2024 in review: highlights from the past year
Before 2025 begins, take a look back at some of the news across KU Medical Center over the past year.
As another year at the University of Kansas Medical Center draws to a close, we wanted to pause and reflect on some of the notable work and developments that happened at our institution in 2024. Below are some highlights.
KU Medical Center and The University of Kansas Health System announced greater alignment.
In August, leaders at both institutions, which together form the region’s largest academic medical center, announced their decision to strengthen their existing partnership. Senior leaders — including Steve Stites, M.D., who became executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center — now span both organizations to provide aligned strategy and expand clinical research.
KU School of Nursing aimed to increase the nursing workforce in Kansas and beyond.
In February, KU School of Nursing received a $500,000 gift from the Centene Foundation and Sunflower Health Plan for the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, which was created in 2023 to combat shortages of nurses and nursing faculty. In September, the center released its first report on the state of nursing in Kansas, which will inform decision-making on programs and policies affecting nursing.
A nationally recognized leader in nursing education took the helm of KU School of Nursing.
In February, KU Medical Center named native Kansan Jean Foret Giddens, Ph.D., FAAN, the new dean of KU School of Nursing. Also an alumna of the school, Giddens is an expert in conceptual approaches to teaching, learning and curriculum design as well as in innovative strategies for teaching and learning.
A federal grant was renewed that will support training and research in precision medicine.
In May, the National Institutes of Health renewed the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant for the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine. The five-year, $11.4 million award will improve patient outcomes by supporting and training the next generation of physician-scientists in precision medicine, which considers individual differences in people’s genes, environments and lifestyles to inform diagnoses and prognoses and identify the most effective therapies and treatment.
Scientists across the medical center conducted research necessary to diagnose and treat a wide variety of health problems.
KU Medical Center was a site for the first trial of an experimental drug designed to treat a common form of muscular dystrophy, KU Cancer Center led a national trial testing a vaccine for colon cancer in people with Lynch syndrome and KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center participated in the first clinical trial testing a drug intended to slow down or even prevent Alzheimer's in people with Down syndrome.
Scientists also worked to devise blood tests to diagnose lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease and published studies revealing the genetic factors linked to chronic kidney disease, the effect of CPAP therapy on reducing the risk of death for people with sleep apnea and the power of music to treat pain and disease.
Historic milestones gave the institution a chance to reflect and celebrate.
In September, faculty, staff and students celebrated the 100th birthday of Murphy Hall, the medical center’s flagship building, and in the fall, both KU School of Health Professions and KU School of Nursing marked their 50th anniversaries.
KU Medical Center worked to improve health disparities for rural and underserved populations.
Funded with a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant, researchers at KU School of Health Professions established U-CHaMP, a program to expand the number of health care workers in underserved communities. In September, KU Medical Center received another HRSA grant to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes in rural Kansas. Researchers also began addressing food insecurity in six areas across the state and tackling lead exposure in southeast Kansas.
Construction began on the Wichita Biomedical Campus.
In May, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new health sciences center, which will house the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy, along with health professions students from Wichita State and WSU Tech when it opens in 2027.
Faculty and students found time to improve health around the world.
Four KU School of Medicine-Salina students volunteered at a clinic for children in Peru, experiencing first-hand the challenges of providing care in an environment with few resources. A KU School of Health Professions professor traveled to India as a Fulbright Specialist to teach rehabilitation methods for people recovering from head and neck cancer, while the dean earned his third Fulbright award and went to South Africa to identify opportunities for research collaborations and conduct workshops on stroke rehabilitation.
Academic programs across the medical center were recognized as top programs nationally.
In the U.S. News and World Report rankings for 2024, KU School of Medicine placed in the top 15 schools in the country, both public and private, for primary care and ranked 10th in the percentage of graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas and 12th in the percentage of graduates providing direct patient care in rural areas.
At KU School of Health Professions, the nurse-anesthesia program ranked 10th among public schools and 22nd overall, the speech-language pathology program placed 6th among public schools and 9th overall, the occupational therapy program ranked 11th among public institutions, the audiology program ranked 15th and the physical therapy program ranked 5th in the country among public schools and 11th overall.
Ranked at No. 26, KU’s undergraduate nursing program placed in the top 5% for all schools in the country and took the 19th spot among public schools. The nurse-midwifery program rose significantly from the last rankings in 2020, jumping from 21st to 8th place overall and from 11th to 7th for public schools.