P A R K E R B . F R A N C I S

SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMINFORMATION & APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Application Deadline: Tuesday, April 1, 2014

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONThe Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program supports promising undergraduate students for full-time 8-12 week summer research fellowships with an experienced scientific mentor in an academic research setting. The goal of the program is to encourage students to pursue careers in research related to lung disease. Research projects with broad relevance to pulmonary diseases will be considered. Successful applicants will be students interested in pursuing a career in science or medicine.

AWARDED FELLOWSHIPSThe PBF Summer Fellowships are funded by the Francis Family Foundation through the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute. Summer fellows will work as temporary student employees at the University of Kansas. The PBF Summer Fellowship provides a $250/week stipend to the student for the 8-12 week work/study period. The student is responsible for housing and transportation and is expected to comply with all University of Kansas laboratory regulations and training requirements. The mentor is responsible for providing all laboratory supplies for the summer research project. At the conclusion of the summer fellowship the student will be required to submit a brief final report to the Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program on their summer research work.

ELIGIBILITYApplicants must be enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program at the time of application and have:

a cumulative grade point average > 3.0 completed college-level introductory courses in chemistry and biology plans to pursue a career in medicine or science

PREPARING THE APPLICATIONApplication and recommendation forms may be obtained by emailing the PBF Program Administrator, Deborah Snapp, at dsnapp@uw.edu.The student will list on their application two faculty members at the University of Kansas who are conducting research with broad relevance to pulmonary diseases as potential mentors for their summer fellowship. Attached is a list of potential mentors or the applicant may identify a mentor not on this list who is a faculty member with an appropriate research program at the University of Kansas. To apply the applicant must:

1. Submit the application as a single pdf file 2. Submit an official college transcript in a sealed envelope or by email from the institution3. Submit two confidential recommendations (on the PBF Summer Fellowship Program

recommendation form). These should be submitted directly by the recommender.

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Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas PROGRAM INFORMATION AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING COMPLETING THE APPLICATION Please carefully follow all instructions for each section of the application. Please note that the application will not be considered if it:

1. is received after the deadline, 2. is incomplete, 3. does not comply with the format or guidelines for the number of words.

AFTER COMPLETING THE PBF SUMMER FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION FORM: Check that your margins are at .5”, text is in single-line spacing, Arial 11-point font Check to be sure you have not exceeded the specified word limits for each section Convert the Word application file to a pdf file Email this single pdf application file to dsnapp@uw.edu Check back with the individuals writing recommendations to be sure their recommendations were

completed using the PBF Summer Fellowship recommendation form and that they are submitted prior to the deadline of Tuesday, April 1, 2014 midnight CST.

Check with your institution to be sure your college transcript has been sent.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESSApplications are reviewed by the Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program Council of Scientific Advisors. A list of these council members can be found at: http://www.francisfellowships.org/learncouncil.htmWe will notify all applicants of the award decision no later than April 30, 2014.

QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO:Deborah Snapp, PBF Fellowship Program Administrator, dsnapp@uw.edu, Tel: 206- 462-9224

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ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN April 1, 2014, midnight CST APPLICATION should be emailed as a single pdf file OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT sent directly by the college via email or US mail TWO CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION on the PBF Summer Fellowship recommendation form sent

directly by the letter writer (preferably emailed pdf file or may be sent by US mail) Submit materials to: Deborah Snapp, Administrator / PBF Summer Fellowship Program Email: dsnapp@uw.edu US mail: 8427 SE 35th Street / Mercer Island, WA 98040

2014 Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas MENTORS

Robert C. De Lisle, PhD Associate Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology, KU School of MedicineEmail: rdelisle@kumc.edu

I received my PhD from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, in 1984. This was followed by postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Fellowship) and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I joined the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1990 (Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences), and I am currently a tenured associate professor.

All of my career I have been interested in the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). CF affects the gastrointestinal system, sweat glands, reproductive system, and the airways, the latter being the major cause of mortality in this disease. We use a genetically engineered mouse model of CF. The major

phenotype in the CF mouse is intestinal obstruction which also occurs in ~15% of neonatal humans with CF as well as ~15% of adults with CF. Mucus accumulates in the CF intestines, fostering bacterial overgrowth and inflammation that perturbs normal gut function. Changes in the CF intestine are very similar to what happens in the airways of people with CF. Thus, investigation of the CF intestinal phenotype is also informative for CF airway disease.

Current work in my lab is investigating the effects of CF on the differentiation and function of the absorptive cell lining the small intestine, the enterocyte. Preliminary data suggest that CF enterocytes are functionally immature which will contribute to malnutrition which is a major problem in CF. We are also testing whether interventions we previously showed improve the intestinal CF phenotype also improve enterocyte maturation and function in nutrition.

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2014 Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas MENTORS

Dr. Navneet Dhillon, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical CareEmail: ndhillon@kumc.edu

Dr. Dhillon’s research interests are focused on unraveling the molecular pathways involved in HIV-infection associated pulmonary disorders particularly, vasculature dysfunction associated with cardio-pulmonary complications. Current research is aimed at: elucidating the underlying molecular mechanism(s) involved in the augmentation of HIV-protein related pulmonary smooth muscle hyperplasia in the presence / absence of illicit drugs; explore the role of growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins; determine the involvement of anti-proliferative bone morphogenetic protein receptor axis and its post-transcriptional regulation and defining the mechanistic pathway(s) responsible for tight junction

protein disassembly that results in augmentation of HIV-related pulmonary endothelial dysfunction. Dr. Dhillon’s research is currently supported by funding from National Institute of Health and American Heart Association. Students will join a post doctorate fellow or a research technician to work on one of the above mentioned projects and will get hands on experience on various molecular biology and basic laboratory techniques. Students will also get an opportunity to observe the catheterization and hemodynamic analysis on an animal model system.

Prakash Neupane, MD Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and OncologyEmail: pneupane@kumc.edu

I am a clinical faculty with focus on lung, head and neck cancers. My interest is clinical research on lung, head and neck cancer. Currently I am participating on multi-center clinical trials. I am in process of developing new clinical trials relevant to head and neck cancer. During the summer, I am planning a retrospective review on head and neck cancer called “Effects of Statin on Head and Neck Cancer Survival and Treatment Toxicities.”

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2014 Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas MENTORS

Babalola Faseru MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public HealthEmail: bfaseru@kumc.edu

Dr. Faseru is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Preventive Medicine & Public Health (primary) and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center.  An internationally-trained physician and epidemiologist, Dr. Faseru’s primary research area is in cancer prevention and control, with a focus on nicotine dependence and smoking cessation. He has research experience in smoking cessation behavioral treatment, pharmacotherapy, and pharmacokinetics in both clinical and community-based settings. His broad goal is to unravel the bio-behavioral mechanisms underlying health disparities due to tobacco use and other preventable chronic disease risk factors among underserved populations. His

current research is focused on examining behavioral, genetic and environmental determinants of persistent smoking and smoking-related health disparities among understudied populations such as ethnic minority populations (African Americans and American Indians) and hospitalized smokers.  Dr. Faseru teaches Principles of Epidemiology and mentors medical, public health and research students in epidemiology, international health, public health in developing countries and health disparities research.

Dr. Edward Ellerbeck, MD, MPHProfessor, Chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public HealthEmail: eellerbe@kumc.edu

Dr. Ellerbeck is Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine & Public Health and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He has experience conducting interventional and observational studies on quality of care in hospitals and primary care practices. Dr. Ellerbeck developed, implemented and tested a ‘chronic care model’ for smoking cessation, demonstrating that smokers are willing to make repeated cessation attempts over a 2-year period of follow-up. He has also conducted direct observation of smoking cessation interventions in physician offices and academic detailing among 300 Kansas primary care physician offices to improve delivery of preventive services.  Dr. Ellerbeck is Medical Director of “U Kan Quit” at KUMC hospital.   Students would work on projects examining the delivery of smoking cessation

services to hospitalized patients.

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2014 Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas MENTORS

Rajasingh Johnson, M.Phil, Ph.D, HCLDAssistant Professor in the Cardiovascular Research InstituteEmail: rjohnson9@kumc.edu

Rajasingh Johnson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, received his PhD in Immunology from Avadh University and SG Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in India. He did his postdoctoral fellowships at Vanderbilt University and Tufts University from January 2004 to February 2007. He served as faculty at Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Chicago from March 2007 until he joined the University of Kansas Medical Center in May 2011. Dr. Johnson’s research interests include the de-differentiation of somatic cells by chromatin modifying agents to generate induced pluripotent (iPS cells) or multipotent stem cells and its therapeutic potential in regenerative medicines; mechanisms of somatic cell reprogramming by histone deacetylation and DNA methylation inhibitors; differentiation of embryonic and adult stem cells and its role in cardiovascular and lung

vascular repair and regeneration.  His research also includes the protective role and mechanism of epigenetic modifiers in mouse sepsis model.

Faris Farassati, PhD, PharmD,Associate Professor, Divisions of Hematology/Oncology & GastroenterologyEmail: ffarassati@kumc.edu

Dr. Farassati’s Laboratory (the Molecular Medicine Lab) is a translational cancer research core with a variety of projects available to the students. In a specific correlation to lung biology, the lab offers following novel and interesting projects:

Gene therapy of lung cancer using “Cancer-Smart” viruses capable of targeting lung cancer cells.

Targeting Lung Cancer Stem Cells with the purpose of elimination of their tumor renewal capacity.

Studying the effects of tobacco on lung stem cells in order to provide effective preventive strategies.

Exploring novel signaling pathways in lung cancer in order to design new gents for treatment of this malignancy.

Dr. Farassati’s lab has trained a number of undergraduate medical students, clinical fellows and undergraduate students in this field. This lab provides an excellent environment for young minds to interact with clinicians and scientists in order to learn how future of medical research is highly invested in a transdisciplinary approach between different teams.

Kimber P. Richter, PhD, MPH1/14 - 6 -

2014 Parker B. Francis Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Kansas MENTORS

Professor, Preventive Medicine and Public HealthEmail: krichter@kumc.edu

Dr. Richter is director of UkanQuit at KUMed, a bedside tobacco treatment service for our hospital inpatients, which has served over 5,000 patients since its inception in 2006. Based on UKanQuit, Dr. Richter leads an NIH-funded study to identify the best way to link hospitalized smokers with treatment after discharge.  She is also principal investigator of Connect2Quit, an NIH-funded trial on the effectiveness of real-time internet video counseling for smoking cessation for rural smokers in Kansas.  Her team is currently analyzing data on a national survey conducted among substance abuse treatment facilities to identify what they do (and don’t do) to help their clients quit smoking.  Dr. Richter is President of the Association for

Medical Education and Research on Substance Abuse and is on the editorial board for the new peer-reviewed journal Addiction Science and Clinical Practice.

 

Steven Q. Simpson, MDProfessor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care MedicineEmail: ssimpson3@kumc.edu

Dr. Simpson is Acting Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.  His research is focused on the condition of severe sepsis, the most deadly complication of infection, which kills more than 250,000 people every year in the United States.  He is the founder of the Midwest Critical Care Collaborative and the Kansas Sepsis Project, both of which have as their main goal, the implementation of rapid aggressive recognition and treatment of severe sepsis in hospitals throughout the region. Dr. Simpson is involved in sepsis research on several different clinical and translational levels.  He uses the HERON database, a repository of clinical information on all KU Hospital inpatients to determine factors that affect the outcome of severe sepsis.  The database contains

information on over 100,000 patients and more than 5,000 patients with severe sepsis, allowing for robust epidemiological analysis. Dr. Simpson is also involved in prospective studies of hemodynamic changes in septic patients and how hemodynamic variables can be measured and manipulated non-invasively. Dr. Simpson and colleagues from Kansas State University have developed a mathematical model for the clinical progression of sepsis and are initiating studies to further validate the model with collection of clinical specimens and data.  Students could find a role in any of these studies.

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