Research Opportunities for Student
The Office for Student Research (Drs. Agostino Molteni and Stan Edlavitch, Ms. Kathy Rode) will assist students in becoming involved in research projects. There is also a student research group, and Mr. Robin Kamal, MS 4, is now the president of that group. Periodic meetings inviting all the students to be informed about research will be held during the academic year with both faculty members and students discussing their projects.
On April 13, 2004, a UMKC SOM Student Research Day was held with the participation of 13 students presenting the data of their research. Most of them also had the opportunity to present the data as posters to the 2004 Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute on June 4, 2004. In addition and in cooperation with their mentors, they had the opportunity to present their research results to different conferences at the national level such as the American Society for Microbiology, International Colloquium on Lung Fibrosis, American Heart Association, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and others.
The Office for Student Research maintains a list of potential mentors and research laboratories. This list will never be fully updated since faculty participation and interests continuously change in an academic institution. Information and major points of reference are available, and members of the faculty are encouraged to provide their name, address, and a brief outline of their research interests to the Office for Student Research for additions to this information. Students are encouraged to submit information about their own experience and interests when sending a request for a possible position for research experience.
Department of Medicine
The Department of Medicine (Dr. George Reisz, Chairman, Ms Susan Fox, Manager) has research opportunities at clinical and basic science levels. Dr. Gary Salzman is actively involved in a large national clinical study of asthma, and Dr. L. Weide has projects related to study of diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid cancer. The department also shares with the Department of Basic Medical Science a laboratory for research in lung pathophysiology under the direction of Dr. Betty Herndon. This laboratory tests several models of lung injury ranging from bronchiolitis obliterans induced by toxicant administration and rat tracheal transplants to different models of lung pulmonary fibrosis induced in the rats by instillation of oleic acid or helicobacter pylori. Collaborative studies with other institutions (Kansas State University at Manhattan, Northwestern University in Chicago, and Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee) are in progress. In a different research area, the same laboratory studies several problems related to infectious disease under the supervision of Dr. Betty Herndon and Dr. David Bamberger. Drs. Agostino Molteni and Roberto Miranda from the Department of Pathology are involved in these research projects and are responsible for the interpretation of the pathologic data. Residents and fellows from the Department of Medicine also work in the laboratory.
Clinical research is conducted by several faculty members, mainly located at Saint Luke’s Hospital. The Mid America Heart Institute is very active in research and, in the past few years, several UMKC-SOM students participated in research projects under the mentorship of Dr. John Spertus.
Department of Surgery
The Department of Surgery (Dr. Charles Van Way, Chairman) has an extensive research program supporting the Shock/Trauma Research Center. This federally funded center is a multidisciplinary research group involving a basic and clinical research programs. The Basic Research Program includes the following. 1) The Laboratory for Hemorrhagic Shock, directed by Dr. Van Way, investigating the mechanisms of cellular injury following hemorrhagic shock. The laboratory is also studying several potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of this condition. In addition to Dr. Van Way, Drs. Thomas Helling (UMKC/Saint Luke’s Hospital), Stan Augustin, and Rongjie Yang are involved in the project. 2) The Laboratory of Inflammation and Sepsis studies the molecular mechanisms by which bacterial projects induce the release of inflammatory mediators from tissue macrophages during the process of bacterial sepsis. Drs. Nilo Qureshi, David Morrison, Jianjun Gao, Xiaoyu Tan, and Christopher Papasian are working in the laboratory. 3) The Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology is under the direction of Dr. Nilo Qureshi. This laboratory explores the early pathways of signal transduction of macrophages in response to microbes and microbial constituents with a specific focus on proteasomes. Drs. Guochi Zhang and Jing Shen work in this laboratory. 4) The Franklin Dixon Orthopaedic Research Laboratory is investigating injuries of the epiphyseal plate as well as the biomechanical properties of fracture fixation. Collaborative work is also carried out with the Dental School. This laboratory is under the direction of Dr. John Williams, and other investigators include Dr. James Hamilton (Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery), and Dr. C. Pickett. (See also the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.)
The Clinical Research Program of the Shock/Trauma Research Program includes the following. 1) The Surgical Trauma Unit and Saint Luke’s Hospital have activated several protocols to investigate therapies to improve treatment of hemorrhagic shock and acute respiratory diseases. The program directors are Drs. Doug McGeehan and Tom Helling (Saint Luke’s Hospital). 2) The Department of Emergency Medicine focuses on minority health care issues for urban residents, clinical protocols for treatment of trauma, emergency medical care, firearms injuries, domestic violence, sexual assaults, and sexual abuse of children. Director of the research program is Dr. John Ma and senior investigators include Drs. Alex Garza, Matthew Gratton, and Mark Steele. 3) The Department of Orthopaedic Medicine, under the direction of Dr. James Hamilton, is actively pursuing studies to define optimal ways to treat bone fracture to improve healing (see also Department of Orthopaedic Surgery).
Department of Basic Medical Science
The Basic Medical Science Department (Dr. Chris Papasian, Chairman) has many members involved in different research projects. For some of them who hold dual appointments (Drs. N. Qureshi, B Herndon, J. Wang, A. Qureshi) their research interests are described in the other departments of affiliation (Medicine, Surgery, Anesthesia, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pharmacology, etc.). Dr. Alexander Shnyra in the department has an active project in immunology aimed at a better definition and identification of the macrophages and their protective role in regulation of cytokines. Collaborative studies are in progress between Dr. Shnyra and Kansas State University and the UMKC laboratory of Pathophysiology and the Department of Pathology (Drs. Molteni, McArthur, Miranda). Drs. Theodore Cole and Caroline Rinaldi have established a research program in craniodental biology. Their primary research focus is on the development, function, and evolution of the skulls and teeth of both living and fossil mammals (with emphasis on primates and rodents). A secondary research focus is on the developmental basis of craniofacial malformations in humans and animal models. A new addition to their research program is the establishment of a high-resolution digital imaging laboratory supported by the National Science Foundation. (See Department of Surgery, Shock/Trauma Center for other departmental research.)
The Kansas City Built Environment & health STudy is an analysis of environmental influences on health. The purpose of this study, which is funded by the National Institues of Health, is to investigate how a person's neighborhood environment is related to his/her health status and health behaviors.For more information, please see look at the KC BEST website.
Department of Psychiatry
The Department of Psychiatry (Dr. Stuart Munro, Chairman) is involved in research projects related to studies in suicide prevention, epidemiology, and control of obesity. Drs. Bill Geis and Stan Edlavitch are responsible for directing these studies.
Department of Ophthalmology
The Department of Ophthalmology(Dr. Felix Sabates, Chairman) has appointed Dr. Rohit Krishna, Director of Glaucoma, as director for student research. Several projects are available in different areas of ophthalmologic practice and of basic research.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Dr. James Hamilton, Chairman) has appointed Dr. John Williams as director for research. Several students have taken courses in research for credit in the past few years. The main research interest is the growth plate, in particular the biomechanical properties of growth cartilage. There is also a fully equipped laboratory for preparing and performing mechanical testing on musculoskeletal tissue. (See also Clinical Research Projects in the Shock/Trauma Research Center.)
Department of Community and Family Medicine
The Department of Community and Family Medicine (Dr. Steve Griffith, Chairman) has a considerable amount of clinical material in different areas of medicine, but especially in geriatrics, obstetrics, and pediatrics. Some members of the faculty are willing to participate in research projects and to mentor medical students.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Dr. James Youngblood, Chairman) has an active research program. Dr. Richard Derman, Professor of OB/GYN and Dean for Clinical Research, is principal investigator in different women’s health initiatives, and his research is also carried out in the country of India. Other members of the faculty are involved in various research projects.
Department of Anesthesia
The Department of Anesthesia (Dr. Eugene Fibuch, Chairman) has recently appointed Dr. John Wang as Endowed Professor and coordinator for research in the department. The research interests of Dr. Wang are molecular neurobiology (brain mechanisms responsible for the addiction properties of drugs of abuse), and study of the adult neural stem/progenitor cells in many degenerative diseases. He is in the process of establishing his laboratory. In addition, the faculty of the department are involved in clinical trials, experimental studies of the pathophysiology of the respiratory apparatus, and research on pain, both at Truman Medical Center and Saint Luke’s Hospital.
Department of Pathology
The Department of Pathology (Dr. Russell Fiorella, Chairman) has Dr. Agostino Molteni and Dr. Carol McArthur as co-directors for research. Dr. Molteni’s interests are mainly related to the study of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and antioxidants as cytostatic agents. Projects with the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Northwestern University, and the Medical College of Wisconsin are in progress. Dr. Carol McArthur, who holds a dual appointment with the Dental School, has a research project related to study of AIDS in Africa (Cameroon), several projects of molecular biology related to disease of the salivary glands, and other projects of molecular biology related to diseases of the salivary glands and bone. In addition, the department has projects in cooperation with Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Fox Cancer Center of Philadelphia that are related to genetic studies of chromosomal expression and metabolism of estrogens and progesterone in human breast cancer. Drs. Fiorella and Lankachandra are interested in surgical and anatomic pathology, Dr. Miranda in immunology and hematology, and Dr. Castellani in clinical chemistry.
Department of Emergency Medicine
The Department of Emergency Medicine (Dr. Robert Schwab, Chairman) is participating actively in the research of the Shock/Trauma Research Center. (See the section of Department of Surgery, Clinical Research.
Department of Pediatrics
The Department of Pediatrics (Dr. Lloyd Olson, Chairman) at Children’s Mercy Hospital has a number of research programs in progress. For more information, please see the list below or look at their Web site: www.cmh.edu. Click on Researchers.
Endocrinology: Drs. Jill Jacobson, Wayne Moore, Karen Kover
Allergy/Immunology: Drs. Jay Portnoy, Charles Barnes
Surgical Organogenesis: Dr. George Gittes
Neonatology: Drs. Bill Truog, Ike Ekekezie, Dong Xu, Uri Alon, Tarak Srevustava
Genetics: Drs. Merlin Butler, Doug Bittel, Bob White, Pete Rogan, Joan Knoll
Clinical Pharmacology: Drs. Greg Kearns, Steve Leeder
Health Services Research: Drs. Denise Dowd, Vidya Sharma
Updated 06/22/04
