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Study: Mutations in hereditary Alzheimer’s disease damage neurons without ‘usual suspect’ amyloid plaques
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas study of rare gene mutations that cause hereditary Alzheimer’s disease shows these mutations disrupt production of a small sticky protein called amyloid. The research, appearing in the journal Cell Reports, came to the surprising conclusion that the stalled process of amyloid production — not the amyloid itself — can trigger loss of critical connections between nerve cells. The discovery could point the way toward new approaches to Alzheimer’s therapies.
Giselle Anatol named director of KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities
LAWRENCE — Giselle Anatol, professor of English, has been named director of the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas, effective March 3. She has led the center in an interim capacity since fall 2022. Anatol has been recognized repeatedly for teaching and research excellence at KU. Her most recent publication, “Small-Girl Toni and the Quest for Gold,” is a children’s book inspired by acclaimed African American author Toni Morrison.
University announces new Higher Education Administration graduate certificate
LAWRENCE — The Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, part of the University of Kansas School of Education & Human Sciences, has created a new program to introduce education professionals to academic scholarship on higher education. The Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Administration is a nine-hour generalist degree program, available starting in fall 2024.
KU School of Business accounting faculty again earn top spot in BYU rankings
LAWRENCE — Accounting faculty at the University of Kansas School of Business earned a No. 1 global ranking for their audit archival research contributions over the past six and 12 years, according to Brigham Young University’s 2023 rankings, considered the gold standard within the accounting discipline. The KU business school has held the No. 1 spot since 2019.
Geopolitical tensions provide multinational corporations with diplomatic leverage, but ‘frenemy’ strategy can backfire
LAWRENCE — New research from a University of Kansas professor of business shows how a multinational corporation can influence the diplomatic relationship between the host and the home country by acting as a diplomatic broker — but not without some risks. “My Best Frenemy: A History-to-Theory Approach to MNCs’ Corporate Diplomatic Activities” appears in the Journal of International Business Studies.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected], @BrendanMLynch
Study: Mutations in hereditary Alzheimer’s disease damage neurons without ‘usual suspect’ amyloid plaques
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas study of rare gene mutations that cause hereditary Alzheimer’s disease shows these mutations disrupt production of a small sticky protein called amyloid.
Plaques composed of amyloid are notoriously found in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and have long been considered responsible for the inexorable loss of neurons and cognitive decline. Using a model species of worm called C. elegans that’s often used in labs to study diseases at the molecular level, the research team came to the surprising conclusion that the stalled process of amyloid production — not the amyloid itself — can trigger loss of critical connections between nerve cells.
The research, appearing in the journal Cell Reports, was headed by Michael Wolfe, Mathias P. Mertes Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at KU.
The research team focused on the rare inherited mutations because these mutations are found in genes that encode proteins that produce amyloid.
“If we can understand what’s happening in this inherited form of the disease where a single mutation can trigger it,” Wolfe said, “that might be a clue to what’s going on in all the other cases.”
The rare mutations are particularly devastating, as they fate the mutation carrier to Alzheimer’s disease in middle age, and children of a mutation carrier have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease-causing mutation.
Wolfe said hereditary Alzheimer’s disease shows the same pathology, the same presentation clinically and the same progression of symptoms as the “common, garden-variety” of Alzheimer’s related to old age.
“You see the same amyloid plaques in the hereditary disease,” he said. “We think that these inherited mutations, though rare, are key to what’s going on with all Alzheimer’s disease.”
Wolfe, who earned his doctorate at KU and returned to the university seven years ago for collaborative research opportunities, joined forces with Brian Ackley, associate professor of molecular biology at KU, whose lab specializes in research with the C. elegans model worm. The research team also included other KU collaborators as well as investigators in Beijing, China, and at Harvard Medical School.
Co-authors with KU’s Department of Medicinal Chemistry were Sujan Devkota, Vaishnavi Nagarajan, Arshad Noorani and Sanjay Bhattarai; co-authors at KU’s Department of Molecular Biosciences were Ackley and Yinglong Miao; and co-authors from KU’s Center for Computational Biology were Hung Do and Anita Saraf. Other KU co-authors were Caitlin Overmeyer of the Graduate Program in Neurosciences and Justin Douglas of KU’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core Lab. The KU personnel collaborated with Rui Zhou of Tsinghua University in Beijing and Masato Maesako of Harvard Medical School.
Wolfe said the discovery could point the way toward new approaches to Alzheimer’s therapies, and he hoped fellow researchers and developers of drug therapies would pay close attention to his team’s results.
“Our findings suggest what’s needed is a stimulator of the amyloid-producing enzyme, to restart stalled processes and address both problems: eliminating stalled protein complexes that lead to degeneration of nerve cell connections and producing more soluble forms of amyloid. This approach could address both contributing factors simultaneously.”
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Contact: Mindie Paget, Office of Research, 785-864-0013, [email protected], @ResearchAtKU
Giselle Anatol named director of KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities
LAWRENCE — Giselle Anatol, professor of English, has been named director of the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas, effective March 3. She has led the center in an interim capacity since former director Richard Godbeer retired in fall 2022.
The Hall Center is a focus of intellectual life for scholars in the humanities, arts and humanistic social sciences at KU and for members of the surrounding community. It is one of 11 designated research centers that fall under the KU Office of Research.
“I am thrilled to have been selected for this leadership role at the university. During my time as interim director, I sought to promote the Hall Center as a flourishing, welcoming and inclusive space for the celebration and advancement of humanistic research and productivity,” Anatol said. “I very much look forward to continuing this work in collaboration with the many students, faculty, staff and community members who are invested in all that the humanities have to offer.”
Under Anatol’s interim leadership, the Hall Center revived the Haunting Humanities festival, a public outreach event that encourages humanities scholars to practice articulating their research in fun and accessible ways for a wider audience. She resumed the Undergraduate Fellows Program, fostering greater undergraduate participation in the Hall Center’s scholarly activities and extending the reach of the thought-provoking conversations that occur during the center’s various programs.
Anatol also facilitated a small-scale version of the original Wheat State Whirlwind Tour, taking two dozen faculty and staff on a two-day visit to the Kansas communities of Lucas, Wilson and Nicodemus to explore different parts of the state, learn about each other’s lives and work, and engage with residents in rural communities.
“I am grateful for Dr. Anatol’s leadership and vision for the Hall Center for the Humanities, which provides a unique and interdisciplinary home for scholars and students to engage in creative endeavors and public discourse,” said Belinda Sturm, interim vice chancellor for research. “KU has long-standing strength in humanities research, and Dr. Anatol is committed to expanding the impact of this research center.”
Anatol joined KU in 1998. Her research interests include Caribbean literature and folklore, U.S. African American literature, speculative fiction by authors of the African diaspora, and representations of race, ethnicity and gender in writing for youth. She has written “The Things That Fly in the Night: Female Vampires in Literature of the Circum-Caribbean and African Diaspora,” a book published in 2015 by Rutgers University Press, and a number of book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. She has also fostered scholarly collaboration by editing three collections of essays on children’s and young adult literature. Her most recent publication, “Small-Girl Toni and the Quest for Gold,” is a children’s book inspired by acclaimed African American author Toni Morrison.
Anatol has been recognized repeatedly for teaching and research excellence at KU, receiving the Louise Byrd Graduate Educator Award, the Frances L. Stiefel Teaching Professorship in English, the Ned Fleming Award for Excellence in Teaching, a Conger-Gabel Teaching Professorship and the English graduate student organization’s Mabel S. Fry Teaching Award in 2011 and in 2022. She was named one of KU’s Women of Distinction in 2013 and was selected for the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Scholar-in-Residence fellowship program in 2012.
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Contact: Aspen Grender, School of Education & Human Sciences, [email protected], @KUSOEHS
University announces new Higher Education Administration graduate certificate
LAWRENCE — The Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, part of the University of Kansas School of Education & Human Sciences, has created a new program to introduce education professionals to academic scholarship on higher education.
The Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Administration is a nine-hour generalist degree program that allows students to extend and apply their knowledge of colleges and universities and to learn from expert scholars and practitioners, as well as fellow classmates, who bring diverse leadership experiences to the program.
The certificate is primarily intended for students who intend to work in higher education administration and student affairs. Some areas include:
Academic advising.
Administrators wanting to familiarize themselves with academic literature on higher education topics to help them develop in their administrative positions.
Current administrators who may wish to update their knowledge of the theory and research.
Students who wish to pursue a master’s, Ed.D. or Ph.D. in educational leadership & policy studies.
The curriculum consists of three courses that introduce understanding institutions of higher education, the historical context, and the present state of colleges and universities.
“The graduate certificate in higher education administration is an ideal option for career changers interested in transitioning to the field or any learner or leader who wants to gain a fundamental understanding of higher education,” said Gene Parker, associate professor in the educational leadership & policy studies department.
The program, which will begin in fall 2024, was developed in response to increased interest in a non-degree program focusing on higher education administration by current administrators who may not have extensive educational preparation in the field.
Learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Administration certificate online.
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Contact: Lauren Cunningham, School of Business, 785-864-9540, [email protected], @KUbschool
KU School of Business accounting faculty again earn top spot in BYU rankings
LAWRENCE — For the fifth year in a row, accounting faculty at the University of Kansas School of Business earned a No. 1 global ranking for their audit archival research contributions over the past six and 12 years, according to Brigham Young University’s 2023 rankings.
Each year Brigham Young University (BYU) publishes a database of research-productivity rankings from the accounting departments of universities worldwide. The rankings are based on publications in 12 leading accounting journals for the most recent six years, the most recent 12 years and all years since 1990, when the rankings first began.
BYU categorizes research contributions by accounting topic and research method. Audit archival research, according to BYU’s ranking methodology, includes studies about various audit topics in which findings are based on objective data gathered from repositories.
The BYU rankings are considered the gold standard within the accounting discipline. Since 2019, the KU School of Business has earned the No. 1 spot in the rankings for its audit archival research contributions of the past six and 12 years.
BYU’s 2023 rankings also place KU accounting researchers at No. 2 over the past six and 12 years for their contributions in all audit research.
Other highlights from BYU’s rankings:
KU ranks No. 11 for all archival research over the past six years and No. 12 over the past 12 years.
KU accounting faculty rank No. 11 across all topics and research methods over the past six years and No. 13 across all topics and research methods over the past 12 years.
Find a full list of KU’s accounting rankings and associated researchers on the BYU accounting rankings website.
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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Geopolitical tensions provide multinational corporations with diplomatic leverage, but ‘frenemy’ strategy can backfire
LAWRENCE – With increasing geopolitical tensions around the globe, multinational corporations (MNCs) face an unprecedented level of uncertainty in their business environments.
A University of Kansas professor’s new study, titled “My Best Frenemy: A History-to-Theory Approach to MNCs’ Corporate Diplomatic Activities,” seeks to unravel this issue.
“Our study provides lessons from history that share similar characteristics with a current situation,” said Minyoung Kim, the Frank T. Stockton Professor of Strategic Management at the KU School of Business. “In this light, our study illuminates not only the historical events we investigate but also their implications on issues we are witnessing today.”
Co-written by Marcelo Bucheli of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Xavier Durán of University of the Andes in Colombia, the research shows how a multinational corporation can influence the diplomatic relationship between the host and the home country by acting as a diplomatic broker. However, this can backfire. If the MNC invests in site-specific assets in the host country after negotiating on the host country’s behalf, the host government can use these assets as “hostages” to pressure the MNC into negotiating on its behalf again in the multinational’s home country.
The research appears in the Journal of International Business Studies.
The global business environment has experienced a tectonic shift in recent years, entering into a new era of de-globalization and “slowbalization.” Geopolitical tensions and hostilities are among the outcomes of this new phase of globalization.
“I was curious about the implications of this new era of globalization for business,” Kim said. “Specifically, I was curious whether it provides opportunities or challenges for MNCs. Then I encounter the historical case wherein MNCs implemented the corporate diplomatic activities to enjoy the opportunities from the geopolitical tensions but ended up becoming their own hostages.”
In order to examine the effects of such “frenemy” strategies, his team introduced the concept of corporate diplomatic activities (CDAs). These are defined as a set of political activities that MNCs develop and deploy to influence home and host countries’ diplomatic relations and, thereby, shape such relationships to benefit MNCs’ strategic goals.
As Kim cites in his paper, MNCs have employed CDAs for decades. For instance, during the 1959-1963 period following Ghanaian independence from British rule, the U.S. MNC Kaiser Industries used the firm’s political connections in Washington to facilitate development loans.
A recent example of this, Kim wrote, includes cases that show how the more investments a U.S. MNC has in China, the higher the likelihood such a firm will lobby members of the U.S. government against American policies that limit China’s opportunities.
The historical study utilizes personal unpublished notes, secretly coded cables and memos not originally written for public distribution, Kim said.
Now in his 12th year at KU, Kim studies the intersection between strategic management and international business. He often focuses on how firms create value and how they appropriate the value they’ve created.
“Value creation refers to the size of the pie you create, and value appropriation refers to the size of the actual slice of the pie you take,” he said.
“Our study is another example highlighting the intertwined nature of value creation and value appropriation. That is, MNCs implemented the corporate diplomatic activities to create a large pie but did not enjoy it fully because they became the host country’s hostage and thus lost their bargaining power.”
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