Faculty Research Members
The Johnson Cancer Research Center’s multidisciplinary approach to cancer research makes the most of the knowledge and talents of numerous excellent scientists at K-State. Below is a list of our faculty research members and their areas of study.
Dr. Christer Aakeröy
Chemistry – Studies chemical approaches to maximize the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs. more details
Dr. Carl Ade
Kinesiology and Physician Assistant Program – Studies mechanistic underpinnings and clinical features of cardiovascular damage resulting from anti-cancer treatments. more details
Dr. Placidus Amama
Chemical Engineering – Studies nanocarbon-based platforms for cancer therapeutics. more details
Dr. Katsura Asano
Biology – Studies the control of protein synthesis and the alterations in gene expression that can lead to cancer. more details
Dr. Chieko Azuma
Clinical Sciences – Studies the biological effects of therapeutic radiation, tumor biology and targeted radiotherapy. more details
Dr. Amir Bahadori
Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering – Studies ways to evaluate and reduce cancer risk from radiation exposure. more details
Dr. Heather Bailey
Psychological Sciences – Studies cognitive and neurophysiological changes associated with aging and various pathologies, including cancer and chemotherapy. more details
Dr. Pankaj Baral
Biology - Studies the role of lung-innervating neurons in lung adenocarcinoma development. more details
Dr. Matt Basel
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies better cancer models for translational research and using targeted nanotechnology and hyperthermia in cancer therapy. more details
Dr. Brad Behnke
Kinesiology – Studies manipulation of tumor microenvironments to enhance conventional cancer therapy outcomes. more details
Dr. Gina Besenyi
Kinesiology – Studies the impact of outdoor, nature-based physical activity on physical and mental health and the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. more details
Dr. Susan Brown
Biology – Studies genes important to normal development and cancer. more details
Dr. Patricia Calvo
Chemistry – Studies the use of polymers for drug delivery and internal radiation therapy. more details
Dr. Jeff Comer
Anatomy & Physiology – Uses computers to study new materials (nanotechnology) for targeted delivery of cancer drugs to cancer cells. more details
Dr. Christopher Culbertson
Chemistry – Studies signal transduction pathways (i.e. kinase cascades) in cells to better understand how misregulation of them results in the development of cancers. Is also developing a "lab-on-a-chip" cancer early-detection test. more details
Dr. Walter Dodds
Biology – Studies nitrate and drinking water quality. more details
Dr. Timothy Durrett
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies how different enzymes recognize the specific compounds that they modify. more details
Dr. Shih-Kang (Scott) Fan
Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering – Liquid biopsy and 3D bioprinting to study cancer with electrically-driven droplets (picoliter-microliter) on an electromicrofluidics platform. more details
Dr. Bret Flanders
Physics – Studies the use of nanoscale fiber scalpels to sample tumors and cancer cells. more details
Dr. Sherry Fleming
Biology – Studies complement activation and regulatory proteins and innate immune molecules. more details
Dr. Peying Fong
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies regulation, structure and function of ion channels and transporters in macromolecular complexes. more details
Dr. Tendai Gadzikwa
Chemistry - Studies the use of the scaffold of crystalline, multifunctional, nanoporous framework materials to construct multi-tasking drug delivery systems that target cancer cells. more details
Dr. Brian Geisbrecht
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies structural approaches to understanding macromolecular function in normal, pathogenic and cancerous states. more details
Dr. Erika Geisbrecht
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies signal transduction pathways essential to normal embryonic development. more details
Dr. Karin Goldberg
Geology – Studies natural uranium contamiation of groundwater , which are potential causes of cancer. more details
Dr. Maureen Gorman
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics - Studies iron homeostasis, an important factor in tumor initiation and tumor growth. more details
Dr. Revathi Govind
Biology – Studies pathogenic mechanisms of anaerobic bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile. more details
Dr. Mark Haub
Food, Nutrition, Dietetics & Health – Studies effects of protein, grain-based foods, and supplements on colon and whole-body health outcomes using clinical trials with human subjects. more details
Dr. Jamie Henningson
Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology – Studies the pathogenesis of tumors and cancer cells. more details
Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham
Clinical Sciences – Studies the diagnosis and treatment of feline lymphoma as well as clinical trials involving treatment of cancer in animals. more details
Dr. Daniel Higgins
Chemistry – Studies the use of multiphoton methods to trigger anticancer drugs. more details
Dr. Takashi Ito
Chemistry – Studies new techniques for sampling biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. more details
Dr. Loretta Johnson
Biology – Studies genes involved in protecting against heavy metal poisoning and associated cancers. more details
Dr. Jung Sim Jun
Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work – Studies cancer health disparities among ethnic/racial minority groups and culturally appropriate and technology-supported health education and intervention strategies. more details
Dr. Michael Kanost
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies immunological mechanisms relevant to human cancers. more details
Dr. Phillip E. Klebba
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies iron deprivation as a means of retarding cancer cell growth and as a therapy to block microbial infections in cancer patients. more details
Dr. Meena Kumari
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies the addition of sugars to proteins and the significance of increases in this process in some gastrointestinal cancers. more details
Dr. Sonny Lee
Biology – Studies the influence of microbiome to cancer development and therapeutics. more details
Dr. Jun Li
Chemistry – Studies nanotechnology for early cancer diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. more details
Dr. Ping Li
Chemistry – Conducts mechanistic studies of cancerous proteins, and synthesis of their inhibitors. more details
Dr. Brian Lindshield
Food, Nutrition, Dietetics & Health – Studies the potential of foods and/or dietary supplements to decrease cancer incidence and progression. more details
Dr. Max Lu
Geography – Studies geographic differentials in cancer incidence and mortality rates using spatial statistics and geographic information systems (GIS) technology. more details
Dr. Jocelyn McDonald
Biology – Studies how cells move and invade tissues in cancer. more details
Dr. Hande McGinty
Computer science -Studies research focuses on agriculutre, food and bio-ontologies and the applications for machine learning and artificial itelligence. more details
Dr. Kristin Michel
Biology – Studies serpin function in mosquito-transmitted malaria, and potential relationship to human cancer. more details
Dr. Laura Miller
Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology – Combining advanced techniques to map how genes and immune cells interact within diseased tissues, pavig the way for better understanding and treatment of cancer. more details
Dr. Socrates Munoz
Chemistry – Development of new synthetic routes for the preparation of organofluorine and sulfur-containing compounds for therapeutic applications including cancer therapy. more details
Dr. Waithaka Mwangi
Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology – Development of new strategies for safely using novel cow antibodies to fight cancer in humans. The lab will develop special cow antibodies that target molecules involved in cancer. more details
Dr. Brad Olson
Biology – The evolution of multicellular eukaryotes—clues for detection and future cures. more details
Dr. Sunghun Park
Horticulture – Studies metabolic engineering of flavonoids to prevent cancer. more details
Dr. Won Min Park
Chemical Engineering – Studies protein self-assembly for the design of nanomaterials for cancer detection and therapy. more detailsDr. Charles Pickens
Psychologcial Sciences - Studies thalamocortical circuits, and examine models of several different disorders. more details
Dr. David Poole
Kinesiology and Anatomy & Physiology – Studies oxygen transport with respect to vascular and microcirculatory control and the matching of oxygen delivery to the energetic requirements of tissues in health and disease. more details
Dr. Davood Pourkargar
Chemical Engineering – Uses machine learning-based multiscale modeling frameworks to enhance the understanding and predictions of theprogression pattern of cancer in the human body and the drug delivery dynamics using in-lab cell culture and clinical data. more details
Dr. Om Prakash
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies anticancer agents using multidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and computer aided molecular modeling. more details
Dr. Punit Prakash
Electrical & Computer Engineering – Studies energy-based devices (radiofrequency, microwaves, ultrasound) and treatment delivery strategies for minimally invasive thermal therapy of cancer. more details
Dr. Ryan Rafferty
Chemistry – Studies blood-brain barrier penetration for treatment of brain cancers and works to develop new cancer drug delivery methods. more details
Dr. Kimberly Reeds
Clinical Sciences – Studies the impacts of nutrition and targeted therapies on veterinary oncology patients as well as clinical trials involving treatment of cancer in animals. more details
Dr. Thomas Schermerhorn
Clinical Sciences – Studies cellular secretion and protein movement in normal and cancer cells. more details
Dr. Jeremy Schmit
Physics – Studies formulation strategies for protein-based drugs. more details
Dr. Kathrin Schrick
Biology – Studies interactions of lipids/sterols and regulatory proteins that are key to cell division and development. more details
Dr. Bruce Schultz
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies hormone-induced changes in epithelial function. more details
Dr. Kristopher Silver
Entomology – Studies the mechanisms of RNA interference and how they can be applied to cancer treatment. more details
Dr. Bruce Snead
Engineering Extension – Studies radon related lung cancer risk prevention and reduction. more details
Dr. Susan Xiuzhi Sun
Grain Science & Industry – Studies biomaterials that can be fabricated into scaffolds for 3-dimensional cell growth to advance cancer drug discovery and treatment. more details
Dr. Masaaki Tamura
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies tumor physiology, cytotherapy and prevention of metastasis to the lung and peritoneal cavity. more details
Dr. Richard Todd
Plant Pathology – Studies how transcription factors—regulators of cell growth involved in many cancers—are themselves regulated. more details
Dr. Valentina Trinetta
Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health – Studies foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance on gut microbiome and implication for anticancer drug resistance. more details
Dr. Michael Veeman
Biology – Studies the cellular mechanisms of embryonic morphogenesis in simple chordates. more details
Dr. Nicholas Wallace
Kinesiology – Studies HPV biology to improve treatment options for the cancers caused by these viruses. more details
Dr. Weiqun (George) Wang
Food, Nutrition, Dietetics & Health – Studies cancer prevention by dietary calorie restriction, exercise and plant chemicals. more details
Dr. Mark Weiss
Anatomy & Physiology – Studies the potential use of stem cells for gene delivery vehicles, especially to brain tumors. more details
Dr. Ruth Welti
Biology – Studies the roles of lipid signaling and lipid metabolism in cancer. more details
Dr. Cen Wu
Statistics - Studies the integration of multiple types of cancer genomic data to better elucidate cancer etiology and prognosis. more details
Dr. Ninghao "Eric" Zhu
Electrical and Computer Engineering – Studies gene expression during collective cancer invasion with live cell RNA biosensor and tissue-engineered tumor microenvironment on a chip. more details
Dr. Anna Zinovyeva
Biology – Studies how genes are regulated and how the changes in gene regulation that lead to cancer can occur. more details
Dr. Anna Zolkiewska
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies cell-cell interactions and communications in cancer. more details
Dr. Michal Zolkiewski
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics – Studies the stress-response and protein quality-control pathways. more details