University of Kansas Medical Center

20 AnnuAl16 R e p oRt

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every day at the university of Kansas Medical Center, we have the privilege of seeing how the work we do

directly impacts the people around us. this amazing experience is the driving force behind why many of us were attracted to academic medicine.

In this 2016 annual report, we are taking a closer look at the multitude of ways Ku Medical Center personally affects those at our university, community and state. We also explore the deeply personal motivations that push our researchers, providers and educators to excel.

As you will read, those who inspire us range from a dedicated faculty member who takes the time to nurture a student’s interest in a particular area of medicine; a patient whose determination to recover from an accident pushes a physical therapy student to work harder; and

a researcher searching for a cancer cure after losing her father and aunt to the disease.

As executive Vice Chancellor, it is my mission to create an environment where our teachers, scientists, clinicians and students can follow their inspirations and shine. I am proud to say that, despite some challenging times, Ku Medical Center has become a destination institution where some of the world’s most talented professionals teach students, treat patients and conduct groundbreaking research.

In these pages are just a few of the personal stories that bring people to Ku Medical Center and keep them here working to improve the health and well being of their fellow human beings. We hope their experiences inspire you as well.

A letter from the Executive Vice Chancellor

Douglas A. Girod, M.D.

© 2017 University of Kansas Medical Center

A dedicated faculty member helps a talented medical student find her calling.

Julianne Rathbun didn’t always want to be a doctor. She grew up

in Durham, Kansas (population 112), and after high school enrolled at Kansas State university with the intent of becoming a physical therapist. But when she took a human anatomy class, Rathbun realized that being a physician was her destiny.When it came to medical school, Rathbun knew she wanted to attend the university of Kansas School of Medicine campus in Salina.

the Ku School of Medicine opened the Salina campus in 2011 in an effort to address the critical shortage of primary care physicians in Kansas. With eight students admitted each year, the Salina campus is the smallest four-year medical education site in the united States. the campus is attracting more students like Rathbun, who enter medical school with a strong desire to practice in rural areas.

“My hometown is about 45 minutes away from Salina,” Rathbun said.

“I’m such a homebody that I knew I didn’t want to stray too far away.”

Rathbun went into medical school thinking, like most of the students who train at the Salina campus, she would become a family physician and practice in a rural area of Kansas. But something happened when she began her third-year surgical rotation in urology under the tutelage of Ryan payne, M.D., a practicing urologist and a faculty member at the Ku School of Medicine−Salina.

“That very first day, Dr. Payne let me assist with a surgical procedure, and from that day

educating leadersforward, I was hooked on urology,” Rathbun said.

payne said he knew almost immediately that Rathbun would be a great urologist someday.

“She was an outstanding student, academically, both in her effort, and her attitude and personality,” Payne said. “She contacted me several months after that surgical rotation and said that she was interested in considering a career in urology.”

that was the beginning of a special student-mentor relationship. Rathbun said that she and payne had a lot in common. For one thing, they bonded because they were both star athletes at Kansas State (Rathbun played volleyball and basketball, and payne was on the football team.)

Rathbun said payne also reinforced to her that she could accomplish whatever she wanted, even if it meant entering a field traditionally dominated by men.

“Almost 80 percent of urologists are male,” Rathbun said. “But now that half of all medical school graduates are female, I’m encouraged that more of them are going into urology.”

During her fourth year, Rathbun did another clinical rotation with payne’s urology group practice in Salina. payne said as Rathbun’s interest in urology as a career grew, they had several meetings where he advised her on how to approach her fourth year of medical school, as well as counseling her on the ins and outs of the residency application and interview process for urology.

Rathbun is currently serving her residency at the university of Missouri-Columbia. But she said she would love to come back to western Kansas to practice, so she and her husband can be near their families and friends.

“As our friendship and professional relationship grew, we discussed any interest she might have in potentially moving back to Salina after she completes residency,” payne said. “All of my colleagues in our practice could see what an excellent student Julianne was and shared my belief that she was going to be a great doctor.”

Regardless of where she ends up practicing, Rathbun said she will never forget the doctor and teacher who helped her navigate through medical school and to her true calling.

“When you spend time around Dr. Payne, it is so obvious how much he loves being a urologist,” Rathbun said. “urologists in general seem to be happy and laid back people, and I have a feeling I will fit right in with them.”

For his part, payne said nothing means more to him than to know that he has had a major impact on the life of a promising young medical student.

“to have a student of the quality of Julianne is a tremendous pleasure, regardless of what she would have decided to do with her career and life,” payne said. “But knowing that my teaching and guiding her was positive enough that she chose urology as a career and is interested in working as part of our group in the future is extremely rewarding.”

Photo: Julianne Rathbun, M.D. (left), and Ryan Payne, M.D. (left inset), with student. 5

A new model of nursing education

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You’ll have to forgive nelda Godfrey, ph.D., Rn, ACnS-BC, FAAn, if she gets a little catch in her throat and a tear wells up in her eye when

she talks about the university of Kansas Community College nursing partnership (CCnp) program. For Godfrey, the program’s success or failure has become very personal.

For nearly a decade, Godfrey, Ku School of nursing’s associate dean for innovative partnerships and practice, has been nurturing an idea that would help nursing students earn their baccalaureate degrees without leaving their home communities. By allowing students to concurrently earn their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from their local community college and Ku, respectively, the CCnp lets students take advantage of the financial and personal support of staying in their home communities, while gaining the benefit of receiving both degrees.

In May 2016, Godfrey’s dream of creating a new model for nurse education came to fruition when two students from Kansas City Kansas Community College made history by walking in graduations at their community college and Ku.

“probably the most exciting part is helping these two students, who never imagined they would graduate with a Ku nursing degree,” Godfrey said.

“each of them had 10 to 15 family members with them at the School of nursing Recognition Ceremony. It was a great day. everyone was happy.”

“It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had,” Makayla Dunn, one of the original graduates, said about walking down Campanile Hill in lawrence as part of Ku Commencement. “I still get goose bumps thinking about it.”

the new model received further validation shortly after graduation when both Dunn and nichole Armintrout passed their national nursing certification exams and were hired by The University of Kansas Health System for jobs at The University of Kansas Hospital, giving the fledgling program not only its first two graduates but its first two practicing nurses. this early success of the CCnp has thrust Ku into the national nursing education spotlight as peer institutions and industry experts look on with great interest.

In August 2016, accreditation approval was received for four additional Kansas community colleges to join the partnership. nursing students at Butler, Hutchinson, Johnson County and neosho County community colleges are now enrolling in the program.

For Dunn and Armintrout, the adventure of a lifetime began long before they graduated together from Kansas City Kansas Community College and the university of Kansas. the two were friends before they started grade school and attended classes together throughout elementary, middle and high school, so it was only natural that they would answer this challenge together.

“We spent nearly every day together for two years, pushing each other to succeed,” Dunn said. “I whole-heartedly believe if I did not have someone by my side giving me strength, I would not have been able to do this.”

“My first reaction was great joy for them and a genuine appreciation of the work they did to make this happen,” Godfrey said. “there is no doubt they worked hard to get their degrees and will be wonderful additions to the profession.”

U.S. News & World Report highlights KU Medical Center graduate programs in 2017 rankingsU.S. News & World Report has ranked 11 graduate programs at KU Medical Center in its 2017 edition of the magazine’s “Best Graduate Schools” rankings. The graduate programs ranked in the top 50 among public universities include occupational therapy (#4); speech-language pathology (#5); physical therapy (#9); family medicine (#11); nursing–midwifery (#14); nursing–anesthesia (#14); audiology (#20); primary care medicine (#22); health care management (#25); doctor of nursing practice (#28); master’s of nursing (#31); and medicine–research (#37).

Master of Public Health graduate plays a role in Kansas City’s Tobacco 21 campaignChristi Nance has played a key role in advocating for limitations on the availability of tobacco for youth, including the Tobacco 21|KC campaign – an effort that has led to numerous municipalities in the Kansas City metropolitan area adopting sales restrictions for people under 21. Nance, who received her master of public health degree with a concentration in public health management in May 2016 from the KU School of Medicine, testified before the Unified Government of Wyandotte County in support of raising the age limit for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21. Officials in Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Missouri, voted in November 2015 to increase the tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21. So far, 19 cities across metropolitan Kansas City have followed suit. Because of her involvement both on campus and in the community, and her academic success, Nance was selected in May 2016 as the Dorothy Knoll Outstanding Student Leader Award winner for KU Medical Center.

Residents jumpstart their training at KU Medical Center plastic surgery boot campNineteen medical students attended a Plastic Surgery Boot Camp at KU Medical Center in July 2016. The camp, which was sponsored by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons, was designed to provide a solid grounding in the basics of plastic surgery before the residents embark on their formal specialty training. The plastic surgery boot camp is the brainchild of American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons as a way for interns to get a leg up as they transition from their general medical school training to learning the specific skills required in their specialty. Leaders in the field of neurosurgery have conducted boot camps for about 10 years, so the organizers of the plastic surgery event were able to benefit from lessons learned from their peers. KU Medical Center joined the University

of Pittsburgh and the University of South Florida as the sites for this year's boot camps. Boot camps are offered to residents who are entering either integrated or independent plastic surgery programs around the country. Three first-year plastic surgery residents from KU attended the boot camp, along with one fourth-year medical student. The boot camp was hosted by the Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning – an on-campus simulation facility that donated laboratory space and staff support to the event.

KU Medical Center welcomes two new deansA new era of leadership began at the University of Kansas Medical Center in early 2016 when Sally Maliski, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, and Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, arrived as the deans of the Schools of Nursing and Health Professions, respectively.

Maliski became dean of the School of Nursing on Jan. 1, 2016, after serving as associate dean for academic affairs at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Nursing. Maliski also worked as an educator and researcher for the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Nursing, and Columbia Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Hudson, New York.

Maliski earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from State University of New York at Albany and a master's degree from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. She completed her Ph.D. at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Maliski's research interests focus on symptom experience and management among low-income populations, including men with prostate cancer and their partners. Her clinical focuses are oncology, hospice, and free clinic primary care.

Akinwuntan, who began his tenure as the dean of the School of Health Professions on Jan. 18, 2016, was previously associate dean for research in the College of Allied Health Sciences and professor of physical therapy, ophthalmology and neurology at Augusta University, formerly known as Georgia Regents University. Prior to joining Georgia Regents University in 2005, Akinwuntan served as a senior lecturer at the University of East London and a doctoral research assistant at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Akinwuntan earned a bachelor of science in physiotherapy from the University of Lagos in Nigeria and a master of science and doctor of philosophy in neuromotor rehabilitation from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He also earned a postgraduate certificate in education from the University of East London and a master's degree in public health and business administration from Augusta University.

Akinwuntan's research interests include using simulation and virtual technologies to improve daily living activities after a neurological impairment. In particular, he established a driving simulation laboratory at Georgia Regents University to provide support to patients and research participants with neurological conditions.

Photo, left to right: Nelda Godfrey, Ph.D., Nichole Armintrout and Makayla Dunn.

education 2016

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Photo: Rebecca Wates, Ph.D. (right) and Rebecca and her father, Alton Burkhalter, Sr. (inset).

After losing her father and aunt to cancer, a rising researcher blazes a path.

Advancing research

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In the days immediately after losing her father last fall to colon

cancer, medical researcher Rebecca Wates, Ph.D., felt like a failure.

“If I couldn’t save my own dad from cancer, how could I help anyone?” asked Wates, an ovarian cancer researcher in the lab of Andrew Godwin, ph.D., the university of Kansas Medical Center’s director of molecular oncology, pathology and laboratory medicine.

Wates understands now that those thoughts were just the first steps in grieving the loss of her father. As she continues to heal, the postdoctoral fellow is turning those feelings of loss, despair and frustration into motivation to find answers for women suffering from ovarian cancer. the death of her father has become Wates’ biggest source of inspiration.

“Although he didn’t understand the minutia of my research, he always asked about my work. He’d always say, ‘How is work going? Are you all going to cure cancer?’” Wates said. “I have to keep working, so that one day someone can answer that question, ‘Yes, we cured cancer.’”

Over the years, Wates and her family have become all too familiar with battling cancer. When she was 16, Wates’ aunt, a nurse in oklahoma, died from ovarian cancer. And her mother is a 25-year survivor of breast cancer. these experiences of suffering and loss have shaped the kind of research Wates does.

“Certainly losing my aunt, and most recently my father, has given me a renewed sense of urgency,” Wates said. “My mother survived breast

cancer following a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Knowing that decades of hard work saved her life will always encourage me to keep striving.”

After graduating from lincoln College preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, Wates was headed down the path of becoming a breast cancer researcher in large part because of her mother’s experience with the disease. But while studying at the university of Missouri-Columbia, she met one of her mentors, Sharon Stack, ph.D., who is now professor and director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute at the university of notre Dame. Stack had been studying ovarian cancer for many years, and her influence – along with the death of Wates’ aunt – changed Wates’ research focus.

In the lab, Wates is looking for the materials tumors need to grow and survive. She has learned over the years that each ovarian cancer patient can have a variety of cancer cells, which makes finding a chemotherapy that targets them all very difficult. Previous research has identified a protein that acts like a motor to help cancer cells divide, but the drugs that can treat this protein do not work on ovarian cancer cells.

So Wates is focusing on a secondary protein – KIF15 – and ways to keep ovarian cancer cells from growing after the first protein has been treated. She’s trying to find a compound that will bind with the secondary motor protein, which will be key to the development of new treatments.

Last summer, Wates became the first researcher to be funded via a crowdfunding campaign by the American Cancer Society. the society, which supports about 800 investigators nationwide, launched its Crowdrise campaign in early 2016 with the goal of supporting an early career researcher. organizers hoped that by using crowdfunding and social media they could raise cancer awareness among millennials and encourage them to get involved. Wates said the crowdfunding money should support her research for about two years.

“We are so proud to have Rebecca as the first researcher American Cancer Society is supporting with the help of a crowdfunding platform,” said William Chambers, Ph.D., senior vice president of extramural research, at the American Cancer Society. “She is doing outstanding work and will be a wonderful spokeswoman for us and for cancer research.”

Since last summer, Wates and her team have performed a secondary screening that allows them to eliminate drugs that likely have no value in targeting the proteins they are studying. next spring she plans to publish an additional list of drugs that may have potential. She has also received funding from the national Institutes of Health to perform a screening of more than 200,000 compounds.

“I think every translational cancer scientist hopes to find a treatment that cures cancer,” Wates said. “But realistically, if I can contribute to developing a treatment that increases life expectancy for even one subset of patients, I would consider that a great outcome. even if my work is only a small part of such of an accomplishment, it would be very exciting.”

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It doesn’t get any more personal than building a nationally recognized research center just minutes from your childhood home.

Jeffrey Burns, M.D., is co-director of the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Fairway, Kansas, just down the street from his childhood home in prairie Village. His is a complex tale involving the tight ties of both family and friendship, with his parents, Dennis and Ann Burns, at the center.

two of Dennis and Ann’s three sons are neurologists, and youngest son Jeff followed older brother Ted to the University of Virginia to do his residency in neurology after graduating from the university of Kansas School of Medicine. Ted’s best friend, who would later become Jeff’s mentor, was Russell Swerdlow, M.D. When Dennis and Ann visited their sons in Virginia, Swerdlow often came to dinner as well. Jeff Burns was fascinated with the brain and became intrigued by the puzzle of Alzheimer’s disease. After his residency, he continued his education with a two-year fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, where he worked at the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Burns returned to Kansas in 2004 to join Ku’s Department of neurology and recruited his mentor, Swerdlow, from Virginia in 2007. the two began building the Ku Alzheimer’s program with the dream of establishing a top-notch research and treatment center in Kansas City. In 2011, the Ku Alzheimer’s Disease Center received its first national designation from the national Institutes on Aging, and the team earned a renewal of that designation in 2016, becoming one of only 31 such centers in the country. Burns’ vision of building an Alzheimer’s research center was complete, and his longtime mentor (and brother’s best friend) was the director.

Burns and Swerdlow’s research focuses on the role energy metabolism plays in the brain. Swerdlow’s work examines brain metabolism at the cellular level, seeking ways to boost mitochondrial function. Burns’ work examines metabolism from a system level, looking to use exercise and diet to boost brain energy.

The research Burns is conducting on whether exercise and diet can affect cognition in both healthy older adults and those with Alzheimer’s disease

became a family affair when he recruited his parents to participate in pilot clinical trials.

“they are aware of what a challenge it can be to recruit people for clinical trials, so they were happy to contribute,” Burns said.

Burns graduated from high school at Shawnee Mission east, just three miles away from the Ku Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Burns’ senior prom date, who later became his wife, was fellow prairie Village native, Jennifer Boresow, an educator and a graduate of the university of Kansas, where all 13 of her siblings also attended.

A benefit of having the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center just minutes from his parents’ home, was that Jeff and Jennifer’s 10 children could spend time with both sets of grandparents and her extended family, most of whom reside in the metro area.

“I always wanted to move back to Kansas City so we could be closer to our families and friends,” Burns said. “And it was important to me to come back to Ku to help them build a great Alzheimer’s disease program. I feel fortunate I have been able to do both.”

KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center has national designation renewedThe KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center had its designation as a national Alzheimer’s Disease Center renewed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in October 2016. The KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center is one of only 31 nationally designated centers by the NIA, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and there is currently no proven cure or treatment to delay its progression. The designation comes with $9.1 million in grant money and will help researchers at KU to continue to unravel the mysteries of the disease, which claimed nearly 85,000 American lives in 2013. The KU Alzheimer's Disease Center first achieved national designation in August 2011.

Study suggests link between ads featuring food and children’s dietary choicesA new study published in the August edition of the Journal of Pediatrics by researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri-Kansas City is shedding new light on the issue of food commercials and kids. The study, led by Amanda Bruce, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the KU Department of Pediatrics, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brain activity of children after they were exposed to commercials featuring healthy and unhealthy food items. The team's research suggests there is a strong link between the food commercials children watch on television and their eating habits. In addition, watching food commercials might change the way children value taste, which could in turn increase the possibility of kids making more impulsive dietary choices.

KU research could be a game-changer for athletes with exercise-induced bronchoconstrictionAthletes across Kansas may be able to breathe a little easier thanks to a research project being conducted by the KU Asthma Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Researchers are collecting data from varsity athletes at colleges in Kansas and Missouri to help formulate a field screening test to determine if an individual is at risk for exercise-induced asthma – or more specifically, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). Ideally, the research will lead to a screening process that can provide accurate results on location with a minimal amount of time and equipment required. EIB is a narrowing of the airways during exertion, which can result in shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, coughing and other symptoms. While most athletes will suffer only temporary episodes of coughing, chest tightness or shortness of breath, left undetected EIB can, in rare cases, lead to death.

A new NIH-funded study will determine if DHA supplements can prevent premature birthsA National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study led by University of Kansas Medical Center researchers could lead to a reduction in early preterm births – births before 34 weeks of gestation – which are a major burden on the health care system and a concern for mothers worldwide. Susan Carlson, Ph.D., AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, and Byron Gajewski, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics, are co-principal investigators along with Christina Valentine, M.D., a visiting professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, on a five-year study exploring the role docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays in the prevention of early preterm births. The $3 million study will examine approximately 1,200 women to determine whether giving them daily doses of a DHA supplement, an omega-3 fatty acid available over the counter, during the last half of their pregnancies can aid in preventing early premature births.

New hope for patients with inclusion body myositisA ray of hope is on the horizon for patients facing the debilitating effects of the muscle-wasting disease inclusion body myositis (IBM). University of Kansas Medical Center researchers conducting a joint study with the Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases at University College London (UCL) are poised to take the next step in testing the drug, arimoclomol. There is currently no treatment for IBM, but research conducted by the KU/UCL partnership, published in the March 23 issue of Science Translational Medicine, revealed that the drug deserves further study on its potential to slow patients' crippling debilitation.

IAMI partners to develop bladder cancer drugThe University of Kansas Medical Center granted exclusive rights to CicloMed LLC for Ciclopirox Prodrug, a novel agent targeted for the treatment of bladder cancer. CicloMed plans to submit an investigational new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-2017. Pending FDA clearance, CicloMed intends to initiate a Phase I clinical trial at several clinical sites, including The University of Kansas Cancer Center. Ciclopirox Prodrug was discovered by KU Medical Center's Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation (IAMI). Ciclopirox Prodrug effectively treats bladder cancer in animal models via novel mechanisms of action and selectively delivers the drug to the entire urinary tract. Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the United States, with approximately 77,000 new cases and 16,000 deaths annually.

Photo, left to right: Jeffrey Burns, M.D., Dennis Burns and Ann Burns.

Coming home to fight Alzheimer’s Disease

Research 2016

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Photo: David Shank (right) and Michael Stone (inset).

A tenacious patient inspires a physical therapy student to push harder.

Building communities

David Shank, now a third-year doctor of physical therapy student, was more than a little apprehensive when a patient in a wheelchair showed

up at the student-run JayStARt Clinic one day in September two years ago. the patient told Shank he wanted to return to normal daily functioning, including being able to walk on the beach with his wife by that Christmas.

Shank knew the odds were long because the patient, Michael Stone, had suffered numerous broken bones in the upper and lower parts of his body in a motorcycle accident earlier that summer. When Shank evaluated him, Stone could not walk and had no use of his hip muscles.

But what Shank hadn’t counted on was his patient’s tenacity. Stone took to physical therapy work like no one Shank had ever seen in his young career, and soon those lofty goals didn’t seem so far-fetched.

“I saw that Michael was more determined than most patients could ever dream to be,” Shank said. “Michael said that he wanted to be able to walk on the beach with his wife. I looked him in the eye and told him we’d make it.”

Stone began working feverishly both in the clinic and at home to reach his goal. the two men’s training mantra was “you can do anything for one minute.” And sure enough, soon the minutes of training became hours, and hours became days, and days became weeks.

“Christmas came, and wouldn’t you know it, I made a believer out of him as he did me by walking on his own in the sand in padre Island, texas with his wife.”

Stone is just one of many community members who fill the Student Center on the University of Kansas Medical Center campus every other Wednesday night throughout the school year for the JayStARt (Student therapy and Rehabilitation training) Clinic. on these nights, the labs, hallways and other open areas are transformed from teaching spaces into treatment places as occupational therapy and physical therapy students provide their services free of charge to underserved or uninsured residents of the community.

the origin of JayStARt can be traced back to “specialty nights” at the JayDoc Free Clinic run by Ku School of Medicine students. First it was physical therapy, and then occupational therapy joined the list of services in 2011. In 2015, the ot and pt students moved out and formed the JayStARt Clinic.

For students, the clinic is an opportunity to turn what they have learned in the classroom into actual patient care. During each session, between eight and 10 patients are seen at the clinic. on any given evening, as many as 20 student volunteers will be working with clients under the supervision of Kelli Reiling, otD, otR/l, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of occupational therapy education, and Stacia troshynski Brown, Dpt, pt, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of physical therapy and Rehabilitation Science.

“the response from the community has been very positive,” said Reiling. “JayStARt gives students the opportunity to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to real-world experiences.”

For many students, it’s the first time they see how socioeconomic factors can be barriers to quality health care. the experience often leaves them with a personal impression about how their work makes a difference not only to an individual, but also the patient’s family and community.

“none of my volunteer opportunities have touched me the way my time at JayStARt has,” said Heather Bays, a second-year doctor of physical therapy student. “the clinic introduced me to providing services to underserved and uninsured populations. now, I will always be passionate about advocating for health and wellness needs in our society.”

For Shank and Stone, the experience of working together at JayStARt was life-changing. After regaining his ability to walk, Shank created an athletic-performance, strengthening and conditioning program to help his former patient achieve his goals after he was discharged from the clinic. A year to the day after the debilitating motorcycle crash, Shank got a text from Stone telling him he just ran nearly two miles. Stone said while he can’t run on a regular basis because of the lingering effects of his injuries, he still likes to play the occasional game of basketball and keeps physically active with his job running a construction company.

“You can bet Michael will be invited to my graduation,” Shank said.

“I’m really grateful for JayStARt. Without it I wouldn’t have had one of the most memorable experiences of my education. the clinic allowed me to make a difference in a patient’s life and for a patient to make a difference in my career.”

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Silver City expands services while celebrating 10 years in the Argentine communityIn 2016, the Silver City Health Center, the University of Kansas School of Nursing's nurse-run safety net clinic in the heart of the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, celebrated 10 years of providing affordable health care to residents in Wyandotte County. As part of its continued growth, Silver City Health Center has expanded services to include geriatric primary care and pre- and post-natal care through the KU School of Nursing's nurse-midwifery program. The Nurse-Midwifery Clinic, which opened as part of Silver City Health Center Oct. 4, 2016, had its beginnings in a health clinic run by the Department of Family Medicine. Nurse-midwifery faculty members have been working for the last three years in a clinic that trains family medicine residents and that's where the notion to add midwifery services at Silver City Health Clinic started to take shape. One of the biggest needs the Nurse-Midwifery Clinic hopes to provide is low-cost prenatal care among underserved populations in Wyandotte County.

KU Medical Center is part of an effort to double produce money for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)Researchers at the University of Kansas and KU Medical Center are part of a nearly $6 million grant that aims to help low-income families eat healthy, support local farmers and keep food dollars in the area economy. The researchers are partnering with the Mid-America Regional Council on

“Double Up Food Bucks,” a $2.9 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive, matched by $2.9 million from private foundations and local governments. The program will allow SNAP beneficiaries to double every dollar spent on locally grown produce with a dollar-for-dollar match up to $25 per day at participating locations. Cheryl Gibson, Ph.D., professor of general and geriatric medicine at KU Medical Center, is leading the overall evaluation efforts of the program. More than 1.1 million Kansas and Missouri residents rely on federal food assistance through the SNAP program.

Incoming KU Medical Center students participate in annual service daysEvery August, incoming students to the KU Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions take part in community service days in Wyandotte County, Kansas, Wichita and Salina. The service projects expose the students to the communities in which they will begin their education. In 2016, 182 first-year medical students participated in the community service day in Kansas City, Wichita and Salina. A

dozen nonprofits throughout Wyandotte County welcomed students who gave 728 volunteer hours and $17,152 in value to the state of Kansas. More than 130 students from the KU School of Nursing and KU School of Health Professions gave back to the community by volunteering at 14 different sites in the area. In total, they volunteered 532 hours and gave $12,533 in value to the state of Kansas.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center and Re-Power are working to prevent obesity-related cancers in rural KansasIn a Trust for America’s Health survey in 2016, Kansas was ranked as the seventh-fattest state in the nation, and obesity is poised to overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer. To help combat that trend, The University of Kansas Cancer Center and KU Medical Center have launched a study called RE-POWER. The five-year, $10 million study will compare three weight management models at 36 rural primary care clinics in four states. Statistically, rural residents have higher rates of obesity and related diseases than their urban counterparts. Their only source of professional help with weight loss may be their family physician. But many doctors are reluctant to talk to their patients about weight loss. Robert Kraft, M.D. is overseeing the RE-POWER study at Salina Family Health Care. Kraft hopes the study will identify ways to make it easier for doctors and their patients to have those conversations.

KU Medical Center joins a seven-school consortium to research ways to make the country's roadways saferThe University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Kansas are partners in a seven-school consortium that will receive roughly $13.75 million in grant money during the next five years from the United States Department of Transportation for research into ways to make the country's roadways safer. Abiodun Akinwuntan, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, professor and dean of the KU School of Health Professions, and Shelley Bhattacharya, DO, MPH, an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, are the co-investigators for the award at KU Medical Center. One of the main goals of the grant is the development of the Drivers' Safety Institute, a community resource to improve the fitness of all drivers, including drivers hauling hazardous materials. In the first year of the grant, KU Medical Center researchers will focus on developing a prototype driving fitness assessment battery to provide reliable and valid measures of driving-related visual and cognitive skills of participants. Testing will be done on transportation workers involved in moving hazardous materials, especially older workers or those with specific health issues. In subsequent years, researchers hope to develop an emergency alert system that would help mitigate the effects of accidents involving trucks hauling hazardous materials.

nina Ashlock was just 15 when she started smoking

in 1966, back when smoking was cool, cigarettes cost a quarter a pack and warning labels didn’t exist. A half-century later, when the dangers of smoking were well known, Ashlock found herself struggling with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CopD), a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. Yet despite a couple of attempts at quitting, she continued to smoke.

“I can honestly say that I’m not sure I ever even enjoyed smoking, but it’s just such an addiction,” she said. “I told my husband, ‘I’ll be smoking until I die.’”

that changed in August 2016, when Ashlock found herself a patient at the university of Kansas Hospital. Her doctor told her again that she needed to quit smoking, and this time, her CopD was so bad that he wanted to send her home with oxygen tanks. the thought of living attached to an oxygen tank was too much to bear, she said.

And there was another compelling reason to quit: the youngest of Ashlock’s seven sons, William, who was shot three years ago and now, in his early twenties, is a paraplegic.

“He’s been through a lot and deserves to have some quality to his life,” Ashlock said. “I want to take him to the Grand Canyon and Mt. Rushmore. And I knew I couldn’t do those things unless I could breathe.”

In the hospital, Ashlock agreed to see a counselor from the uKanQuit program, a decade-old collaboration between the university of Kansas Medical Center and the university of Kansas Hospital that provides willing inpatients with tobacco counseling, medications and other smoking-cessation tools. only six percent of smokers in the united States who try to quit actually succeed. For participants in uKanQuit, the success rate is 30 percent.

“like many of our patients with CopD, nina struggled with shortness of breath, limitations on her daily activities, chronic coughing, you name it,” said Mariana Ramirez-Mantilla, LMSW, the UKanQuit counselor who met with Ashlock. “they want to quit, but smoking is a disease, an addiction, and it needs to be treated as such with medications.”

uKanQuit achieves its high quit rate by integrating the latest research into routine medical care. one of the program’s research-based recommendations is that patients combine medications, either by using more than one nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum, or combining them with drugs like Chantix or Zyban. But nina, a self-described “very stubborn woman,” decided to use just the patch, which she had tried on other occasions, but never at the recommended dosing schedule.

Within three weeks, she noticed an improvement in her breathing. By november of 2016, her lung capacity was up from 35 percent to 47 percent. And today, still not smoking, she can finally take that deep breath.

“I never thought I could do it,” Ashlock said. “And now I don’t want anything to do with cigarettes.”

that is the kind of result that makes Ramirez-Mantilla’s day.

“We try to give patients the right tools to quit smoking, but ultimately they’re the ones who go through the struggle,” she said. “When you hear back from someone who was successful, it’s priceless.”

A smoking cessation program that works

Photo: Mariana Ramirez-Mantilla (left).

Community 2016

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KU's MS Achievement Center is supporting the whole person.

Healing patients

every thursday morning, Kay Holmes leaves her home in the Verona Hills neighborhood of south Kansas City to spend the day at the MS

Achievement Center at the university of Kansas Medical Center. the center is one of just eight programs in the united States that provide integrated services to improve the lives of people with multiple sclerosis. MS, a disease with no known cure, disrupts communication between the brain and the body and can cause a loss of muscle coordination and speech, numbness, blurred vision and severe fatigue.

First diagnosed with MS in 1992, Holmes is one of the center’s clients, known as members, who pay monthly dues to spend a day a week utilizing its services, which include physical and occupational therapy, group activities and emotional support. “the center is so comprehensive. they look at us emotionally, physically, cognitively,” said Holmes. “that type of development is just really good.”

In April 2016, with the help of a grant from the Conrad n. Hilton Foundation, the program moved to a new, expanded space in the landon Center on Aging at Ku Medical Center. the center has more than 60 members, and with the new 5,500-square foot facility they can grow their membership to at least 100. With the move, KU also officially took over operation of the program, which began more than 20 years ago as the Mid-America MS Achievement Center. now, along with the MS Clinic, it is part of the Ku Center for MS Care. Judy Markwardt-oberheu is the executive director. “I feel fortunate to be part of this program,” she said. “When our work can make a difference in the lives of our members, that’s really cool.”

the achievement center’s airy, sunlit new quarters include a gym with exercise equipment designed for people with limited mobility as well as weights, ballet bars, arm bikes and treadmills; a kitchen with easy wheelchair access; and a large studio where clients can gather for group activities such as yoga, music therapy or book club. Members typically spend the morning together doing movement exercises and stretches, and then they divide into two groups. one group begins with physical therapy with the equipment, while the other half does occupational therapy, which helps them with daily life activities, such as cooking with special equipment and learning how to put on a sock when they can’t bend over. the last hour of the day is devoted to an elective, such as music therapy, meditation, even card games.

Holmes, who has not been able to walk since 2011, said that the physical therapy offered at the center is helping her the most, especially the nuStep recumbent trainer, a machine she uses to strengthen her legs. Her goal? to be able to take steps again, using a walker.

With the new space, the center has also instituted some additional procedures, including weekly questionnaires for members asking about any changes in their health status, such as any new pain or increases in fatigue. therapists then follow up with members and can refer the member to the MS clinic next door for treatment or to the patient’s own physician. the result has been more health issues identified more quickly.

“there are a handful of centers like ours around the country, but what makes ours unique is that we have doctoral-level physical therapists and occupational therapists on site,” said Markwardt-oberheu. “these are faculty members, and they bring in their ot and pt students, who also work in the program as part of their training.” It’s a model Markwardt-oberheu would like to see expanded beyond the Kansas City area to the Salina and Wichita campuses. “That’s our dream, and we are trying to figure out how to make it happen,” she said.But as important as the staff are, it’s being around other people with the same disease that is the draw for many of the center’s members.

“one of the greatest things about the center is the relationships we form here,” says Holmes said. “this is a place where you can be exactly who you are without having any filters, and know that people will understand and not pity you.”

“MS is an isolating disease. often people who have it cannot work anymore, and their relationships with friends can be difficult because they can no longer do what they used to do together,” noted Markwardt-oberheu. “the center allows them to connect with other people who understand.”the community helps the member learn to cope with what they cannot do any more, but also get in touch with what they can. “It makes me want to remember what it is that I do well. that piece of me that has not been taken away by multiple sclerosis,” said Holmes. “It's made me really concentrate on that, on living a full life.”

Photo: Kay Holmes (left) and Kay and Judy Markwardt-Oberheu (inset). 17

18

the expertise and guidance of Judy Johnston, a research instructor at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, are helping a hospital and county

in far western Kansas better understand the health needs of their diverse communities.

“Community participatory research is what I really love,” said Johnston, who joined the Department of preventive Medicine and public Health in 2003. “I get to do the things I care about, and I just love the kind of work we're doing in Kearny County.”

that work has involved consulting with Benjamin Anderson, the Ceo of Kearny County Hospital in lakin, Kansas, who built a medical team by attracting physicians interested in not only serving the rural county west of Garden City but also vulnerable populations around the world.

Johnston created a survey that, through the efforts of summer interns and dozens of community volunteers she trained, reached four out of five of the county's households – 865 total – a rate rare in the statistical world.

Initially, Anderson and the hospital wanted to better understand what led some patients to seek medical care in the emergency room when it could be more effectively provided elsewhere. Instead, Johnston convinced him that the survey should broaden to cover the many social factors that influence health – childcare, education and faith communities are just a few examples.

“Hospitals and all kinds of systems tend to ask people how are we doing, not how are you doing,” Johnston said. “If you're going to talk about health and wellness in Kearny County, the health care sector is a piece of that, but it's much bigger than health care.”

The survey asked residents how they defined health and wellness. Was it just the absence of disease? Did it involve mental and social well-being as well as physical health?

A second section drilled down and asked residents about resources the community had or needed in eight areas: health care, public health, early child care and preschool, schools, faith communities, work sites, K-State Research & extension at the county level, and the community at large. Finally,

it gathered household demographic information including race, ethnicity, age, employment, education and health insurance status.

the survey revealed a need for better child care, greater access to primary care, a desire for walking paths and other exercise possibilities, and a shortage of healthy food options, among other findings. Johnston has conducted more than 20 focus groups along the survey's eight sectors, with more planned. Johnston said she has also secured funding from a combination of sources to replicate the project in Grant and Haskel counties in Kansas and two subpopulations in Finley County.

Anderson said the takeaway from Johnston’s research is that Kearny County is a tough place to stay healthy, but it doesn't have to remain that way.

“Judy gets rural Kansas. She's an engaging personality, extremely organized and understands the dynamics in rural Kansas,” Anderson said. “She shares our social conscience and our commitment to people who are vulnerable. When you have people who are motivated, things will happen.”

New research sheds light on behavioral differences between boys and girls with autismResearch done through the Girls Night Out program based at the University of Kansas Medical Center indicates treatment for those with autism should be more gender-specific. Rene Jamison, Ph.D., founder of Girls Night Out and an associate professor in the pediatrics department at KU Medical Center and the Center for Child Health and Development (CCHD), and her research partner, Jessica Schuttler, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor at the CCHD, have published the first study evaluating their intervention program, which is one of the only programs designed specifically for females with autism. Their research appeared in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Historically, boys have been diagnosed with autism four to five times more often than girls, so much of the research and clinical services for autism have focused on boys. But now, a growing volume of research indicates girls present signs of autism differently, often times more subtly than boys. In some cases girls have the social skills to mask the condition so it isn't diagnosed or there is a delay in diagnosis. In the Girls Night Out program, girls with autism learn to navigate the complicated social settings of adolescence by working alongside age-level peers and adult program leaders.

Interprofessional team of health care providers venture to Israel for world-class trainingAn interprofessional team from the University of Kansas Medical Center, The University of Kansas Hospital and Johnson County Community College traveled to Israel in August 2016 to expand their knowledge on simulation training at the Israel Center for Medical Simulation, a world-class training facility in Tel Aviv. The Israel Center for Medical Simulation is considered a leader in simulation-based medical education and patient safety training. The center's mission is to reduce errors and improve the quality of teamwork and patient care among its trainees by providing them with challenging clinical encounters. The 10-member group was comprised of representatives from KU's Schools of Health Professions, Medicine and Nursing who have been involved with advanced simulation training at KU Medical Center, along with a representative from the Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning and nursing educators from Johnson County Community College. While in Israel, the team from Kansas focused on learning more about how the Center for Medical Simulation staff uses simulation for assessment purposes, how they integrate simulation into clinical curriculum, and how simulation can be used for quality improvement among health care providers. With the completion of the Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning and with the opening of the Health Education Building in summer 2017, the role of simulation education on the KU Medical Center campus will continue to grow in importance.

KU School of Nursing graduate volunteers on Mercy Ship in Madagascar University of Kansas School of Nursing graduate Brenan Krampf took part in an eight-week adventure in January 2016 working alongside 400 other volunteers from 45 countries aboard the Africa Mercy – a former Danish rail ferry converted into the world's largest private hospital ship. Krampf served on D Ward/ICU caring for patients with facial tumors, deformities and cleft lips and palates. After receiving her bachelor of science in nursing from the KU School of Nursing in 2011, Krampf began her career at Children's Mercy Hospital on a unit focusing on pediatric congenital heart defects and liver transplants.

KU’s Human Performance Lab uses advanced gadgetry to study neuromuscular diseasesThe Human Performance Laboratory at the Landon Center on Aging on the KU Medical Center campus is using full motion-capture systems similar to those used by animation studios and video game creators to record movement and balance issues for a variety of test populations in an effort to unravel the mysteries of diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's. The lab uses a motion capture system, which features high-speed digital cameras suspended at strategic locations along lighting rails inside the 2,500 square-foot lab space. Lab director Jessie Huisinga, Ph.D., and her team use 33 reflective markers placed at specific spots on the lower portion of the research subject's body. The cameras capture images produced when infrared light generated by the camera bounces off the reflective markers on the subject. Data from the cameras flows into special motion-capture software to generate an animated model of the subject's movement. The Human Performance Lab, which is dedicated to the study of motor function through interdisciplinary research and education, is engaged in a variety of studies, many of which involve chronic and progressive conditions such as multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy.

KU pilot study suggest specialized nutrition regimen helpful for bladder cancer surgery patientsA pilot study at KU Medical Center suggests a specialized nutrition regimen can improve immune response and lower infection rates in bladder cancer patients who undergo surgery. Jill Hamilton-Reeves, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and the study's principle investigator, said the research suggests that when bladder cancer patients receive specialized immuno-nutrition prior to and after a radical cystectomy, they have an improved immune response and a far lower infection rate than people taking a standard oral nutrition supplement. The study was published in European Urology.

Photo: Judy Johnston (right).

Understanding the health needs of western Kansas communities

patient care 2016

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20

Key Faculty

Appointments and RecruitsRandolph Nudo appointed director of the Institute for Neurological Discovery

Randolph J. Nudo, Ph.D., was appointed director of the Institute for Neurological Discovery at KU Medical Center. Nudo replaced Peter Smith, Ph.D., who served as the institute's founding director since 2009. The Institute for Neurological Discovery's mission is to integrate and coordinate the considerable strengths in

neurosciences represented at KU Medical Center and the Kansas City region. The institute includes over 100 members in the basic and clinical neurosciences from area institutions.

Nudo is vice chairman of research in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the director of the Landon Center on Aging and the Marion Merrell Dow Distinguished Professor in Aging. He has been on the faculty at KU Medical Center since 1997 and has secured over $20 million in external funding to support his research programs.

Allen Chen named chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology

Allen M. Chen, M.D., was appointed the new Joe and Jean Brandmeyer Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Before accepting the position at KU Medical Center, Chen was a professor and vice chair of education in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the

University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. Internationally renowned for his research in the treatment of head and neck cancers, Chen has published over 150 peer-reviewed original articles, most of which pertain to the use of advanced technologies to optimize cure rates, improve quality of life and evaluate radiation response of both tumors and normal tissue. He is the principle investigator for

KU Medical Center

In the newsRoy Jensen, M.D., director of the university of Kansas Cancer Center, was featured in a Washington Post story on how new immunotherapy drugs are showing significant and extended effectiveness against a broadening range of cancers. In the article, Jensen said this new era of immunotherapy research is comparable to the 1960s when doctors were just beginning to use chemotherapy to treat cancer. Jensen cautioned that researchers are just beginning to understand how potential immunotherapies fight cancer.

Daniel Aires, M.D., director of dermatology at Ku Medical Center, was interviewed by the New York Times for a story on how what you put in your mouth may be as important as what you put on your skin when it comes to acne. Aires pointed to a study published in July 2016 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology that found that diets containing a lot of high glycemic foods were strongly linked to acne. Some small clinical trials have found that cutting back on these foods can help to reduce acne lesions in teenagers and young adults.

Reuters News Service interviewed Jeff Burns, co-director of the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Center, for an article on how healthy eating and exercise can improve brain health. Burns said there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that what’s good for the heart is also good for the brain. Burns' research at the Ku Alzheimer’s Disease Center focuses on how lifestyle issues such as diet and exercise can be used to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

several clinical trials combining drugs with radiation, including investigator-initiated translational protocols and cooperative group trials run by the NRG Oncology Group and the Southwestern Oncology Group.

Nelda Godfrey and Cynthia Teel accept new associate dean roles in the KU School of Nursing

Nelda Godfrey, Ph.D., was named associate dean for innovative partnerships and practice, a new position that will help identify and facilitate partnership development and create sustainable program growth for the School of Nursing. In her new role, Godfrey also oversees faculty practice and the shared curriculum partnership program.

Cynthia Teel, Ph.D., was appointed associate dean for academic affairs, bringing together undergraduate and graduate academic affairs operations. This combined role enhances opportunities for graduate and undergraduate faculty to work, learn and research collaboratively,

potentially resulting in innovative teaching and learning strategies, new programs and educational research.

Griebling named senior associate dean for medical education

Tomas Griebling, M.D., was named senior associate dean for medical education at the KU School of Medicine. Griebling serves as the John P. Wolf 33° Masonic Distinguished Professor of Urology as well as professor, vice chair and residency program director for the Department of Urology. He is also a faculty associate

at the Landon Center on Aging.

Russell Swerdlow, M.D., director of the Ku Alzheimer's Disease Center, laid out some of the complications in the path to a cure for Alzheimer's disease in an International Business Times story. Swerdlow told the times that he believes the key to solving Alzheimer’s disease lies in changes in brain energy metabolism and mitochondria, which have been speculated to drive brain aging, and that the cure will come when the mystery of brain aging is solved.

newly published research done through Ku Medical Center’s Girls night out (Gno) program is shedding new light on the different ways autism affects boys versus girls. the Gno study was featured in Scientific American. Rene Jamison, ph.D., an associate professor at Ku Medical Center’s Center for Child Health and Development, said her research found that many highly intelligent girls on the spectrum have difficulties with washing their hair, wearing deodorant and dressing appropriately. the Gno organization sponsors activities for girls with autism.

Merlin Butler, M.D., ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, talked with the Boston Globe about a promising new treatment for Prader-Willi syndrome. KU Medical Center was among the sites for a clinical trial on how the experimental weight loss drug Beloranib could help patients with Prader-Willi, a rare genetic condition in which affected individuals develop an insatiable appetite, which leads to chronic overeating and obesity.

Nelda Godfrey, Ph.D.

Tomas Greibling, M.D.

Allen M. Chen, M.D.

Randolph J. Nudo, Ph.D.

Cynthia Teel, Ph.D.

21

$125,737,353Restricted fees for specific purposes

$3,370,088Parking fees

$108,473,031State General Fund

$5,705,954Johnson County Education and Research Triangle tax

$53,074,349Tuition

$4,829,543Other

$2,929,175Parking and auxiliary services

$5,925,455Student services

$7,004,691Scholarships and fellowships

$10,079,921Outreach services

$18,038,595Academic support

$32,253,854Physical plant and central services

$41,289,840Institutional administration

$44,528,788Capitalimprovements

$89,110,356Research

$160,777,036Instruction

$411,937,711 Total

$48,949,260Federal research grants

$9,195,800Research Administration

$41,602,333Hospital payments for residencies

$11,000,000Hospital payments for physical plant and central services

$411,937,711 Total22

FY 2017

Sources of FinancingFY 2017

expenditures by program

23

3901 Rainbow BoulevardKansas City, KS 66160

Contact UsKU Medical Center(913) 588-5000kumc.edu

KU School of Medicine(913) 588-5200medicine.kumc.edu

KU School of Nursing(913) 588-1601nursing.kumc.edu

KU School of Health Professions(913) 588-5235healthprofessions.kumc.edu

Gifts KU Endowment(913) 588-5249kuendowment.org

the university of Kansas Medical Center prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. The following office has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: university of Kansas Medical Center equal Opportunity Office, Mail: 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, MS 7004, Kansas City, Kansas 66160. physical: 4330 Shawnee Mission parkway, Suite 350, Fairway, Kansas 66205, 913-588-8011.