Associate Professor, Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Keynote Speaker
Title: TBD
In 2008, Dr. Wilkins earned a Microbiology degree at Kansas State University. Following completion of her undergraduate degree she joined a research laboratory at the University of Denver for PhD training. The focus of her dissertation was mitochondrial oxidative stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dr. Wilkins received a distinguished thesis award, and earned her PhD in 2013. Upon receipt of her PhD, Dr. Wilkins joined the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center as a postdoctoral fellow in August 2013. Dr. Russell Swerdlow was her mentor. Dr. Wilkins transitioned to faculty at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2019.
Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas - Lawrence, Keynote Speaker
Throughout my career, I have wanted to answer the question: how does allelic variation impact anti-viral immune responses and virus infection? While in graduate school, I explored this question in the context of the gene Prf1 and how it regulates blood-brain barrier disruption during CNS virus infection. After I graduated, I wanted to continue addressing how mutations in immune genes could impact the progression of disease. As a postdoc, I studied how a commonly expressed allele of the gene PTPN22, which is a risk allele for multiple autoimmune diseases, impacted the immune response to tumors. Now, my research group continues to study how allelic variation influences immune responses to tumors and viruses. I earned my undergraduate degree in Biology (B.A) at the University of St. Thomas- St. Paul, MN, in 2012. During my time there I was part of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program and completed research at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. I then received my Ph.D. from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences- Rochester, MN, in 2017. My postdoc fellowship was at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. I am currently an assistant professor at KU.
Professor of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center
Session: Data Science
Dr. Koestler is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He received his PhD in Biostatistics from Brown University and completed his postdoctoral research training in the Quantitative Biosciences (QBS) program at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. His primary research involves the development and application of statistical methodologies for high-throughput ‘omics’ data, with an emphasis on array-based DNA methylation data. In addition to his methodological interests, which include: statistical genomics, computational statistics, machine learning, and finite mixture models, he also has a deeply rooted interest in epigenetics and molecular epidemiology. Many of Dr. Koestler’s collaborations involve large-scale epidemiologic studies for studying DNA methylation and its relationship to environmental and lifestyle exposures, as well as its role disease susceptibility and prognosis. Dr. Koestler also currently serves as co-Director of the Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource (BISR) that supports the University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC), the KUMC Site-Director for Kansas-INBRE (K-INBRE) Bioinformatics, and the Director of the Quantitative ‘Omics Core (QOC) that supports the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (KIPM).
Professor of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas - Lawrence
My principal research interest is in understanding the genetic basis of complex, polygenic trait variation. Over my career I have studied a range of traits in Drosophila, most recently focusing on responses to toxin exposure. By emphasizing a systems genetics approach, and integrating a diverse array of experimental and computational tools, my group uncovers the pathways, genes, and variants that contribute to trait variation. I earned my undergraduate (1997) and graduate degrees (2000) at the University of Oxford in the UK. Following a brief period at University College London, in 2001 I moved to the University of California, Irvine to work with Dr. Tony Long, and in 2006 I started my faculty position at KU. I am currently a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, am a member of the KU Center for Genomics, and serve as Director of the K-INBRE Data Science Core at KU.
Associate Professor, Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center
Dr. Prabhakar Chalise is an Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science. Dr. Chalise has collaborated in numerous internally and externally funded projects. The projects range from wide varieties of biomedical studies including both clinical and molecular researches.
Distinguished Professor and Director of Idaho INBRE, University of Idaho
Session: Undergraduate Career Panel
Dr. Carolyn Bohach specializes in infectious disease, foodborne pathogen E. coli O157:H7, and human pathogen with health cattle relationships. She serves as a member of the K-INBRE External Advisory Committee and directs the Idaho INBRE herself. Her expertise and experience with INBRE and students in general will prove to be very beneficial in this session.
Medical Student, University of Kansas Medical Center
Joel is a current medical student at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was a K-INBRE Scholar at Kansas State University and graduated in 2024.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University
Dr. Maz Gashti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pittsburg State University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Laval University in Quebec, and University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland. His research interests include advanced micro/nano manufacturing with electrospinning, functional polymers, plasma polymerized textile coatings, fiber fabrication in microfluidic devices, and polymeric webs. He is a K-INBRE mentor as well as a Recruitment Package awardee..
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Washburn University
Dr. Mittendorf is a new K-INBRE Recruit from Washburn. We are very excited to have her on board!
Professor, Fort Hays State University
Professor of Biological Sciences and Department Chair; PhD from University of Missouri; Plant Molecular Biologist by trade
K-INBRE Principal Investigator, University of Kansas Medical Center
Session: Faculty Debate Panel
Douglas Wright, Ph.D. is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Wright completed his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and his postdoctoral studies at Washington University. He serves as a Professor and the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Wright’s current research addresses diseases and conditions that alter peripheral sensation and pain. His laboratory uses mouse genetic models to explore the pathogenesis of nerve dysfunction and pain, as well as testing interventions through translational research in human patients suffering from peripheral nerve disease and pain. Dr. Wright's research is currently funded by grants from the NIH, and his work in diabetes complications has been recognized through the receipt of a KUMC Faculty Research Investigator Award and a Cure Award from the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Wright has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards, including the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence and the KUMC Excellence in Mentoring Award. Since 2010, Dr. Wright has led the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE), which supports research training and infrastructure at 10 Universities in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Associate Professor, Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Motility, University of Kansas Medical Center
Dr. Wozniak is an Associate Professor and member of the Liver Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Wozniak received her BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied aspects of mammary tumor cell biology. Dr. Wozniak then obtained her PhD from the University of Texas Medical Branch where she examined the role of the Hepatitis C Virus p7 ion channel in the viral lifecycle, and demonstrated that p7 prevents the acidification of virus-containing vesicles, preserving the infectivity of secreted virions. Her post-doctoral work at the University of Kansas-Medical Center investigated viral effects on cellular trafficking with a goal of understanding how HCV reroutes a number of cellular trafficking events such as autophagy, lysosome-endosome fusion and secretion to promote its lifecycle. Dr. Wozniak's current work is at the intersection of basic cell biology and liver disease and examines inflammation-induced modification of Rab adaptor proteins. Her team investigates how inflammation alters the intracellular trafficking of vesicles, secretion of exosomes, and the selection of key exosome cargo. The ultimate goal of Dr. Wozniak's research is to improve clinical outcomes for patients with inflammatory liver disease.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Kansas Medical Center
Hubert Tse completed his undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at Virginia Tech (B.S., 1992). He performed his graduate work on M. xanthus differentiation with Dr. Ronald E. Gill in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 1999 and went on to a post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Andrea Cooper’s group at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO studying macrophage responses following M. avium infection. In 2001, he went and did a second post-doctoral immunology fellowship in Dr. Jon Piganelli’s group at the University of Pittsburgh studying the autoimmune mechanisms involved in pancreatic beta-cell destruction in Type 1 diabetes. In 2009, he moved to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and started his own research lab. Over the next 13 years, Dr. Tse developed research programs studying genetics, innate immune (macrophage, dendritic cell), adaptive immune (CD4 and CD8 T cell), and beta-cell responses involved in Type 1 diabetes and islet transplantation rejection. In 2023, Dr. Tse and his lab was recruited to KUMC. Dr. Tse is currently serving as the Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Immunology. He is also affiliated with the Diabetes Institute at KUMC to foster additional research programs on Type 1 diabetes.
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center
Olivia J. Veatch, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Veatch joined the KU Medical Center faculty in July 2020 and is primarily focused on developing molecular and computational approaches useful for identifying ways to inform treatment for brain disorders using genomics data. Dr. Veatch has a B.S. in genetics from the University of Kansas, a M.S. in molecular biosciences and bioengineering from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, and a Ph.D. in human genetics from Vanderbilt University. After earning her doctorate, she completed postdoctoral fellowships in neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where she also earned certification in biomedical informatics. Dr. Veatch is credited with >50 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, protocols and book chapters. She was previously awarded a Career Development Award via the National Library of Medicine to develop an automated bioinformatics method for prioritizing clinically relevant results from genetic studies of complex disorders of the brain. She is currently PI on an R21 award from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, a Project Leader for the The Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine funded by the National Institute for General Medical Sciences and co-PI on a National Health and Medical Research Council grant from the Australian Government. She is a nationally and internationally invited lecturer and presenter. Her professional affiliations include, but are not limited to, the American Society of Human Genetics, International Society for Autism Research, World Sleep Society and the Sleep Research Society.
PI & Director, NIH COBRE Center for Molecular Analysis of Disease Pathways, University of Kansas - Lawrence
Education — B.A., Kalamazoo College, 1980, Michigan; Ph.D., Purdue University, 1984