From the Office of Public Affairs | https://www.news.ku.edu
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KU research growth boosts Kansas communities, fuels economy
LAWRENCE — Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses climbed to $610.6 million in fiscal year 2025, surpassing the previous record of $546.1 million by 12% and marking a full decade of sustained research growth. Last year alone, research expenditures at KU supported the salaries of 5,696 people. Additionally, the university spent $87.7 million in 78 Kansas counties on research-related goods and services in fiscal year 2025, according to a report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science.
Four top scholars named recipients of University Scholarly Achievement Award
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has named four midcareer faculty members as recipients of the annual University Scholarly Achievement Award. The annual award recognizes significant research or scholarly achievement across the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses, typically presented in four categories: arts and humanities; medicine and clinical sciences; science, technology and mathematics; and social science and professional programs. The recipients are Katie Batza, Anthony Fehr, Bret Freudenthal and David Slusky.
Study shows social capital improves public health, but not equally for all communities
LAWRENCE — Past research highlights that strong social capital — the connections and networks of relationships among and between groups — is linked to better community health. University of Kansas researchers have published a new study drawing data from 1,000 U.S. counties that found high levels of civic engagement and participation were linked to better health outcomes for white residents. However, within those same counties, high levels of social capital were not associated with better health outcomes for Black residents.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Mindie Paget, Office of Research, 785-864-0013, [email protected]
KU research growth boosts Kansas communities, fuels economy
LAWRENCE — Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses climbed to $610.6 million in fiscal year 2025, surpassing the previous record of $546.1 million by 12% and marking a full decade of sustained research growth.
This surge in research activity is powering impact well beyond the university — bringing new discoveries, talent and economic activity to communities across the Sunflower State and beyond.
“As one of America’s leading research universities, KU is tackling the toughest challenges of our time — and doing so in ways that strengthen our communities and fuel the state’s economy,” said Matthias Salathe, KU’s chief research officer.
“Our researchers are imagining — and building — a better future,” said Shelley Hooks, vice chancellor for research. “Whether improving human health, protecting our environment, or advancing technologies that make our communities more secure and resilient, their work is driving real-world impact while cultivating tomorrow’s workforce and drawing major investment to Kansas.”
Last year alone, research expenditures at KU supported the salaries of 5,696 people. Additionally, the university spent $87.7 million in 78 Kansas counties on research-related goods and services in fiscal year 2025, according to a report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science. Vendors in 22 of those counties received more than $122,000 in purchases.
Among research funded during fiscal year 2025 was one of the largest grants ever received at KU, a $31 million National Institutes of Health grant to coordinate clinical trials for infants and children in rural and underserved areas. KU also received a $26 million National Science Foundation grant to launch EARTH, a research center focused on solving the technical, environmental and economic challenges of creating a sustainable refrigerant life cycle. Additional projects included advancing seismic imaging tools to detect underground hazards that threaten public safety in Kansas and military operations worldwide; developing therapies and improving care delivery for pediatric facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD); building teacher capacity to promote early language learning in infants and toddlers with and at risk for disabilities; and designing better support tools for rural clinics to care for cancer survivors.
Research expenditures are dollars spent to conduct research. A majority of KU’s externally funded research — nearly 70% in 2025 — is supported by federal agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. KU researchers win grant dollars from these agencies through competitions designed to identify the most innovative ideas for addressing societal challenges. Other sources of KU research funding include state and local governments, private businesses and nonprofit foundations.
Advancing health, economic impact
Additional IRIS reporting shows that KU contributed $601 million to the U.S. economy between FY 2020 and FY 2024, with spending from research funding flowing to more than 4,200 vendors and subcontractors over that time. Of KU’s spending that could be matched with specific vendors and contractors, 1,076 went to small businesses.
The IRIS reports encompass research spending across all KU campuses. That includes the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, where research ultimately contributes to life-changing medical advances.
“As an academic medical center, KU Medical Center offers clinical trials to patients who might otherwise not have access to certain treatments,” Salathe said. “Clinical research at the medical center continues to grow each year, not only contributing to the economy, but also making us a destination for trial locations and study participants looking to receive investigational therapies.”
During the last five years, the number of clinical trials conducted at KU Medical Center has grown by 27%, and clinical trial revenues nearly doubled — reaching $67.8 million — in FY 2025. These trials include investigator-initiated studies as well as partnerships with pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
KU’s research-related economic impact extends beyond the data captured in IRIS reporting. For example, 56 active startup companies have spun out of KU or are based on KU technologies, and more than half of those companies are located in Kansas. Through the university’s relationship with KU Innovation Park, KU researchers help attract businesses to Lawrence, Kansas City and the surrounding area — companies like Merck, Icorium and Security Benefit — that want to be close to KU researchers and students. The park system includes 77 companies and accounts for 811 private sector jobs and $53.8 million in annual direct payroll.
Influencing rankings, AAU membership
KU’s substantial research activity has helped sustain its membership in the Association of American Universities since 1909, and the university’s annual research expenditures affect its standing in the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education & Research Development Survey. KU ranked 41st among public universities for research and development expenditures and 49th among public universities for federally funded R&D in the latest HERD survey, which is based on fiscal year 2024 data.
The university also claimed the No. 1 spot among public universities in federally financed R&D expenditures in non-science and engineering fields and ranked first among public universities for overall R&D in education.
KU ranked in the top 50 among publics in overall R&D in the following fields and subfields:
- No. 1 in Education
- No. 3 in Non-Science & Engineering Fields
- No. 3 in Social Work
- No. 16 in Geological and Earth Sciences
- No. 23 in Life Sciences, not elsewhere classified
- No. 27 in Health Sciences
- No. 27 in Sciences, not elsewhere classified
- No. 35 in Chemical Engineering
- No. 36 in Communication and Communications Technologies
- No. 36 in Psychology
- No. 37 in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering
- No. 41 in Life Sciences
- No. 45 in Geosciences, Atmospheric Sciences, and Ocean Sciences
- No. 49 in Civil Engineering
- No. 49 in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology
- No. 49 in Chemistry.
KU ranked in the top 50 among publics in federally funded R&D in the following fields and subfields:
- No. 1 in Non-Science & Engineering Fields
- No. 2 in Education
- No. 2 in Social Work
- No. 8 in Humanities
- No. 11 in Visual and Performing Arts
- No. 15 in Communication and Communication Technologies
- No. 30 in Geological and Earth Sciences
- No. 30 in Health Sciences
- No. 34 in Anthropology
- No. 34 in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering
- No. 36 in Psychology
- No. 43 in Civil Engineering
- No. 44 in Chemistry
- No. 46 in Astronomy and Astrophysics
- No. 47 in Economics
- No. 47 in Life Sciences
- No. 48 in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology
- No. 48 in Chemical Engineering.
KU’s fiscal year 2025 research expenditures will be used to determine the university’s 2026 ranking in the NSF HERD survey.
IRIS is a national consortium of research universities using data to understand, explain and improve higher education and research. IRIS reports are based on administrative data that KU supplies to IRIS, which are then merged with other public and private datasets.
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For every dollar that a student invests in a KU education,
they gain $5.70 in lifetime earnings.
https://economicdevelopment.ku.edu/impact
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Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected]
Four top scholars named recipients of University Scholarly Achievement Award
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has named four midcareer faculty members as recipients of the annual University Scholarly Achievement Award.
The annual award recognizes significant research or scholarly achievement across the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses and is typically presented in each of four categories: arts and humanities; medicine and clinical sciences; science, technology and mathematics; and social science and professional programs.
This year’s recipients are as follows:
- Katie Batza, associate professor, Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies (Arts & Humanities category)
- Anthony Fehr, associate professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences (Science, Technology and Mathematics category)
- Bret Freudenthal, professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (Medicine and Clinical Science category)
- David Slusky, professor, departments of Economics and Speech-Language Hearing (Social Sciences and Professional Programs category).
“I want to congratulate Professor Batza, Professor Fehr, Professor Freudenthal and Professor Slusky on being recipients of our University Scholarly Achievement Award,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “These scholars have helped elevate our university through their work, and their achievements demonstrate how KU benefits society as one of the nation’s leading research universities.”
The four University Scholarly Achievement Award winners — along with the winners of the university’s other top annual research awards — will be honored April 14 at the University Research Awards ceremony at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. All faculty and staff are invited to attend. Attendees are asked to RSVP in advance to assist with planning.
More about the honorees
Katie Batza
Batza’s research examines health, politics and sexuality in the late 20th century United States. Her innovative research challenges prevailing narratives of LGBTQ health activism and recasts traditional thinking about the medical and political responses to the early AIDS crisis of the 1970s through the 1990s. Batza has published multiple articles and two books. Her first book, “Before AIDS: Gay Health Politics in the 1970s,” explores gay health activism in the period before the AIDS epidemic changed the global LGBTQ health landscape. Batza’s second book, “AIDS in the Heartland,” examines the unfolding health crisis and local response to the AIDS epidemic in the Midwest, methodically documenting the transformative political activism that emerged from communities dealing with the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. This book makes a significant research contribution to the fields of history, health, politics, and gender studies. Learn more about Batza.
Anthony Fehr
Fehr’s research is at the forefront of understanding how coronaviruses cause disease in humans, where he focuses his efforts on the interplay between the host immune response and how coronaviruses overcome this response. In particular, his research focuses on how the human body responds to viral infections through cellular modifications. These modifications in response to viral infections prime the immune response to block viruses from spreading within the body. Fehr’s work was the first to establish a connection between a cellular modification referred to as ADP-ribosylation and protection from viral infection. This modification targets host proteins to activate them into better countering viral replication in host cells, which limits the ability of the virus to multiply in host cells. The virus has developed its own counterpunch to these cellular modifications through a protein called Mac1, which removes the cellular modification, thus dampening the immune response, allowing the virus to replicate unchecked where it eventually causes tissue damage and disease. By understanding this interplay, Fehr’s research team has developed novel inhibitors that block the activity of the Mac1 viral protein to restore the immune response to clear the infection. His research has also developed important tools to genetically alter the virus. One such alteration involves removing the virus’s ability to make the Mac1 protein, and this modified virus is unable to cause disease, highlighting its potential use as an attenuated vaccine. This novel vaccine should result in lasting immunity to the virus and require far fewer vaccine booster shots. Learn more about Fehr.
Bret Freudenthal
Freudenthal is an internationally recognized leader in the field of DNA repair whose work has significantly advanced understanding of the mechanisms of disease and health. In doing this work, he has been a force in the university’s effort to land and sustain the NCI-designated KU Cancer Center. Freudenthal’s research has probed the structural and biochemical features of one critical DNA repair mechanism: base excision repair. This repair pathway is particularly important because it fixes the most common types of DNA damage. In his postdoctoral work, Freudenthal established how one of the protein machines (“enzyme”) in base excision repair inserts a correction into the DNA molecule. This work involved visualizing the enzyme and DNA molecules at the atomic level, using a complex implementation of time-lapse X-ray crystallography. This allowed him to describe each of the chemical steps that occur during DNA synthesis, revealing how this enzyme ensures that DNA is accurately copied during DNA repair. This work resulted in an extensive list of publications, including several in the top journals in biomedical science. Learn more about Freudenthal.
David Slusky
Slusky is a health economist whose innovative research has advanced understanding of 1) the socioeconomic consequences of access to reproductive health care and 2) the health impacts of the Flint water crisis. With regard to reproductive health, his work has grown in relevance and impact since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. States like Texas and Wisconsin denied state Medicaid funds to family planning clinics that performed abortions, including their affiliates that did not provide abortions, resulting in the closure of many family planning clinics. Slusky’s innovation was to examine the effect of defunding family planning clinics on health outcomes within a radius of a woman’s home. In related work, Slusky has shown that when hospital ownership changes to a Catholic affiliation, it reduces reproductive care such as tubal ligations. Meanwhile, his work on the Flint water crisis finds that the crisis resulted in a decrease in the fertility rate and a decrease in birthweight. He also shows that lead tests happened earlier in children’s lives in Flint in response to the water crisis but resulted in no overall increase in testing rates. Learn more about Slusky.
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Each of Kansas’ 105 counties receives KU Medical Center outreach.
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected]
Study shows social capital improves public health, but not equally for all communities
LAWRENCE — A wealth of research highlights that strong social capital — the connections and networks of relationships among and between groups — is linked to better community health. New research from the University of Kansas finds that social capital doesn’t necessarily lead to better health outcomes for everyone.
Researchers analyzed data from the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHRR) project, a dataset maintained by the University of Wisconsin, for more than 1,000 counties. They found that high levels of civic engagement and participation were linked to better health outcomes for white residents. However, within those same counties, high levels of social capital were not associated with better health outcomes for Black residents.
The study examined two health outcomes: rates of influenza vaccination and life expectancy. High levels of social capital were systematically related to higher rates of white residents getting influenza vaccinations. Within the same set of counties, that relationship did not hold for Black residents. Similarly, high levels of social capital were associated with longer life expectancy, but only for white residents in a county.
“Data on health outcomes across racial and ethnic subgroups within communities is often not available at the local or community level and yet critically important to understand health disparities. This study leveraged the fact that in recent years, CHRR has compiled and released health data across racial and ethnic subgroups for highly populated counties, enabling us to examine the relationship between social capital and health across different racial/ethnic subgroups,” said Dorothy Daley, a professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and Environmental Studies Program at KU and one of the study’s authors.
While research has long shown that having access to social capital resources generally results in better health outcomes, little research had been done to see if those same positive correlations were maintained across racial lines.
“Structural social capital is a measure of resources within a county like civic, charitable or political organizations, voter turnout and census participation,” said Margaret Swenson of the University of Wyoming and the study’s lead author. “Across two different measures of community health, structural social capital is associated with better health outcomes for white populations, but not Black.”
The findings carry several implications, according to the authors:
First, they are a sign that structural racism exists and influences both health outcomes. Such structural racism needs to be better understood and addressed, they wrote.
Further, better measures of social capital for all communities, such as measures of minority-owned businesses, Black churches and simply considering race in more social capital research, would deepen understanding of both social capital and the ways in which it may shape population health, the authors wrote.
Public health initiatives that aim to intervene and/or generate social capital should consider developing wide-ranging indicators of social capital in partnership with Black communities and other diverse community members. Uniform interventions aimed at improving community health can, in fact, exacerbate existing health disparities between and within groups, even if unintentional, the authors wrote.
The study, written by Daley; Swenson, a KU SPAA alumna; Morgan Farnworth of the University of Missouri–St. Louis and a KU alumna; and John Pierce, affiliate professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration, was published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
The authors have previously studied connections between social infrastructure and health outcomes, finding high levels of social capital including high levels of arts organizations can lead to better health outcomes.
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