Brian D. AckleyAssociate Professor | Molecular Biosciences

Molecular Genetics of Nervous System Development

Impact and Achievements • Received prestigious Challenge Grant from the NIH• Invited seminar speaker at national and international meetings• Reviews grants for NIH and multiple international agencies• Received KU’s Leading Light Award for Research Funding

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides learning opportunities for students in a variety of genetic

techniques• Has mentored trainees from NIH-funded diversity initiatives,

including IRACDA, PREP and IMSD

More Information: https://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/brian-ackley

Caenorhabditis elegans motorneurons labeldwith green and red fluorescent proteins. Allows visualization of nervous system development to find genetic mutations that might lead to developmental disorders

Phil BaringerProfessor | Physics and Astronomy

Experiments in elementary particle physics

Impact and Achievements • Collaborator on the CMS experiment, an international

collaboration operating an experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider

• Co-author of over 700 peer-reviewed journal articles• NSF funded throughout KU career

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Runs Kansas QuarkNet center that provides summer research

opportunities for high school students and workshops for high school physics teachers

• Mentors undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers

• Faculty Fellow at University Honors Program

More Information: http://physics.ku.edu/baringer-philip-s

Representation of a proton-proton collision as recorded by the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider

Alice Bean, Univ. Distinguished ProfessorPhysics and Astronomy

Searching for new particles at the Large Hadron Collider

Impact and Achievements • Fellow of the AAAS and American Physical Society• Worked with the CMS collaboration at CERN to discover the

Higgs Boson• Works on detector technology to create a camera capable of

recording images 40 million times per second and process those images

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Has supervised over 70 undergraduate researchers• Created PHSX 420: Science and Policy course where students

engage • Creator of the particle outreach project Quarked! Adventures in

the subatomic universe www.quarked.org

More Information: http://physics.ku.edu/bean-alice

Forward pixel detector inserted into the CMS detector at CERN that was tested at University of Kansas

K. Christopher Beard, professorEcology & Evolutionary Biology

Early Evolution of Primates and other Mammals

Impact and Achievements • MacArthur Fellow: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation• Phi Beta Kappa Science Book Award for The Hunt for the Dawn Monkey• NSF INPSIRE grant and other federal and private funding

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides independent research opportunities in lab• Raised private funds to establish the “David B. Jones Graduate Fellows

in Paleontology” program at KU• Provides hands-on opportunities for KU students to participate in field

research in Wyoming, China, and Turkey

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/k-christopher-beard-named

Progressive evolution of blade-like premolars (shown in orange) among early relatives of primates from China and the western USA

Sharon A. BillingsDean’s Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Kansas Biological Survey

Terrestrial ecosystem responses to environmental variabilityImpact and Achievements • Acclaimed developer of linkages between microbial- and tree-scale

mechanisms and biosphere-scale phenomena• >50 invited seminars at national and international venues• NSF Critical Zone Observatory grant and additional NSF and DOE grants

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides independent research training to diverse undergraduates,

including Honors research and REU experiences• Trains the next generation of environmental scientists how to integrate

disparate scientific fields to understand contemporary problems• Advises graduate students at KU, other US institutions, and multiple

international universities

More Information: http://billingslab.faculty.ku.edu

Coring a tree

Measuring root abundance

Quantifying soil microbial processes

James BlakemoreAssistant Professor | Department of Chemistry

Developing a Molecular Basis for SustainabilityImpact and Achievements • Discussion Leader, Gordon Research Meetings, 2016 and 2018• Research featured on the cover of Chemistry – A European

Journal in January 2018. • Collaborative US NSF SusChEM support for exploring new media

and catalysis of carbon dioxide conversion. Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Diverse research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate

students in catalysis, inorganic and organic synthesis, energy storage, and sustainability science.

• Students serve as mentors in a PI-led inquiry-driven mentoring project at rural middle schools in Kansas.

• Multiple students honored with Undergraduate Research Fellowships and publications since lab opening in January 2016.

More Information: http://chem.ku.edu/people/faculty/jblakemore

Journal Cover Featuring Research on Redox-Tuning of Catalysts for Generation of Renewable Fuels.

Justin P. BlumenstielAssociate Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Selfish DNA, Epigenetics and Mechanisms of Inheritance

Impact and Achievements • Funded by NSF since 2010• Development of efficient methods for RNA sequencing• First to identify a role for small RNA in the epigenetic control of

transposable elements inherited through the male germline

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides training in genomics for genetics students• Mentors students in independent research for Honors Theses• Undergraduate authorship in diverse publications

More Information: http://www.blumenstiellab.org/

The Blumenstiel Lab studies the evolutionary arms race between selfish DNA and the epigenetic mechanisms that protect the genome

Matthew BuechnerAssociate Professor | Molecular Biosciences

Regulation of Tubule Formation

Achievements • Identified multiple genes affecting human health from

experimental roundworm C. elegans• Over 100 students mentored in research• National Science Foundation Program Officer,

Developmental Biology, 2015-2017Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Multiple undergraduate students included on research papers• Teaching at all levels at Lawrence & Edwards campuses• H.O.P.E. Award for Outstanding Educator from Class of 2010

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/matthew-buechner

Vesicle movement within normal “kidney” tubes of roundworm C. elegans

When good tubes go bad: Swelling of narrow “kidney” tube (arrow) into wide swollen cysts

Amy BurginAssociate Professor | Env. Studies, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Aquatic Biogeochemistry and Global Change EcologyImpact and Achievements • Published 40 papers, most co-authored with graduate and

undergraduate student collaborators• Awarded three National Science Foundation grants to use high-

frequency sensors to measure greenhouse gases and water quality• Honored with University of Nebraska Holling Family Junior Faculty

Teaching Award (2015)

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentors a Haskell Indian Nations University BRIDGE student and

two KU Emerging Scholars undergraduate researchers• Sponsored six undergraduates and five graduate students to

present scientific results at large national meetings• Offers Scientific Communication to teach students essential skills

for explaining their science to diverse audiences

More Information: https://burginlab.wordpress.com/ OR https://esp.ku.edu/amy-burgin

The Burgin Lab samples water chemistry from natural and experimental aquatic ecosystems to study environmental change.

Alexander C. DienerAssociate Professor | Geography, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Political and Social Geography / International Studies

Impact and Achievements • Harvard University, Davis Center Senior Fellow• George Washington University, Elliott School Senior Fellow• Kennan Institute Research Fellow• 3 Authored Books / 3 Edited Books• 43 Articles / Edited Volume Chapters• Fulbright, NSF, SSRC, IREX, MacArthur Funding Recipient • Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides independent research training in his courses• Mentors students while conducting research with a focus on

underrepresented groups • Participant in KU CLAS Mentor Program

More Information: https://geog.ku.edu/alexander-c-diener

Christopher G. EllesAssociate Professor | Department of Chemistry

Ultrafast dynamics of chemical reactions

Impact and Achievements • National Science Foundation Career Award • Over 50 invited seminars and lectures• $1M in cumulative external research funding• National and international research collaborations

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Research advisor for a team of graduate and undergraduate

students• Mentor for undergraduate UKanTeach students• J. Michael Young Academic Advisor Award

More Information: https://ellesgroup.ku.edu/

Laser pulses selectively change the reaction path of a molecule.

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Impact and Achievements • American Physical Society (APS) Fellow, Division of Astrophysics• 36 invited talks at national and international meetings and135

seminars and colloquia all over the world• Research the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides independent research training in his courses• Mentors undergraduate and graduate students while conducting

research • Involved in wide-ranging diversity and inclusion initiatives• Organizer of the APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in

Physics (CUWiP) to be held in January 12-14, 2018 at the Kansas Union

Hume A. Feldman, professor and chairPhysics & Astronomy

Large-scale structure of the Universe

More Information: https://physics.ku.edu/feldman-hume

Angular distribution of 17,000 galaxies in the sky and their distances (blue are the closest, dark red are the furthest, follow the rainbow)

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T. Chris GamblinProfessor | Molecular Biosciences

Tau Protein in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Impact and Achievements • More than $2 million total in grant funding • 29 publications cited more than 1,500 times• National Institute of Health Independent Scientist Award

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Teaches a course on Brain Diseases and Neurological Disorders• Mentors students while conducting research with a focus on

underrepresented groups in STEM• KU Mortar Board Outstanding Educator Award

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/t-chris-gamblin

Alzheimer’s-like synthetic tau filaments induced by polyunsaturated fatty acids

Jennifer M. GleasonAssociate Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Evolutionary Behavioral Genetics

Impact and Achievements • National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences• NSF CAREER Award

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Director of the NSF funded Research Experiences for

Undergraduates Program 2013-present• Mentored over 90 undergraduates students through research• Member of the initial First Year Seminar steering committee

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/jennifer-gleason

Drosophila nebulosacourtship behavior

Lena C. HilemanProfessor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Evolution and Development of Flower Form

Impact and Achievements • Kavli Fellow: National Academy of Sciences• Thirty invited seminars at national and international venues• NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity grant and other NSF funding

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides independent research training in her courses• Mentors students while conducting research with a focus on

underrepresented groups in STEM• Received Office for Diversity on Science Training Undergraduate

Mentor Recognition Award

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/lena-hileman

Evolutionary shifts in pollinator adaptation: from bee-adapted (top) to hummingbird-adapted (bottom)

Audrey LambProfessor | Molecular Biosciences

Enzymology of Pathogenic Bacteria

Impact and Achievements • Research currently funded by the NSF, NIH, and Keck Foundation• NIH Independent Scientist Award, 2011-2016• Over thirty invited seminars at national and international venues

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• K. Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, 2017• W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, 2009• Multi-PI of the NIH Training Grant in Chemical Biology and Co-

Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Chemical Biology

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/audrey-lamb

Kinetic and structural analysis of enzymes involved in iron acquisition by antibiotic resistant bacteria

C

Erik A. LundquistProfessor | Molecular Biosciences

Development of the Nervous SystemImpact and Achievements • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of

Science• NSF CAREER Award recipient and continuous funding from the

NIH• Leads review of grant proposals for the NIH and other agencies

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides in-lab research experience for undergraduates,

including those from underrepresented groups, resulting in undergraduate authorship on peer-reviewed publications

• Trains the next generation of scientists as Ph.D. students and post-doctoral associates

• Received the Robert Weaver Graduate Mentor Award in Biological Sciences

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/erik-lundquist

The brain of the nematode worm C. elegans highlighted by green fluorescent protein

Stuart J MacdonaldAssociate Professor | Molecular Biosciences

Genetics and Genomics of Complex Traits

Impact and Achievements • Made key contributions to the understanding of complex,

polygenic trait variation in the Drosophila (fruitfly) system• Continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since

2008, including an active award for $2 million • Publishes in respected journals such as Genetics, PLoS

Genetics, and Genome Research• Director of a core facility that assists investigators throughout the

State of Kansas in the design and analysis of genomics studies

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentored >35 undergraduates during independent research

experiences, six of whom went on to co-author publications

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/stuart-j-macdonald

Flies undergoing a test to assess their resistance to a toxic chemical

Dionyssios MantzavinosAssistant Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Differential Equations in Applied Mathematics

Impact and Achievements • AMS Simons Travel Grant for Early Career Mathematicians• Thirty six invited seminars at national and international venues• More than twenty original research articles in peer-reviewed

scientific journals

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Advisor and co-advisor of three graduate students• Inspires and interacts with undergraduate math and science

majors as an active member of the KU Math Club • Holds training sessions for the KU Putnam competition team

More Information: http://mantzavinos.faculty.ku.edu

The Morning Glory cloud off the coast of northern Australia: an impressive example of a solitary wave that can be studied via partial differential equations.

Yas MotoyamaAssistant Professor | Dept. of Geography & School of Business

Local Systems of Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Research Areas• Sources & environment for high-growth companies• Connecting entrepreneurs to local support resources• Bridging university technologies and companiesImpact and Achievements• Keynote speaker: Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Bozeman,

Missoula, Montana. April 2017 (featured in Montana Public Radio)• Panelist for the Power of Networks in Entrepreneurship by the

World Bank: Washington DC. May 2016.• Op-ed: Entrepreneurial ecosystems: What St. Louis can teach the

nation. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sept. 2014.

More Information: https://geog.ku.edu/yasuyuki-motoyama

Report about St. Louis in 2014. Foreworded by Mayor Francis Slay of St. Louis

Searing for a Colored Glass of Gluons at the LHC

Michael Murray is using the the Large Hadron Collider to produce the highest energy photons in the world. He then uses these photons to visualize the gluons that hold all matter together. At very high energy these gluons may fuse together to make a glass like structure. This would be a new state of matter, the Colored Glass Condensate.

Kristi L. NeufeldProfessor | Molecular Biosciences

Maintenance of Normal Intestinal TissueImpact and Achievements • Frank B. Tyler Professor of Cancer Research• Co-Leader of Cancer Biology Program, NCI-designated KU Cancer

Center • Funding from NSF, NCI/NIH and DoD

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Emphasizes the experimental methods that led to our current knowledge

in her courses• Mentors graduate and undergraduate students while conducting

research • Received Robert Weaver Graduate Mentor Award in Biological Sciences

(2017); Grant K. Goodman Undergraduate Mentor Award (2015); Biology Graduating Class “Favorite Professor” (2015); William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence (2008)

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/kristi-neufeld

Architecture of the cells lining a normal colon with key proteins APC (red) and β-catenin (green)

Shannon O’LearProfessor | Geography and Environmental Studies

Political Geography & Environmental Geopolitics

Impact and Achievements • Publications and invited talks on resource conflict and climate

security at academic and U.S. government venues• NSF panels: Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems

and Geography and Spatial Sciences Doctoral Dissertation Research Initiative Advisory Panel

• Leadership positions in the American Association of Geographers

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentors independent, undergraduate research projects• Publications with students in international journals• W.T. Kemper Fellowship for teaching

More Information: http://geog.ku.edu/shannon-olear

Maria E. OriveAssociate Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Evolutionary models of organisms with complex life histories

Impact and Achievements • President-elect, American Genetic Association• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Foundation Fellow• National Science Foundation grant in Evolutionary Ecology and

other NSF and NIH funding

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentors undergraduate researchers with a focus on women in

mathematics/underrepresented groups in STEM• Advisor for honors projects in Mathematics and Biology• Recent publication in a top journal (Orive et al. 2017, AmNat)

featured undergraduate researcher as co-author (C. Fernandez)

More Information: http://www.orive.faculty.ku.edu/

Change in mean genotype/phenotype (A) and population size (B) after environmental shift with or without clonal reproduction (Orive et al. 2017)

Raymond PierottiAssociate Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Impact and Achievements • Tribal College and University Mentor of the Year SACNAS 1998• Only faculty member in US with joint appointment in Ecology and

Indigenous Nations Studies 2004-2011• Developer and Editor: Native : American Science curriculum• accessible at: nativeamericanscience.orgMentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentored 50 Native American undergraduate and 15 Native

American MA and PhD students• Mentors students while conducting research with a focus on

underrepresented groups in STEM• Teaches Interdisciplinary Courses that involve Indigenous

Knowledge and Scientific traditions

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/lraymond pierotti n

Coevolution between wolves and humans. Indigenous Knowledge Evolutionary Ecology of Mammals and Birds Hybridization and Evolution

Paul A. SeldenDistinguished Professor | Department of Geology

Fossil Arthropods

Impact and Achievements • Over 200 peer-reviewed publications• Internationally recognized work on fossil arachnids and their

relatives• Nature magazine image of the year 2010• Alexander von Humboldt Research Award

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Masters and PhD students in paleontology• Undergraduate courses in paleontology

More Information: paulselden.net

Bizarre armoured spider, Electroblemmabifida, in Burmese amber

Andrew E. Z. ShortAssociate Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Evolution and Biodiversity of Aquatic Insects

Impact and Achievements • Fulbright Scholar to Brazil, U.S. Department of State• Named and described 200 new species of insects to science• NSF and National Geographic Society grantee

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Leads Study Abroad field courses in Suriname and Brazil• Has mentored numerous NSF REU and BRIDGE students• Has 12 publications with undergraduate co-authors

More Information: http://www.shortlab.org

Conducting fieldwork for insects with KU students in Suriname

Benjamin A. SikesAssistant Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Microbial Community Ecology in Practice

Impact and Achievements • PI or co-PI on 3 major NSF grants in last 3 years• Twenty invited talks at local, national, and international venues• Funded research applied to prairie restoration, fire management,

creating sustainable perennial agriculture

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Courses center on direct, active learning with independent

research projects• Mentored several students through programs aimed at

diversifying STEM: Haskell BRIDGE, Doris Duke Conservation Fellows, IMSD

• Four recent papers with undergraduates and/or high school students as primary or co-authors.

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/ben-sikes

Interplay between land management (e.g fires above) and microbial

communities (e.g. soil fungi below)

Joanna SluskyAssistant Professor | Molecular Biosciences and Center for Computational Biology

Membrane protein folding and design

Impact and Achievements • Gordon and Betty Moore Inventor Fellow• NIH Director’s New Innovator Awardee• Designs new proteins to disable antibiotic resistance• Has brought more than $3 million to KU for her research• Docking Scholar

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Trains and mentors undergraduates to join her research team• Co-Teaches a 100 student course in biochemistry• Gives seminars to Kansas high schoolers about becoming a

woman in science

More Information: http://slusky.compbio.ku.edu/

A protein pump pushes antibiotics out so that antibiotics can’t kill bacterial. We are working to disable the pump and make antibiotics work again.

Antibiotic Resistance

Steven A. SoperProfessor | Chemistry, Mechanical Eng., Cancer Biology (KUMC)

Mixed-scale Systems for Precision MedicineImpact and Achievements • Foundation Distinguished Professor• Director, Center of BioModular Multi-scale Systems for Precision

Medicine (NIH-funded Biotechnology Center• 230 publications (h-index 63)• PDF, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• 55 PhD/MS students• World Class University Professor – building international research

program between US & Korea• Post-doctoral researchers and graduate students learn about

multidisciplinary research and entrepreneurship

More Information: https://chem.ku.edu/ssoperMore Information: https://me.engr.ku.edu/steven-soperMore Information: https://cbmm.ku.edu/faculty

Top: Picture of micro-mechanical system for the analysis of liquid biopsy markers.Bottom: Sizing of nanoscale cancer-associated vesicles and TEM of those vesicles.

Jon A. TungeProfessor | Department of Chemistry

Environmentally Beneficial Organic Synthesis

Impact and Achievements • Kansas Bioscience Authority Rising Star• W.T. Kemper Teaching Fellow• NSF CAREER Awardee

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentor for graduate and undergraduate research projects

involving the invention of new chemical reactions• Discovery of new bioactive molecules• NSF-Research Experiences for Undergraduates Mentor

More Information: https://tungegroup.ku.edu

Light-catalyzed transformations of pharmaceuticals and biomass

-CO2

Pd PC

hν

NBoc

O

NH

Ph

OH

O

OCO2Me

Robert L UncklessAssistant Professor | Molecular Biosciences

The evolution of the innate immune system

Impact and Achievements • NIH NIGMS R00 grant and other COBRE funding• Invited seminars at national and international venues• Author of more than 25 articles in evolutionary genetics

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Engages students in active learning in a large introductory

genetics course• Mentors undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral

researchers from diverse backgrounds• Organizes an interdepartmental group to discuss Drosophila

genetics

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/robert-unckless-0

Evolution of the innate immune system: Drosophila affinis male (top) and the Drosophila innubila nudivirus, a large double stranded DNA virus (bottom).

James R. WaltersAssistant Professor | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Evolution of Genomes and Reproductive Proteins in Moths and Butterflies

Impact and Achievements • Two current single-PI grants from the NSF, in Evolutionary

Genomics and Biological Infrastructure, respectively.• Published the first proteomic analyses of dimorphic sperm in

butterflies and moths• Recently discovered a neo-sex chromosome in Monarch

butterflies and close relatives.Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• 3 undergraduate trainees awarded independent fellowships

funding for research this year• Developed a foundational course in computer programming for

biology students• PhD student received NSF dissertation improvement award

More Information: https://eeb.ku.edu/james-r-walters

Top: Dimorphic sperm from Monarch butterfliesBottom: A monarch caterpillar views an image of the monarch chromosomal karyotype.

Joy K. WardAssociate Dean of Science Research | Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Plant Responses to Climate Change and CO2 Rise

Impact and Achievements • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers• University Scholarly Achievement Award• KU Women of Distinction Award• Kavli Fellow: National Academy of Sciences

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Publishes papers with undergraduate students in top-tier journals• Mentors students for national awards (e.g., Astronaut, Udall, NSF)• K. Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

More Information: https://sites.google.com/site/joywardlab/

Hairs and gas pores on the leaf surface for CO2 and water exchange

Credits: Fischer and Rosa-Molinar

Robert E. Ward IVAssociate Professor | Molecular Biosciences

Tissue growth and morphogenesis during animal developmentImpact and Achievement• NSF grant to investigate the function of adhesion proteins during

embryonic development in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster • 2011 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence• 2010 J. Michael Young Mentor Award and 2011 Barbara Schowen

Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute SEA-PHAGES

program at KU• Campus Coordinator for the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical

Research Excellence program (provides mentored research opportunities for undergraduate students)

• Member of the Genetics Society of America Education Committee (and Diversity subcommittee)

More Information: http://molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/robert-ward

Larval tracheal inflation (and growth) is reduced in uninflatable (uif) mutant larvae (bottom) compared to wild type larvae (top).

Wild type

uif2B7

David D. WeisAssociate Professor | Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Chemistry

New methods for analysis of biotherapeutics

Impact and Achievements • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation• Editor, Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry of Proteins• Director, KU Center for HX-MS

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Engages students with team-based, active learning• Participant in NSF-sponsored research experiences for

undergraduates (REU)• Interdisciplinary research program with industrial collaborations

More Information: https://weisgroup.ku.edu/

Immunology and vaccine discovery: High-resolution mapping of the epitope recognized by an antibody by hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry

Liang XuProfessor | Molecular Biosciences and Radiation Oncology

Cancer Drug Discovery and Precision Cancer MedicineImpact and Achievements • > 25 issued/pending patents; FOUR drugs in advanced clinical trials• Two NIH R01s and one DOD Breakthrough II grant (> $5 million)• Google Scholar*: Citations 8831; h-index 34; i10-index 59• Rising Star Scholar Award, Kansas Bioscience Authority• K-INBRE Scholar Award, K-INBRE

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Provides hands-on research training in cancer / cell biology• Mentors undergraduate students entering M.D. / Ph.D. programs• Mentors Ph.D. and post-docs successful to academic / industry jobs• Mentors visiting scholars for international collaborations

More Information: http://www.molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/liang-xu*Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MBAmAvMAAAAJ&hl=en

Xu Lab in Purple Stride fundraising event for pancreatic cancer, Theis Park, Kansas City, MO

Hui ZhaoProfessor | Physics and Astronomy

Two-dimensional Materials for Future Electronics

Impact and Achievements • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2010• Research featured twice on NSF frontpage in last 3 years• 50+ publications and 2500+ citations in last 5 years

Mentoring and Student Learning Opportunities• Mentored 9 undergraduate students on STEM research, 3 from

underrepresented groups• 5 students graduated with PhDs (2 with honors), 3 hired by Intel

Corp.

More Information: https://ultrafast.ku.edu

Atomic Lego: Building new materials for future technologies by combining different materials layer-by-layer