K-INBRE
Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence at Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State faculty and students are involved in a federally-funded effort to enhance biomedical research and training. This website describes the activities of the program on this campus.
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) to foster research within states that traditionally have not received significant levels of competitive funding from NIH. One of the approaches of the IDeA Program, and the source of support on this campus, was the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks (BRIN) now referred to as the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE).
The objectives of K-INBRE are to:
- bring together institutions within a state to establish a network,
- provide competitive funding to the state-based network,
- support institutional alterations and renovations,
- provide funding for modern laboratory equipment, and
- assist in the recruitment of new faculty.
K-INBRE funding is also intended to strengthen the basic science departments of the undergraduate institutions in the network by involving students in research. The undergraduate institutions also serve an important "feeder" role to the science departments of graduate schools within the IDeA-eligible areas.
The lead campus for K-INBRE is the University of Kansas Medical Center. Participants in Kansas K-INBRE in addition to Pittsburg State University are Emporia State University, Forth Hays State University, Haskell Indian Nation University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas - Lawrence, Washburn University, and Wichita State University.
Contacts at PSU
Campus Representative (and Faculty Mentor)
- Dr. Christine Brodsky, Biology (phone:620.235.4947 | Contact)
- Dr. Paige Boydston, Psychology (phone: 620.235.4279 | Contact)
- Dr. Mike Carper, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation (phone: 620.235.6155 | fax: 620.235.4385 | Contact)
- Dr. Peter Chung, Biology (phone: 620.235.4736 | fax: 620.235.4194 | Contact)
- Dr. Laura Covert-Miller, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation (phone: 620.235.4670 | fax: 620.235.4385 | Contact)
- Dr. Anuradha Ghosh, Biology (phone 620.235.4532 | Contact)
- Dr. Ram Gupta, Chemistry (phone: 620.235.4763 | Contact)
- Dr. Phillip Harries, Biology (phone: 620.235.4864 | fax: 620.235.4194 | Contact)
- Dr. James McAfee, Chemistry (phone: 620.235.4750 | Contact)
- Dr. Jody Neef, Chemistry (phone: 620.235.4494 | Contact)
- Dr. Mandy Peak Bryan, Biology (phone: 620.235.4744 | fax: 620.235.4194 | Contact)
- Dr. Laurent Prétôt, Psychology and Counseling (phone: 620.235.6152 | fax: 620.235.6102 | Contact)
- Dr. Neil Snow, Biology (phone: 620.235.4424 | fax: 620.235.4194 | Contact)
- Dr. Christopher Ward, Biology (phone: 620.235.4741 | Contact)
- Dr. Irene Zegar, Chemistry (phone: 620.235.4903 | Contact)
- Dr. Daniel Zurek, Biology (phone: 620.235.4746 | fax: 620.235.4194 | Contact)
Mailing Address:
Department of Biology [or Department of Chemistry]
Pittsburg State University
1701 S. Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762
Faculty Mentors
Each of these faculty guide undergraduate research with support from K-INBRE. But, more than just guiding research, these faculty are active mentors with each student.
The application of behavioral sciences to individuals with autism is an expansive and complex topic, spanning from basic to applied research areas. Research in behavior analysis seeks to improve and refine practice strategies that facilitate and improve socially significant and durable behavior changes, yet in applied settings the delivery of evidence-based interventions varies in rigor and consistency. Therefore, my research is focused in two broad areas. First, my research focuses on the ways in which behavioral practitioners are educated and trained in hands-on settings, and how changes to educational or training processes can facilitate stronger applied skill sets. For example, the way in which practitioners learn to interact with and analyze data may be imperative to their future ability to engage in sound clinical decision making. Second, my research focuses on alterations to discrete portions of therapeutic strategies and techniques and how those changes facilitate increased skill acquisition and behavior reduction. For example, the way in which error correction procedures following an incorrect response in a skill acquisition program may facilitate faster acquisition of targets and higher rates of maintenance for the skill. Current research activities relate to increasing the intensity of instruction during behavior analytic services, understanding factors impacting the visual analysis of data, and evaluating the components of supervision that may hinder or foster clinicians throughout their internship experiences. Cross department collaboration is welcome, as are undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in autism and/or behavior analysis.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4279 | Contact
Many research findings focus on the positive impacts of the proximity, density, and use of green spaces within a resident’s living environment, many of which are associated with health and psychological indicators. However, few studies have assessed the properties of the greenspace that correlate to their benefits. As the world becomes more urbanized, these impacts are incredibly more important to understand.
Not all urban green spaces are equal: they can range from highly manicured parks and a mature forest stand, to a contaminated brownfield, steps away from a resident’s home. These site differences thus impact the site’s vegetation, wildlife diversity and habitat, potential for pollutant exposure, and residents’ interactions and well-being. To address how green space contents and structure affect urban wildlife and residents, our laboratory has collaborated with the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma’s Environmental Office. We are studying the effects of habitat remediation at the Tar Creek Superfund Site on the bird community and local residents, with the goal of tracking long-term changes.
My research also studies how residents perceive green spaces and the features residents would prefer to have in their neighborhood green spaces. We found that residents valued clear and open spaces, indicators of lot care, and urban biodiversity within their neighborhoods. The next step is to go beyond perception and preference, and to assess how the contents and management practices of such green spaces affect residents both physiologically and psychologically. I welcome any student interested in either of these projects to contact me for volunteer or internship possibilities.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4947 | fax 620.235.4194
We have been interested in understanding how activated macrophages discriminate between normal and tumor cells and what is involved in that discrimination. Our approach has been to study the response of simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed mouse fibroblast cells to activated macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity. Although SV40-transformed cells are tumorigenic, they are universally resistant to activated macrophage-mediated killing. However, a single subclone, F5b, was identified, which exhibits the unique phenotype of being sensitive to the tumoricidal activities of activated macrophages; while a sister clone, F5m, maintains the typical SV40-transformed phenotype of resistance.
Understanding the mechanisms by which tumor cells are resistant to macrophages may lead to the development of therapies which can overcome this resistance. Such a therapy could enhance the effectiveness of macrophages to reduce the occurrences of metastasis and to reject tumors.
Our laboratory, through collaboration with Kansas State University, is currently working with these tumorigenic cell lines, and one of our main goals is to identify, through cloning and expression, the putative gene(s) believed to be responsible for susceptibility to macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity. Preliminary molecular data suggests CD81 (a tetraspanin that may be used as a marker in tumorigenic cells) may be involved in differences in monolayer growth seen between the sister clones, F5b and F5m. Ongoing research with both nucleic acids and proteins will hopefully shed light into the mechanisms behind this activity.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4736 | fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
The overall goal of my research is to improve the health and quality of life for individuals with disabilities and older adults. The main intervention of focus is physical activity and implementing therapeutic recreation-based physical activity. Through investigations of physical activity interventions, evidence-based practices can be established to assist the credibility of the therapeutic recreation interventions. Investigating accurate measures of fitness and health is an additional research goal to help improve the reliability and validity of fitness assessments that can be used with such a diverse population.
Most of the research completed is applied within the Ability Lab. The purpose of the Ability Lab is to provide therapeutic recreation interventions for community members while conducting research to create evidence-based practices in therapeutic recreation. Student research assistants are provided opportunities to work in the lab gaining valuable experience with those we serve which includes individuals with disabilities and older adults, specifically individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Research assistants have opportunities to conduct assessments, plan and implement interventions, and evaluate outcomes. Interventions facilitated through the lab include physical activity programs, leisure education, and expressive arts interventions. Any students who have an interest in this research and the opportunities it can provide are welcome to reach out any time.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4670 | Contact
I am an associate professor in the Department of Biology at Pittsburg state University. I am a microbiologist, and my research theme is One Health. My projects focus on various aspects of food safety, antibiotic resistance and virulence of food borne pathogens, molecular diagnostics. A few projects deal with host-pathogen interaction in vector (tick and mosquito) borne diseases. I also have projects related to restoration of environmental health. In many of these projects I have applied whole-genome sequence-based approach.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4532 | fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4763 | fax 620.235.4003 | Contact
Virus infections pose a serious health threat to both plants and animals. In order for such infections to exert their negative effects, however, viruses must be able to move from cell-to-cell and spread within their hosts. My lab will focus on studying the methods by which viruses hijack plant cells to facilitate their movement. In particular, we will focus on the potential role of the host cell cytoskeleton which can serve as tracks along which cellular cargo (including invading viruses) can travel. Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) has been shown to require the host cytoskeleton for its spread but the mechanism underlying this requirement is unknown. We will examine the potential association of TBSV proteins with various components of the plant cell cytoskeleton using both microscopy and biochemical techniques. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of virus movement may lead to methods for slowing or stopping virus spread in important crop plants.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4864 | fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
Recognition of foreign antigens in the human immune system is primarily performed by the B and T cell receptors. The genes encoding the antigen-binding receptors are produced in a functional form during specific stages of lymphocyte development through a specific DNA rearrangement process referred to as V(D)J recombination. This results in somatic rearrangement of the gene segments that encode the variable regions of B-cell and T-cell receptors. Two lymphoid specific proteins, RAG1 and RAG2, initiate V(D)J recombination by introducing DNA double-strand breaks between each selected gene segment and their bordering recombination signal sequence (RSS) in a two step mechanism, in which the DNA is first nicked followed by hairpin formation. Mutations in either RAG protein that disrupt catalytic activity result in fatal immunodeficiency diseases, including SCID.
Our interests continue at the molecular level and we utilize biochemical methods to further interpret the protein-DNA interactions of RAG1 with the RSS. We will employ photo-crosslinking assays to determine the DNA nucleotides in the RSS heptamer that interact with RAG1 in the presence and absence of RAG2. Overall, these studies will provide important insight into the V(D)J recombination reaction, specifically that significant interaction of the RSS heptamer with RAG1 and to further elucidate the function of RAG1 and RAG2.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.6541 | fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
The overarching goal of my research program is to understand the relative roles of cognition and ecology in shaping decision-making. I study this both at the individual and the species level, using cross-taxon comparative and developmental approaches. Exploring both the evolutionary and developmental origins of decision-making allows to better understanding how species solve problems they face in their everyday life.
In my comparative work, I examined the performance of non-human primates and fish on versions of a task derived from the social dilemma encountered by cleaner fish in the wild. My findings showed that, despite their small brains, adult fish were better than primates and juvenile fish at solving this task, indicating that ecology and experience rather than cognition better equip species to be sensitive to particular cues when solving ecological problems. Consistent with this idea, monkeys improved their performance in versions of the task designed to be more relevant to primates.
My developmental work complements my research with animals by exploring the factors influencing children’s decision-making in social dilemmas. In this line of work, I place social dilemmas in more socially valid and naturalistic contexts, ones in which individuals are interacting with real partners and where group membership matters. To examine this, I combine experimental work in the lab and observational work in the field.
Together, the comparative and developmental facets of my research emphasize the importance of understanding how both ecology and social environment critically influence how species and individuals solve different problems.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.6152
Human health can be affected significantly by local environmental conditions. Regionally, for example, we have the Tar Creek Superfund Site, a legacy of past mining activities that paid insufficient attention to the short and long-term effects of surface mining on human health. Likewise, local environmental health is dependent on, and linked to, regional and global environmental conditions.
Local terrestrial ecosystems, and the native fauna they support, only function normally in the presence of native species of plants. Surprisingly, many areas have not been adequately surveyed for their native plant diversity, or if so, have not been surveyed for many decades.
My research in part studies the distribution of native and non-native plants across local landscapes. Many potential local projects await the attention of highly motivated students. The data from such studies are valued and used by state and federal land management agencies, municipal planners, educators, and ecologists and other scientists. Although the numbers are rarely high, openings for career positions in the private consulting sector and publicly in state and federal land-management agencies are advertised steadily.
The other principal focal area of my research is the systematics (=classification) of the Grass (Poaceae) and Myrtle (Myrtaceae) families. Ecologically, grasses are the most abundant plants on the planet by far, something native Kansans are other prairie dwellers understand intuitively. My studies focus on Leptochloa and closely related genera, which was the topic of my doctoral research at Washington University in St. Louis and at the Missouri Botanical Garden. My other main area of interest, the Myrtle family, is studying one of the most species-rich plant genera in the world, Eugenia, in one of the world’s mega-divers countries, Madagascar.
The Theodore M. Sperry Herbarium at Pittsburg State University, of which I am Director, is a center of research for plant diversity in the region. Students interested in potential projects, including possible work-study options in the T. M. Sperry Herbarium, are encouraged to contact me.
Contact Information: Phone 620.235.4424 | Fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
Dr. Christopher Ward
Our lab's aims center around characterization, distinction, identification of risk factors, and target discovery associated with various forms of solid cancers. We use tools and software common to cancer biology, next-generation sequencing, data science, biostatistics, and functional genomics. We also pursue more general projects involving statistical modeling for a variety of biomedical and physiological phenomena.
Contact Information: Phone 620.235.4741 | Office: 213 Hecker-Wells | Contact
My lab is investigating a potent antimicrobial protein from soybean with the ultimate goal of producing a novel antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance is an enormous and rapidly growing problem among numerous human pathogens formerly easily controlled by existing drugs. Discovery of new antibiotics is essential. Research has focused on isolating new medicinal compounds from rare tropical plant species, but little attention has been paid to crop species which can be grown in quantity.
We have cloned a gene from soybean (Glycine max L.) encoding an enzyme possessing glucanase activity, potentially capable of degrading bacterial and fungal cell wall structures, resulting in abatement or termination of microbial growth. It has shown considerable activity against several species of gram negative bacteria (E. coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Proteus vulgaris) as well as against Charcoal Rot (Macrophomina phaseolina), a significant fungal pathogen of soybean, corn, cotton, and many other plant species of agronomic importance responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars lost to American farmers annually. Analysis of purified recombinant protein from a yeast expression system is underway to quantitate the efficacy of this protein as an antimicrobial agent.
Contact Information: phone 620.235.4746 | fax 620.235.4194 | Contact
PSU K-INBRE Publications
2023
Banerjee, T., Panchal, N., Sutton, C., Elliott, R., Patel, T., Kajal, K., Arogunyo, E., Koti, N., and Santra, S. "Tunable magneto-plasmonic nanosensor for sensitive detection of foodborne pathogens." Biosensors 13:109, 2023.
Bugbee, T., Gathoni, M., Payne, C., Blubaugh, M., Matlock, K., Wixson, T., Lu, A., Stancic, S., Chung, P.A., Palinski, R., and Wallace, N. "Inhibition of p300 increases cytotoxicity of cisplatin in pancreatic cancer cells." Gene 888:147762, 2023.
2022
Choi, J., Morey, K., Kumar, A., Neupane, D., Mishra, S. R., Perez, F., and Gupta, R. K. "Self-assembled cotton-like copper-molybdenum sulfide and phosphide as a bifunctional electrode for green energy storage and production." Materials Today Chemistry 24:100848, 2022.
Panchal, N., Jain, V., Elliott, R., Flint, Z., Worsley, P., Duran, C., Banerjee, T., and Santra, S. 2022. "Plasmon-enhanced bimodal nanosensors: An enzyme-free signal amplification strategy for ultrasensitive detection of pathogens." Analytical Chemistry 94:13968-13977, 2022.
2020
Shaw, Z., Patel, A., Butcher, T., Banerjee, T., Bean, R. and Santra, S. "Pseudo-branched polyester copolymer: an efficient drug delivery system to treat cancer." Biomaterials Science 8:1592-1603, 2020.
2016
Rider, V., Talbott, A., Bhusri, A., Krumsick, Z., Foster, S., Wormington, J. and Kimler, B. “Wingless (WNT) signaling is a progesterone target for rat uterine stromal cell proliferation.” Journal of Endocrinology 229:1-11, 2016.
2013
Ward, J. W., Rider, V., Abdou N. I., and Kimler, B. F. “Estradiol differentially regulates calreticulin: a potential link with abnormal T cell function in systemic lupus erythematosus?” Lupus 22:583-596, 2013.
2012
Weng, Ju-Lin, Samantha L. Young, David M. Gordon, David Claborn, Christine Petersen, Marcelo Ramalho-Ortigao. 2012.First Report of Phlebotomine Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Kansas and Missouri, and a PCR Method to Distinguish Lutzomyia shannoni From Lutzomyia vexator. J. Med. Entomol. 49:1163-1552.
2010
Abdou, N.I., and Rider, V. 2010. "Gender Differences in Autoimmune Diseases: Immune Mechanisms and Clinical Applications": in Principles of Gender Specific Medicine. M. Legato, ed., Elsevier, New York, pp 585-591.
2009
Rider, V., and Abdou, N. I. 2009. "Hormones-Epigenetic Contributors to Gender Biased Autoimmunity". in Epigenetics of Autoimmune Diseases. M. Zouali, ed., John Wiley & Sons Ltd. London, UK, 310-336.
Harries, P.A., Karuppaiah, P., Yu, W., Schoelz, J.E., Nelson, R.S. (2009) The Cauliflower mosaic virus protein P6 forms motile inclusions that traffic along actin microfilaments and stabilize microtubules. Plant Physiology 149(2):1005-1016.
Walters, E., Rider V., Abdou N.I., Greenwell C., Svojanovsky S., Smith P. and Kimler B.F. (2009) Estradiol targets T cell signaling pathways in human systemi lupus. Clinical Immunology 133:428-436.
2008
Gorjestani, S., Rider, V., Kimler, B.F., Greenwell, C., and Abdou, N.I. "Extracellular Signal Regulated Kinase1/2 Signaling in SLE T Cells is Influenced by Estrogen and Disease Activity." Lupus, 17: 548-554, 2008.
Abdou, N. I., Rider, V., Greenwell, C., Li, X. and Kimler B.F. "Fulvestrant (Faslodex) an Estrogen Selective Receptor Downregulator, in Therapy of Females with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Clinical, Serologic, Bone Density, and T Cell Activation Marker Studies: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial." Journal of Rheumatology, 35: 797- 803, 2008.
Harries, P.A., Karuppaiah, P., Bhat, S., Nelson, R.S. (2008) Tobacco mosaic virus 126-kDa protein increases the susceptibility of Nicotiana tabacum to other viruses and its dosage affects virus-induced gene silencing. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 21:1539-1548.
Harries, P.A., Nelson, R.S. (2008) Movement of Viruses in Plants. Encyclopedia of Virology, 3rd Edition. pp. 348-355. Elsevier Press.
2007
Rider, V., Li, X., and Abdou, N.I. "Hormonal Influences in the Expression of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus." in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Companion to Rheumatology. G. C. Tsokos, P.C. Gordon, J. S. Smolen, eds., Elsevier, New York, NY, 87-94, 2007.
2006
Rider, V., Li, X., Peterson, G., Dawson J., Kimler B.F., and Abdou, N.I. "Differential Expression of Estrogen Receptors in Females with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus". Journal of Rheumatology 33: 1093-1101, 2006.
Li, X., Rider, V., Kimler, B.F., and Abdou, N.I. "Estrogen Does Not Regulate CD154 mRNA Stability in SLE T Cells." Lupus 15: 1-6, 2006.
Rider, V., Isuzugawa, K., Twarog, M., Jones, S., Cameron, B., Imakawa, K., and Fang, J. "Progesterone Initiates Wnt-β-catenin Signaling But Estradiol is Required for Nuclear Activation and Synchronous Proliferation of Rat Uterine Stromal Cells." Journal of Endocrinology 191:1-13, 2006.
Cove, D.J., Bezanilla, M.B., Harries, P.A., Quatrano, R.S. (2006) Mosses as model systems for the study of metabolism and development. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 57, 497-520.
Current Scholars
University Scholars (2024-2025)
| Student Scholar | Mentor |
| Sara Akhtar | Dr. Harries |
Summer/Semester Scholars (2024-2025)
| Student Scholar | Mentor |
| Alexandra Robinson | Dr. Gupta |
| Anjali Gupta | Dr. Gupta |
| Sebastian Henry | Dr. Ward |
| Zachary Todd | Dr. McAfee |
| Kelsie Tucker | Dr. Chung |
STAR Trainees (2024-2025)
| Student Scholar | Mentor |
| Ayushee Dasgupta | Dr. Ghosh |