi-site study that may change how stroke rehabilitation is conducted.

KU Nursing and KU Health Professions continue collaborative classrooms with Kenya, India and Ghana, building international connections that don’t require physical travel.

The pandemic kept Samuel Durairaj, a Ph.D. student in rehabilitation science, separated from his family for 11 months, but they were there to see him win awards for research, teaching and leadership.

CHAMPS Achievers allows students in the Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Kansas School of Health Professions to volunteer and practice more than just karate kicks.

The University of Kansas Area Health Education Center reports record-setting requests for events such as Night at the Lab and Women in Health Care.

The ketogenic diet, or “keto” diet, can be a quick way to shed pounds. But it’s also a very strict diet. Learn about keto and how it’s being studied in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

See what shaped the University of Kansas Medical Center this year.

KU Medical Center’s Office of International Programs welcomed six visitors from Ukraine as international visits resume.

Susan Carlson, Ph.D., has spent decades researching the role of fatty acids in infants and pregnant women, and the University of Kansas has recognized the importance of that research.

National call to action encourages use of low-dose CT to combat the leading cause of cancer in the United States

The Kansas Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research seeks to become a national hub for obesity-related research and the training of junior research faculty.

Thanks to a $3 million grant, the Kansas Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities program continues its five-decade mission of training, research and leadership development.

‘Discover KU’s Health Programs’ invited students from Kansas City, Kansas, who would be the first generation in their families to go to college.

Kendra Gagnon, now the founding director of a program at Johns Hopkins, urged students to take risks during the Jessie M. Ball Lecture and Pinning Ceremony.

Their work will inform the design of drugs aiming to one day restore the function of that protein in order to prevent or treat the disease.

The KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center received a prestigious five-year, $1.5 million grant to expand and strengthen its program to boost brain health researchers.

The contest, sponsored by KU Medical Center’s Rural Health Education and Services, aims to showcase the beauty of Kansas through photographs.

At this informal event held at the beginning of the school year, students can connect with the dean and other students from across KU School of Health Professions.

The 2nd Annual Health Outcomes Assembly was titled "Disparities Between Counties and ZIP Codes”

University of Kansas Medical Center students marked the start of the 2022 fall semester by volunteering for six area organizations

Older adults who drink three cups of dairy milk a day can increase their brain’s level of a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the brain from the damage that accompanies aging and aging-related diseases.

If the program can raise $2,500 by Aug. 6, Robert D. Simari, M.D., executive vice chancellor, and Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., dean of the KU School of Health Professions, have agreed to participate in a swim-a-thon for Sensory Enhanced Aquatics.

Anna Arthur, Ph.D., MPH, RDN, is part of a research group recommending a good-fat, low-carb and plant-based diet for best results from head and neck cancer treatment.

NCI recognition as a Comprehensive cancer center is the culmination of years of community effort and means that KU Cancer Center joins the top echelon of leading cancer experts.

Professors from schools of Health Professions and Medicine connect a local elementary school with a bicycling nonprofit in a push for lifelong activity.

Hooding and Recognition Ceremonies were held in person with an audience of the graduates’ friends and family. In Lawrence, graduates attending commencement heard advice from KU Medical Center’s Steve Stites, M.D.

The center will provide the infrastructure needed so that researchers, educators and rural health stakeholders can work together to find ways to reduce or eliminate health disparities in rural Kansas.

The pandemic continues, but so does research and education.

Want to preserve your memory as you age? Reach for an avocado.

New position combines formative memories and personal research on mobility issues to benefit students and faculty within the School of Health Professions.

After the cancellation of multiple commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2021, recognition festivities were moved online.

The multi-center, double-blind, randomized, superiority trial recruited participants at three large academic medical centers in the United States.

Solar panels allow Kansas City campus to make an important contribution to the environment through the use of this renewable energy resource.

New master's degree will offer many opportunities for synergies between physical therapy and athletic training students.

The mystery virus that had closed China made its way to the United States, and “business as usual” halted. By the end of 2020, the year would forever be synonymous with COVID-19, and KU Medical Center had adopted a new normal that stressed resilience and roll-up-your-sleeves science to combat the pandemic.

Catherine F. Siengsukon, Ph.D., lab director of the SleepWell Lab at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said the pandemic has upended sleep patterns.

The annual Jessie M. Ball Lecture and DPT pinning ceremony on Oct. 4 embraced physical distancing but still invited the 59 DPT students of the Class of 2023 to the University of Kansas Medical Center’s Kansas City campus.

Alumni Reunion Weekend at the University of Kansas Medical Center looks a bit different in 2020, with events occurring virtually.

Learn about the new athletic training program at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Classes in the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) begin in the summer of 2021.

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed the face-to-face Jaystart Clinic, students of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology turned to telehealth.

Christopher Neal, Ph.D., research associate at the University of Kansas Medical Center, donated around 100 headbands for face shields to PPE for KC. Neal used the 3D printer at work.

Students in the respiratory therapy program in the University of Kansas School of Health Professions have chosen to graduate early to help fend off a shortage of RTs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Five undergraduate and five graduate students from the University of Kansas Medical Center showcased their research at the Kansas Capitol during two separate events in spring 2020. Students discussed the posters illustrating their research with lawmakers and the general public.

The Healthcare Worker Exposure Response and Outcomes of Hydroxychloroquine (HERO HCQ) trial is accompanied by a registry that will create a community of health care workers who have expressed interest in contributing to the scientific community's understanding of the impact of COVID-19.

COVID-19 caused shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the globe.Here's how researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center helped out.

SHARPhub was established in 2018 to help researchers move biomedical discoveries and technologies out of the laboratory and into the commercial market, where they can be used to improve human health.

Chris Melgares, a doctorate of physical therapy (DPT) student from the University of Kansas Medical Center, finished in the top 20 percent of the field of 175 male runners at the U.S. Olympic marathon team trials.

Want to lose weight, battle depression or manage chronic pain? Your doctor’s “prescription” may include a newly reimagined program at the Kirmayer Fitness Center called Exercise is Medicine (EIM).

Check out the memorable news stories of 2019 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Our year in review gives you a look back at the best of 2019.

When the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education renewed the University of Kansas physical therapy program’s accreditation on Nov. 27, it marked the 75th anniversary of the program and nearly three-quarters of a century of continuous accreditation.

Attention to students helped Steve Jernigan secure the 2019 Stata Norton Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes excellence in teaching.

Dana Bostic, clinical assistant professor, clinical laboratory sciences, won the 2019 Member Excellence in Education Award from American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

In 1944, Hildegard Knopp and Jan Granger were the first students to graduate from the department’s dietetic internship program. The department had been founded a year earlier with the approval of the American Dietetic Association, now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

McGee will work to enhance the successful recruitment, professional development and retention of students, faculty and staff from diverse and under-represented population groups.

The Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Kansas Medical Center has developed a national reputation of excellence for educating its students to become therapists who provide essential assessment and support skills that empower their patients with physical or mental disabilities to engage in everyday life activities.