10.4.23

Advancing cancer research at Wichita State University

Despite decades of research into cures for cancer, it remains the second leading cause of death in the US and affects millions of people around the world. In the quest to understand and combat this complex disease, researchers at Wichita State are working to advance what we know about it and how it can be addressed.

This year, two research projects at WSU were selected to receive grants from the Flossie E. West Memorial Trust, providing much-needed funding to continue their work.

Dr. Haifan Wu, an assistant professor in the Chemistry Department at Wichita State, received $36,000 toward his work on understanding a specific mutation of the KRAS protein, which is found in more than 30 percent of all cancers. The goal of his project is to identify small molecules that will be able to inhibit the mutated protein, preventing growth of cancer cells. 

Research projects like this one require a significant investment of time and resources, and the funding has been used to support salaries for undergraduate students, lab supplies, testing and more.

“The grant from Flossie E. West Memorial Trust is essential for us to obtain encouraging preliminary results,” said Wu. “In addition, undergraduate students supported by this grant have received solid training in both synthetic organic chemistry and running biochemical assays.”

Across the campus, two other researchers are blending disciplines to study targeted hormone-carrying hydrogels to aid in post-breast cancer management. Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu, who has received both the Boeing Professorship Faculty of Distinction and Boeing Global Engineering Leadership Professorship, is working with co-investigator Dr. Shang-You Yang, associate professor of Biological Science. They have established this project as a pilot program to produce new scientific data and establish a multidisciplinary research team for future collaborations.

This team was also awarded a grant of $36,000 from the Flossie E. West Memorial Trust and has put the funding to use in training graduate and undergraduate students and purchasing new materials and supplies. They have also established multidisciplinary STEM education opportunities between the College of Engineering and the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for long-term collaboration.

Based in Augusta, Kansas, the Flossie E. West Memorial Trust awards grants to fund cancer research at a number of institutions, and the impact of this funding will make a difference well into the future.