The primary goal of the K-State Bioinformatics Center is to provide state-of-the-art bioinformatics support to researcher in the life sciences. It also serves as an active site for bioinformatics research and development in the state of Kansas.

The Johnson Cancer Research Center helps advance K-State cancer research, train the next generation of scientists, and inform the public about cancer. The center has nearly 100 affiliated faculty, the majority of which conduct basic cancer research, the foundation of knowledge that provides the basis for clinical application in such areas as genetics, virology, immunology, tumor growth and metastasis, and potential diagnostic methods, drugs and other therapies.

The Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit contributes to understanding and managing ecological systems within the Great Plains. Unit staff, collaborators, and graduate students research natural and altered systems, particularly working landscapes. Many Unit projects investigate ways to conserve a rich diversity of wildlife and fishery populations and habitats while meeting the needs of people.

The purpose of the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) is to strengthen the ability of Kansas researchers to compete effectively for NIH funds by building a "critical mass" of investigators that are supported with cutting edge technology. The program brings together NIH-funded mentors, trainees, and promising new investigators from each of the ten partner institutions to drive forward a major statewide initiative to build Kansas strength in this critical life sciences research area.

The Kansas State University Herbarium is a research natural history museum of over 180,000 preserved plant specimens. The Herbarium is among the oldest, largest, and most diverse collections of plants in the Great Plains region of North America, and serves as a foundational resource for plant biodiversity studies. Although collection coverage is worldwide, the Herbarium has a regional focus on the Great Plains with a particular strength in historical holdings from the late 1800s.

Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) is a native tallgrass prairie preserve jointly owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. KPBS is operated as a field research station by the KSU Division of Biology and dedicated to a three-fold mission of research, education, and prairie conservation. The site was established to provide a natural laboratory for the study of ecological patterns and processes in tallgrass prairie ecosystems, and to serve as a protected field site for basic biological research. The station hosts several major research initiatives, including the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research program, and is open to scientists and students from throughout the world.

The Konza Prairie LTER is a comprehensive research, education and outreach program, centered on one of the most productive grasslands in North America – the tallgrass prairie. Funded by the National Science Foundation since 1980, the Konza Prairie LTER program supports long-term research on grassland ecology, with a particular emphasis on the roles of fire, grazing and climatic variability. Research at Konza Prairie helps identify the consequences and impacts of global change that threaten long-term sustainability and develops education and outreach for effective conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems.

The K-State MCDB Program offers a rich diversity of graduate training and research opportunities in a variety of life science specializations. Faculty members of the MCDB program are united by their interest in the commonalities of life at the cellular and molecular level. In this way researchers in developmental biology, genetics, microbiology, immunology, virology, plant biology, vector biology, cell biology and cancer research are joined through the MCDB program.