January 2010

The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute provides this news brief for civic, corporate, political and scientific leaders to update you on the progress of the life sciences initiative in the Kansas City area. To unsubscribe, please contact Sharon Newman at 816-753-7700.

• Collaboration fuels enthusiasm at MRI

• K-State engineers help predict, prevent spread of foot-and-mouth disease

• KTEC announces Innovator of the Year, 2010 Pipeline class

• Health Outcomes Sciences markets cardiac program

• MCC announces new chancellor

• Proteon founders create new venture

• KU Hospital reports increase in liver transplants

• Hall Family Foundation donates Fairway building to cancer research

• Donors increase giving by 9 percent

• K-State study finds that antioxidants sometimes impair muscle function

• New compound could be alternative strategy for
  preventing HIV infection

• KU scientist shows potential of technology for autism research and treatment

Collaboration fuels enthusiasm at MRI

MRI announced it would help a federal laboratory develop clean-coal technology as more evidence of its reputation for energy research. Instead of being the sole contractor on the job, MRI welcomed being part of a team that included universities and a consulting firm. That kind of collaborative approach has provided a spark to the research organization, increasing its reach and doubling revenues in the last five years. More info

K-State engineers help predict, prevent spread
of foot-and-mouth disease

Engineers at Kansas State University have teamed up with animal health researchers to develop a more effective way to predict and prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The new model considers such factors as wind, animal grazing and human movements between regions, as well as the number of meat markets in the area. The team presented their work at the second International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics in Athens, Greece last month. More info

KTEC announces Innovator of the Year,
2010 Pipeline class

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. (KTEC) awarded Jason Tatge, CEO of Lenexa-based Farms Technology, as its Innovator of the Year. KTEC also announced the selection of 10 entrepreneurs to participate in its Pipeline entrepreneur fellowship program. Six of those selected are KC-area CEOs.
More info

Health Outcomes Sciences markets cardiac program

Dr. John Spertus, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Health System who developed PREDICT more than three years ago, has begun marketing his cardiac program through Health Outcomes Sciences LLC. The move “could be a powerful and persuasive example” of what it means to translate basic research into practical uses. PREDICT is a web-based software program that develops a risk assessment for patients and physicians before doing an angioplasty. The program has shown to decrease costs and improve outcomes. More info

MCC announces new chancellor

Jacqueline Snyder, chancellor of Metropolitan Community College, will retire June 30. Mark James, the college’s vice chancellor of administrative services, will succeed her. Snyder, the college’s first female chancellor, was credited with increasing enrollment to record numbers.During her time as chancellor, MCC added the Carter Arts Center, the Institute for Workforce Innovation and the Health Science Institute. More info

Proteon founders create new venture

Dr. Nicholas Franano and his father-in-law, William Whitaker, founders of Proteon Therapeutics Inc., plan to replicate their success with their new venture, Novita Therapeutics LLC. The new company will develop drugs and medical devices to treat cardiovascular, renal and gastrointestinal diseases. In March, Proteon negotiated a deal with Swiss-based Novartis AG to buy Proteon for more than $550 million. More info

KU Hospital reports increase in liver transplants

The University of Kansas Hospital reported that its overall liver program is up 350 percent from three years ago. In 2009 the hospital performed a record 85 liver transplants up 15 percent from 2008. More info

Hall Family Foundation donates Fairway building to cancer research

In 2008, The Hall Family Foundation purchased a three-story, 74,000-square-foot office building in Fairway, Kan. This month, the foundation announced it would donate the building to the KU Endowment Association to fund new space for clinical trials and recruitment of faculty for cancer research. More info

Donors increase giving by 9 percent

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, which houses more than 3,000 funds, said donors increased their giving by 9 percent last year. The foundation also added 220 new donor funds last year, up 40 percent from 2008. More info

K-State study finds that antioxidants sometimes impair muscle function

Researchers in K-State's Cardiorespiratory Exercise Laboratory have been studying how to improve oxygen delivery to the skeletal muscle during physical activity by using antioxidants, which are nutrients in foods that can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to the body. Their findings show that sometimes antioxidants can impair muscle function. More info

New compound could be alternative strategy for
preventing HIV infection

A University of Missouri researcher is collaborating with the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institutes of Health to develop a compound that is more potent and longer-lasting than current HIV therapies. More info

KU scientist shows potential of technology for autism
research and treatment

KU researchers have measured precisely the impact of autism on several aspects of how children learn language with a new technology that has enormous potential for researchers, practitioners and parents. Their study has been published in the Nov. 11 Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and was funded by the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) Foundation. More info

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