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An adviser in a blue sweater interacts with student in a pink shirt near a window on school campus.

KU advances tools and supports to improve postschool outcomes for students with disabilities with $1.8M federal grant

A closeup image of a man holding his young child.

New KU partnership dedicated to engaged fatherhood, family, financial stability

Associate Professor Zijun Wang

School of Pharmacy researcher publishes work on social isolation, drug abuse

School of Pharmacy researcher and associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology Zijun Wang was recently published in Nature Communications. Her research delves into social isolation and how it impacts mental health and substance abuse disorders and potentially discovering drug therapies to intervene.

Science and Technology

KU Engineering will host 69th Annual Asphalt Paving Conference

On Dec. 4, the Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering within the University of Kansas School of Engineering will host experts in the field of asphalt paving engineering for a one-day conference exploring the latest developments in the field.

Researchers at KU launch new Kansas Flood Mapping Dashboard

The Kansas Flood Mapping Dashboard uses stream gauge data from the National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, among other sources, along with the terrain-based FLDPLN (“Floodplain”) model developed at the University of Kansas. The tool will aid emergency managers across the state as well as the public.
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Photo taken on a light microscope of bone marrow derived dendritic cells generated for the study at the University of Kansas.

Research challenges idea that gene PTPN22 boosts production of interferons

A new paper from the University of Kansas overturns the idea that a “risk gene” carried by millions of people worldwide influences production of Type 1 interferon, a workhorse of the immune system.
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Health and Well-Being

School of Pharmacy researcher publishes work on social isolation, drug abuse

School of Pharmacy researcher and associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology Zijun Wang was recently published in Nature Communications. Her research delves into social isolation and how it impacts mental health and substance abuse disorders and potentially discovering drug therapies to intervene.

New KU initiative uses cutting-edge sports technology to help Kansas high school athletes train smarter

A new initiative led by the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory helps Kansas high school athletes train smarter, stay healthier and sets the stage for groundbreaking sports science research.
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Luke Erber

NIH grant supports KU study of DNA-protein cross-links

Identifying toxic DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs) and the cellular pathways to repair them are the goals of research underway by University of Kansas researcher Luke Erber, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry, and his lab team. The research is being funded by a $1.8 million grant recently announced by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a unit of the National Institutes of Health.
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Teaching, Learning and Behavior

KU part of collaborative grant to prepare new generation of special education leaders

The University of Kansas is part of the Collaborative Approaches to Impactful Special Education Leadership program, designed to enroll scholars with teaching experience who want to progress to leadership roles in research, teaching and serving students with disabilities.

KU advances tools and supports to improve postschool outcomes for students with disabilities with $1.8M federal grant

Continued funding for this work will "ensure that all of our shareholders, whether that be state-level personnel, local-level personnel, and/or students and youth with disabilities and their families, can really digest the work,” according to the primary investigator, Valerie Mazzotti, who is an affiliated researcher at the KU Center on Disabilities and KU distinguished professor of special education.
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A chatbot with eyes and a smiling face taking part in a virtual therapy session.

Study measures behavioral markers of alliance in support groups, viability of machine learning in mental health

A study from the University of Kansas and University of Southern California measured which nonverbal behaviors indicate that people are forming connections in a support group, particularly in virtual groups. The researchers also examined the feasibility of using machine learning in support groups.
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Arts, Architecture and Humanities

KU filmmaker’s new series captures stories, traditions of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska

Rebekka Schlichting, assistant professor of the practice at the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications, released the series “Baxoje Basics” this past month. Her episode “In Honor of Pete Fee” captured the last interview with the revered elder of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Haunting Humanities returns with a wicked lineup of attractions

The Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas will bring the mysterious, the magical and the macabre to downtown Lawrence Oct. 29 with Haunting Humanities, the all-ages “science fair for the humanities” with a Halloween twist.
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Bits of trash floating in water

In new exhibition, Elise Kirk’s photos imply that we all live in ‘New Town’

A photographer and University of Kansas professor's long, deep study of a New York City waterway results in a body of work that blurs some detail, yet draws the audience into shared emotions. Elise Kirk's series “New Town” opens Nov. 19 at Washington University’s Weitman Gallery.
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Business, Economics and Innovation

B2B sales now require a ‘holistic’ selling approach, study finds

In a new study, Murali Mantrala, the Ned Fleming Professor of Marketing at the University of Kansas, examines how the key role of the salesperson has evolved in business-to-business sales, in response to changing buyer behavior during the purchase journey.

Matching skills with jobs in mutual fund industry leads to higher risk-adjusted performance, study finds

In a new study, Gjergji Cici, the Koch Professor in Business Economics at the University of Kansas, explores how firms that match skills of their employees with jobs in the mutual funds industry leads to significantly higher risk-adjusted performance.
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Five matchsticks progressively burn in succession.

Strong incentives may lead to even more employee burnout, research finds

In a new article, Rob Waiser, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Kansas, examines how firms should account for effects like fatigue and burnout when designing incentive compensation for their employees.
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Law, Politics and Society

Study finds Kansas City fare-free bus policy attracted new riders, increased overall use

A University of Kansas study found that following Kansas City's policy implementation of fare-free bus service, new riders were attracted to the service and overall usage increased, among other changes. Traditionally marginalized communities were especially affected by the change, showing that such a policy has equity benefits, the study author said.

Attitudes toward immigration become more polarized during electoral periods, study finds

In a new study, Sofia Vera, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, examines how the issue of immigration affects voters, finding that a strong partisan polarization occurs close to an election, but once it is over, both sides begin to converge in the middle.
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Study finds Marion County Record raid created ‘shared press distress’ among fellow journalists

Research from the University of Kansas has found that the raid on the Marion County Record newspaper in rural Kansas created “shared press distress” among fellow small town journalists. Shortly after the raid, journalists reported feeling distress and asked questions about if such raids would continue to be allowed and what it would mean for their journalistic practices.
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