08/19/20
K-State Current - August 19, 2020
K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.
K-State News
Happy — and they show it: K-State college experience ranks among best in nation
A national survey finds Kansas State University students are the happiest in the nation and love being Wildcats. The survey also finds K-State offers some of the best student services and quality of life among institutions of higher learning.
Per the 2021 edition of the Princeton Review's "The Best 386 Colleges," K-State is No. 1 for happiest students, No. 2 in the nation for students who love their college, No. 3 nationally for best quality of life and best health services, and No. 4 for town-gown relations are great. K-State also finishes in the Top 10 for best counseling services at No. 7, No. 9 for best athletic facilities and No. 10 for best career services.
The Princeton Review's list is based on surveys of 143,000 college students from across the country. The survey ranks colleges in 62 categories to come up with its list of the Top 20 schools in each category. In the latest edition, K-State is the only Big 12 school to earn a No. 1 ranking.
"In these challenging times, it is so very gratifying to see just how much Kansas State University students truly value their university and its commitment to their pursuit of educational excellence, personal well-being and lifelong learning," said Thomas Lane, vice president for student life and dean of students. "These rankings show our student-centered approach creates an atmosphere where students can thrive."
Other rankings of note earned by the university include No. 11 for best-run colleges, No. 13 for best campus food, No. 17 for most active student government and No. 20 for best campus dorms.
"These highly rated student services help K-State students get the most out of their college experience and set the stage for their career and life success," Lane said.
K-State Faculty Highlights
New published study from K-State virologists identifies potential COVID-19 treatment
College of Veterinary Medicine virologists Yunjeong Kim, front, and Kyeong-Ok "KC" Chang have joined collaborators at Wichita State University, University of Iowa and University of Kansas in publishing a study on a possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19.
Yunjeong Kim and Kyeong-Ok "KC" Chang, virologists in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, have published a study showing a possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19.
Pathogenic coronaviruses are a major threat to global public health, as shown by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or SARS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, known as MERS-CoV; and the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection.
The study, "3C-like protease inhibitors block coronavirus replication in vitro and improve survival in MERS-CoV-infected mice," appears in the Aug. 3 issue of the prestigious medical journal Science Translational Medicine. It reveals how small molecule protease inhibitors show potency against human coronaviruses. These coronavirus 3C-like proteases, known as 3CLpro, are strong therapeutic targets because they play vital roles in coronavirus replication.
"Vaccine developments and treatments are the biggest targets in COVID-19 research, and treatment is really key," said Chang, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology. "This paper describes protease inhibitors targeting coronavirus 3CLpro, which is a well-known therapeutic target."
The study demonstrates that this series of optimized coronavirus 3CLpro inhibitors blocked replication of the human coronaviruses MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells and in a mouse model for MERS. These findings suggest that this series of compounds should be investigated further as a potential therapeutic for human coronavirus infection.
Chang and Kim have been using National Institutes of Health grants to develop antiviral drugs to treat MERS and human norovirus infections. Their work extends to other human viruses such as rhinoviruses and SARS-CoV-2.
"The work that this group of collaborators has been doing on antivirals and inhibitors for SARS and MERS at K-State for a number of years has been vital to their ability to quickly pivot to emphasize research on SARS-CoV-2 virus and therapeutics," said Peter K. Dorhout, vice president for research at K-State.
Co-collaborators on the research include teams lead by Bill Groutas at Wichita State University, Stanley Perlman at the University of Iowa and Scott Lovell at the University of Kansas.
"Drs. Groutas, Perlman and Lovell brought decades of experience to our research team," Chang said. "We would not have been able to come this far without important collaborations with our colleagues at other institutions."
“Getting things published right now is very important for the scientific community," Kim said. "I think we are adding valuable information to the antiviral field."
The new compounds in the publication are exclusively licensed and being developed by Cocrystal Pharma for COVID-19. K-State Innovations Partners handles commercial technology licensing for the university.
Two Kansas State University professors have received new U.S. military contracts totaling nearly $1.74 million for intimate partner violence prevention and intervention projects.
The first contract to Sandra Stith, university distinguished professor of couple and family therapy, and her co-principal investigator, Chelsea Spencer, research assistant professor of couple and family therapy, is for just over $1,169,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy Installation Command for a project to test the effectiveness of a domestic abuse risk assessment tool used by Department of Defense domestic abuse victim advocates.
The Intimate Partner Physical Injury Risk Assessment Tool was developed by Stith and researchers in a previously funded K-State project. The 15-item tool, tested by Department of Defense treatment providers, collects information from victims, offenders, police reports, etc., to determine the level of risk for future intimate partner violence with injury. The tool's use is now mandated in all four service branches.
In the newly funded project, Stith and Spencer are seeking to determine the effectiveness of the tool when used by military domestic abuse victim advocates who only interview the victim.
The second contract, for just under $569,000, is a subcontract issued by Knowesis for the U.S. Air Force Mental Health Resilience Program Evaluation and Enhancement project. The goal of the project is to prevent and respond to domestic abuse in the Air Force. Some specific projects include training outreach managers at various bases to use online prevention programs, testing the effectiveness of these programs, and examining data to determine the effectiveness of the treatment programs used by treatment providers.
Stith and Spencer also will provide training to Air Force staff on a variety of programs, including a four-hour program designed to increase participants' readiness to change.
K-State Student Highlights
Food systems researcher, scholar and advocate is newest Phi Kappa Phi fellow
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is recognizing a recent Kansas State University alumna who is committed to reducing food insecurity globally by empowering women who play a crucial role in the world's food systems.
Sara Gammon, May 2020 bachelor's degree graduate in agricultural economics and global food systems leadership, Drexel, Missouri, has received a 2020 Phi Kappa Phi graduate fellowship for $8,500. She is one of only 58 national recipients to receive the 2020 fellowship. She will apply it toward a one-year Master of Philosophy in development studies program at Cambridge University this fall and a one-year Master of Science in development economics at SOAS University of London.
After completing her graduate studies, Gammon plans to work in the Agricultural Development Economics Division of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, where she can focus on eliminating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by helping empower women in agriculture around the globe.
"Gender inequity and food insecurity are truly wicked problems," Gammon said. "There is no one solution to these complex, multifaceted issues. Gender inequity and food insecurity require systems thinking; to conquer one challenge we must be cognizant of many related challenges."
While these issues may seem impossible to overcome, Gammon said they can be solved through intentional interventions that are tailored to individual countries and cultures.
"If we are ever to achieve a food secure world, we must lift the world's women from poverty into prosperity," Gammon said. "Nobel Peace Prize-winning agronomist Norman Borlaug once said, 'Food is the moral right of all those born into this world.' For those around the world who are food insecure, I and others will continue to fight to fulfill Borlaug’s promise. Not a single person on Earth deserves to go to bed hungry and deprived of their moral right."
Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 and is one of the oldest and most selective collegiate honor societies. It recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education.
Universities with a Phi Kappa Phi chapter can only nominate one candidate to the national competition each year, making the selection process highly competitive, said Jim Hohenbary, director of the university's Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships.
"I first met Sara as an incoming freshman," he said. "Even then, she was committed to the importance of empowering women in international agricultural development, and I think her selection as a Phi Kappa Phi graduate fellow reflects the fact that Sara enthusiastically built her capacity to act on that commitment throughout her time at Kansas State University."
During her time at K-State, Gammon conducted research on the rural dairy economy in India as a 2017 Borlaug Ruan intern in association with the World Food Prize. In summer 2018, she worked as a K-State International Service Team volunteer at the Children and Youth Empowerment Center in Kenya.
She also served in numerous leadership and public service roles, including Student Governing Association director of food insecurity and president of Collegiate Farm Bureau; College of Agriculture caucus leader and senator, and vice president of political outreach and fellow for the Collegiate Farm Bureau; advisory board member and volunteer for the Cats' Cupboard; and a member of Gamma Sigma Delta. Additionally, she was a Cargill fellow from 2018-2019.
In April, Gammon was named K-State's 36th Harry S. Truman scholar — a highly competitive national award given to a select few who are committed to future careers in public service.
While at K-State, Gammon also received the David and Susan Barton Cooperative Leadership Scholarship, the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding First-Year Performance Award and the McKelvie Scholarship. She was a national finalist in the FFA Agriscience Research competition and received second place in the Kansas Farm Bureau Discussion Meet. She co-authored "A Brief History of Farm Management" published in the Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
"Gender inequity and food insecurity are issues that can affect you no matter where you are: from the streets of Kansas City to the villages of rural India," Gammon said. "No culture or country is immune to the devastation they can bring. To tackle these issues, we must empower women and create an economic movement."
Interior design students take first place in video competition focused on diversity and inclusion
Aubrey Koontz, Samantha Cordell and Rachel Eastman, seniors in the interior design program were awarded the first place prize for their video submission for the annual IDEC video competition. Each year, the Interior Design Educators Council hosts a video competition, asking participants to create a short video on a specified topic. This year’s competition explored the meaning of diversity and inclusion for interior designers. The competition sought videos that expand audience thinking about the practice and future of interior design in an increasingly diverse society. Entries were judged on how well they address the topic, creativity/engagement, suitability for sharing with a non-designer audience and professional quality.
The team’s video addressed the assumptions and stereotypes that limit people in choosing to become professional interior designers. “In a world full of assumptions and stereotypes, the interior design profession is no stranger to the limitations these create,” explained the team. “A key distinction in the quest for diversity and inclusion is recognizing and appreciating diversity in all of its forms. We are striving to acknowledge a broader definition of diversity that includes age, religion, life experiences, worldviews, and cultural backgrounds which differ from one another.There are countless different perspectives design is missing out on due to the lack of diversity found among those being educated to enter the interior design profession. Design is seen as limitless; why then should there be limitations set on who can design?
An extremely productive way to expand the reach of interior design is simply broadening our own understanding of who can design and how to offer them the education they need. We are designing for the needs of diverse users, and design is limitless with the help of diverse designers.”
“Our experience during this competition was as typical as any other group or individual participating in the competition until we went solely online due to Covid-19”, said the team. “We now could only work virtually with one another; all the while trying to develop and communicate our intent. It put us in a completely different mindset than when we first started. We acknowledged that this experience makes ourselves even more diverse in our life experiences, because we were all going through the same event but in different contexts; it was the validity that worldwide experiences differ from person to person and create interesting individual perspectives--even when living in the same state.”
View the video submissions here.
This is the second time in two years that a K-State interior design student entry has won a top award in this competition. Last year’s team was awarded second place for their submission focused on the aging population.
K-State’s interior design program, located in the College of Health and Human Sciences, continues to be one of the top-ranked programs in the nation. DesignIntelligence, an independent company focused on the design and construction industry, ranked the program eighth among most admired interior design schools in the country for 2019-2020. K-State has the only accredited four-year interior design program in the state of Kansas.