Vanguard 2016

Research, scholarship and creative activity at Oklahoma State University 2016

Amber Anderson weaves science and Cherokee beliefs

TO SERVE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

2016 Burns Hargis President Kenneth W. Sewell, PhD. Vice President for Research Vanguard is published annually by Oklahoma State University and is produced by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Editor/Writer: Jeff Joiner Art Director/Designer: Dave Malec Copy Editor: Dorothy Pugh Photographers: Mandy Gross, Mitch Harrison, Todd Johnson, Gary Lawson, Kevin McCroskey, Brian Petrotta, Heath Shelton, Phil Shockley, Katherine Taylor Cover Photo: Todd Johnson Contributing Writers: Kim Archer, Julie Barnard, Jacy Bradford, Derinda Blakeney, Lindsey Corbitt, Brittany Gilbert, Jamie Hadwin, Jeff Joiner, Sean Kennedy, Christy Lang, Brian Petrotta, Marketa Souckova, Donald Stotts For details about research highlighted in this magazine or reproduction permission, contact the editor.

Jeff Joiner, Editor, Vanguard 405.744.5827; vpr@okstate.edu research.okstate.edu Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; Phone 405-744-5371; email: eeo@okstate.edu has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies. Any person (student, faculty, or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator 405-744-9154. This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by Research Communication, was printed by Southwest Printing at a cost of $6,431. 5M / 12/15. #6281

OSU Research Matters In my first year as the Oklahoma State University vice president for research, I have been positively amazed at the breadth, scope, and caliber of research that takes place here in Cowboy Country. Whether it is the scientific advancements into understanding the origins of the universe, veterinary medical breakthroughs to protect companion animals from parasiteborne illness, developing and testing unmanned systems, or writing compelling history books on the sacrifices of American war veterans, OSU researchers are breaking down barriers and opening new horizons all across the myriad disciplines that comprise this wonderful institution.

In some cases, these accomplishments result in new products or businesses that develop and change Oklahoma’s economy. In other cases, they impact the life and health of a community. In yet others, the specific disciplines are advanced in ways that will ripple into tomorrow’s discoveries, creations, and inventions, here at OSU, or on the other side of the planet.

These impacts — economic, societal, disciplinary — would merit OSU’s commitment to being a great research university. But by far the greatest impact has not even been mentioned. In EVERY SINGLE research achievement realized at OSU, there is demonstrable impact on our students. Some of those students — graduate and undergraduate — are working right alongside OSU faculty researchers. They will become the research leaders of tomorrow. Many students experience this impact in classrooms that are super-charged by discoveries not yet even in the textbooks. They have intangible yet very real advantages as they enter the global marketplace of ideas. And yet other students — those not yet on our campus — will someday inherit the legacy of the OSU research impact when they enroll at OSU and find curricula transformed, textbooks re-written, pedagogical techniques re-conceived, and programs of study that didn’t even exist a decade before.

OSU IS a great research university. Given our economic impact and our engagement with the communities we serve, OSU research matters to Oklahoma. Given our disciplinary impact, OSU research matters to scientists, engineers, scholars, and artists the world over. But most importantly, OSU research matters because it constitutes a vital component of how OSU transforms the lives of students. OSU Research Matters!

Kenneth W. Sewell, Ph.D. Vice President for Research

Research , scholarship and creative ac tivit y at O klahoma State Universit y

TA BL E OF CON T E N TS

4 Flight in a Sticky Situation Studying the mechanics of flight among the tiniest insects could lead to smaller unmanned technologies.

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Blending Cherokee Beliefs with a Passion for Science

Interdisciplinary, International and Intertwined

OSU alumna Amber Anderson hopes to serve native populations with a career in health care.

International couple and faculty members have successfully melded careers, cultures and their personal lives in Oklahoma.

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OSU Research

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Building Higher Education

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Opening Prison Doors to Compassion

10 Movement in Aging 12 Ancient Berry’s Rich Future 14 Shining the Light on Research

30 Forget Green, Turf is Orange & Black Turfgrass species have long been a strong product of OSU. If there is any doubt, look at major sports stadiums around the country

20 The Broader Impact of Scientific Research 22 Probiotics in Poultry 28 A Walk to Wellness 32 Keen Eyes Lead to Discovery 34 Regent’s Distinguished Research Award 36 Meet Kenneth Sewell

BACK COVER After They Come Home

OSU Research

Breadth + Depth + Coherence = Strength with Impact

OUR BREADTH As a comprehensive research university, OSU pursues and celebrates research excellence in all academic disciplines.

OUR DEPTH

OUR COHERENCE

To help address some of society’s biggest challenges, OSU has significant interdisciplinary research strengths:

Several prominent and growing themes cut across many research efforts at OSU, whether disciplinary or interdisciplinary:

Unmanned Systems • Aerial Platform Design

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• Avionics, Acoustics, Propulsion, Sensors • Application Innovation • Extension to Land and Marine Systems OneHealth • Healthy People

Big Data Solutions Cyber-Infrastructure • OSU Supercomputers • State and National Networking Cyber-Intensive Research • Analytics and Data Mining • Bioinformatics and Health Informatics • Cyber-Security

• Healthy Animals

Community-Engaged Research

• Healthy Planet

OSU researchers connecting with community leaders to jointly conceive and carry out applied research to solve problems relevant to the community

Powering Oklahoma and the Nation • Water-Food-Energy Nexus

Defense-Relevant Research OSU researchers conducting applied and basic research responsive to the needs and priorities of agencies charged with funding R&D in support of homeland and military defense

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

Building Higher Education Research suggests education investment produces economic dividends

BY L I N D S E Y CO R B IT T S P E A R S S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S

PHOTO / HEATH SHELTON

As an economics professor and researcher at Oklahoma State University, John Winters is interested in regional and state levels of human capital. Through empirical research, Winters has evaluated policies and other economic forces that affect educational outcomes. To guide his research and form hypotheses, Winters uses the theories of supply and demand.

John Winters, Spears School of Business

Supply In his working paper, The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States, Winters focuses on supply-side effects of higher education. As he conducted research across the United States, he found that education levels vary from state to state.

“My research says part of the reason why some areas have more educated populations is that they produce more education,” says Winters, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics and Legal Studies in the Spears School of Business.

“More simply, educating two more people from a state will on average result in one more college graduate in the state’s labor force,” says Winters.

The theory is that as areas invest more resources in education, they will increase their human capital — the knowledge and skills that individuals acquire through education, training and experience. In contrast, an area may produce education to grow its human capital, but people sometimes choose to relocate.

Demand The demand aspect is discussed in Winters’ working paper, Do Earnings by College Major Affect College Graduate Migration?

Areas that produce education must be aware of the specific skills and college majors that local employers are seeking. If an area educates its population in fields that employers seek, it is more likely to lose that human capital.

“Areas are going to be better at keeping the graduates that have the human capital that they reward,” says Winters.

In many cases, this reward is a higher salary.

Winters finds that “a 10 percent increase in major earnings in one’s home state reduces the probability of out-migration by 1 percentage point.”

Other Research Winters also looked at the effects of merit programs on college majors. His article on merit programs was published in the October issue of the Journal of Labor Economics.

“One of the things that we found was that the merit programs were discouraging students from majoring in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields,” says Winters.

Winters and David L. Sjoquist, professor of economics at Georgia State University, also found evidence that the grade-point average renewal requirements of these merit programs have an impact on what major a recipient of the scholarship will choose.

In 2015, Winters received the William H. Miernyk Research Excellence Medal for the best paper presented at the Southern Regional Science Association Meetings.

He also received the Richard W. Poole Research Excellence Award from the Spears School of Business in 2013 and 2014.

“My research suggests that there are large individual and social benefits of education, but there are ways that education can be improved,” says Winters. V

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Flight in a

BY M A R K E TA S O U C KOVA CO L L EG E O F E N G I N E E R I N G , A R C H I T EC T U R E A N D T EC H N O LO GY

Sticky Situation

How Studying Tiny Insects Impacts the Future

Models of insect wings are tested in an aquarium filled with sticky glycerin.

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

The smallest flying insects known are less than one millimeter long — and yet, they wield considerable ecological and agricultural importance. These insects serve important ecological roles such as the transmission of pollen during feeding, acting as invasive pests of agriculturally important plants and biological vectors of microbial plant pathogens. Examples of these insects include thrips, parasitoid wasps and fairy flies with wing sizes as small as a quarter of millimeter.

Since 2007, Arvind Santhanakrishnan, Ph.D., an OSU assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been investigating the fluid dynamic limits of flapping flight at intermediate to smallest length scales. The aerodynamics of flight in these small insects remains relatively unexplored, but Santhanakrishnan and his team keep moving forward. His research helps with understanding the single insect aerodynamics that is needed for the development of mathematical models of their collective dispersal.

When the wings of small insects clap together during the flapping motion and then fling apart, there is the expectation that flight would not be efficient, but it is.

This surprising fact influenced the research and has sent Santhanakrishnan and his team in a different direction.

“We can use their wing design and locomotion mechanisms to potentially design an autonomous flying or swimming vehicle that can be more highly miniaturized than what we currently have out there,” says Santhanakrishnan. Designing machinery that takes advantage of such phenomena like small robotic vehicles that move amphibiously across water-air interfaces would be a breakthrough innovation.

Santhanakrishnan and his team discovered that the wings of these small insects are basically like a thread of silk with numerous hairs. Their wings contain small bristles and very little solid membrane. Before studying tiny insects closely, he thought their flapping motion and wing design were the same as bigger insects.

“I learned the hard way,” says Santhanakrishnan.

“I was confident just after getting my Ph.D. in fluid mechanics that all insects should fly in the same manner. But the tiny insects don’t.”

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Arvind Santhanakrishnan (right) works with graduate student Christopher Terrill in the OSU Applied Fluid Mechanics Laboratory.

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Santhanakrishnan started his research at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill during his postdoctoral work. He was mentored by Laura Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor at UNC in mathematics and biology who later became a collaborator on this research together with Ty Hedrick, Ph.D., an associate professor at UNC in biology.

“Dr. Santhanakrishnan is a wonderful collaborator,” says Miller. “He has incredible energy and enthusiasm for this project and everything else he works on.”

To pursue their research, Santhanakrishnan and Miller recently received a three-year collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation for $449,775.

“The research in our new NSF grant is focused specifically on understanding the flow through the bristled wings common to many tiny insects,” says Miller.

Because these insects can be just a quarter of millimeters, they are very hard to see. They flap their wings like a hummingbird at 200 times a second. Collaboration with biologists is important to this research and offers an opportunity to see another perspective of this problem.

“I am an engineer. I can understand biology by reading textbooks, but certainly not to the extent of somebody that makes their living being a biologist,” says Santhanakrishnan. Studying these small insects is challenging but not impossible. By cooperating with other disciplines and universities, Santhanakrishnan’s research has a larger chance for success.

Santhanakrishnan is the director of OSU’s Applied Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, which specializes in interdisciplinary studies of locomotion, transport and pumping functions in biological systems to understand structure-function relationships. To study the flight of tiny insects, Santhanakrishnan’s lab developed a robotic platform, in which scaled-up physical models of tiny insect wings are directed to flap using several electronic motors with the same movement patterns as what is observed in the actual insects. In order to create the same frictional resistance that a tiny insect wing experiences when moving through air, the larger model wings are immersed inside a 27-gallon aquarium that is filled with sticky glycerin.

PHOTOS / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

We can use their wing design and locomotion mechanisms to potentially design an autonomous flying or swimming vehicle.

—Arvind Santhanakrishnan

This project gives Santhanakrishnan a unique chance to train OSU students in conducting hands-on interdisciplinary research that integrates engineering and biology. Santhanakrishnan leads a team of numerous graduate, undergraduate and even high school students.

“He’s always available to discuss what’s going on with your research,” says Chris Terrill, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering. “And he always has helpful suggestions.” He is a great role model to students by challenging himself and working on difficult problems, he adds.

“Not many people are looking at these tiny insects,” says Santhanakrishnan. “And I think it’s mainly because it’s not easy to imitate something that is so small and simultaneously complex.” He was told many times that his research topic would be difficult, but that did not change his mind.

Chosen students can travel to UNC to participate in this research in a different environment. The chance to work with a diverse group of UNC students and faculty provides opportunities to experience truly interdisciplinary research first-hand and be prepared for the future.

“The students who come here will learn how to operate high-speed camera equipment, perform stereo calibrations of multi-camera arrays and analyze the resulting video data,” says UNC’s Hedrick.

His willingness to share his experience and findings about his research helps Santhanakrishnan have an important impact on his students, who find his passion for this subject incredible. His research has a lot of potential and will impact the future of insect dispersal ecology and engineering fields. V

Santhanakrishnan with students on his team including (from left) graduate student Vishwa Kasoju, Terrill, and undergraduate Lydia Bunting.

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Opening Prison Doors to Compassion Oklahoma inmates find humanity through OSU theater program

BY J E F F J O I N E R R E S E A R C H CO M M U N I C AT I O N S

Many Americans see people who live on the margins of society as deserving of where they are. Not Jodi Jinks.

One message that Jinks, an assistant professor of acting at Oklahoma State University, wants to get across to her students, and people in general, is the idea behind the old expression, “There but by the grace of God go I.”

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Jinks started a theater program called ArtsAloud several years ago. In 2012, as a tenure-track professor, she brought it to OSU. In the program, now called ArtsAloud-OSU, Jinks goes into prisons and works with the incarcerated who write biographical stories, which are turned into plays performed by the prisoner-authors and OSU students.

Jodi Jinks, Empathy, humanity and compasDepartment of Theatre sion — that’s what Jinks says she is trying to accomplish working with prisoners in John Lilley Correctional Center, a men’s minimum-security prison in Boley, Okla. Jinks, through ArtsAloud-OSU, wants to show that people in prison are human beings just like anyone else, except they’ve made mistakes and are paying the price.

Jinks leads classes of prisoners where participants write based on prompts or topics related to their lives that allow them to share who they are — stories of childhood, parents, choices and the circumstances that led them to where they are.

“Anything is valid. I allow for anything to be written about,” says Jinks. “They’re learning through the stories that their experiences are universal. I’ve heard them say they feel like human beings in the ArtsAloud classes.”

The stories are performed by the prisoners for their fellow inmates in the prison’s general population. Jinks also shares the stories with her students at OSU who adopt the roles of the men and rehearse the perfor-

Books Published by OSU Faculty In a new feature, Vanguard magazine is providing a sampling of books authored by OSU faculty from 2014 through 2015. This listing is not intended to be comprehensive, but is provided to show a selection of the breadth of work produced at OSU.

mances on campus. Then Jinks takes them to John Lilly where they “give back” the stories by performing them for the inmates who wrote them.

In her TEDxOStateU talk in 2015, Jinks described the give-back through the experience of one of her students who was asked by a prisoner if it felt dangerous to be there and perform their stories. The student replied that they were scared, but only because they didn’t want to mess up the life stories entrusted to them.

“The prison students see their stories come to life through the OSU students,” Jinks told her TEDx audience. “And the students recognize the prisoner’s humanity and understand how razor-thin the line between incarceration and freedom can be.”

Jinks has explored that line through ArtsAloud from the time she started the prison theater program in 2005 while teaching in Austin, Texas. There, she worked with female prisoners and often asked herself what the difference was between these incarcerated women and herself? What allowed her to pursue her dream of being an artist while these women were denied the opportunity to follow their own dreams? Because of that experience, Jinks dedicated her career to giving a voice to the incarcerated through theatrical performance. She has tried to introduce the program in women’s prisons in Oklahoma, but so far has by denied access been the state Department of Corrections.

Its Day Being Gone – Rose McLarney, English; Penguin Press Poetry that examines the shapeshifting quality of memory, as seen in folktales that have traveled across oceans and through centuries

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

PHOTOS / BRIAN PETROTTA

Left: Jinks works with students Davelle Turner, Shawn McLaughlin and D.J. Grigsby on an ArtsAloud performance. Above: A group of students poses for a photo before a performance at an Oklahoma minimum-security prison. Photography is not allowed in Oklahoma prisons.

Jinks is practicing what is called applied theater — applying theater practices in nontraditional situations and venues, such as a prison. The concept is global; Jinks tells the story of a man from Manchester, England, who uses theater as conflict resolution between warring groups in Africa.

This summer, Jinks traveled to Italy to spend time with Vito Minoia, a professor at the University of Urbino, who created a prison theater alliance there that works with the incarcerated and the mentally ill. Participants perform plays with local actors and students in surrounding communities.

“I saw this amazing piece of theater written and performed by prisoners who were released for the evening and who worked with a group of actors,” says Jinks. “It was beautiful.”

Inspired by the experience, Jinks said she returned to Oklahoma to continue her work to “reveal the soul of the prisoner.” Jinks and many others believe allowing the incarcerated to express themselves creatively can ease their transition back into society and reduce recidivism. She is working with OSU psychology professor Shelia Kennison on a survey of prisoners involved in

ArtsAloud to collect data about self-compassion. They are waiting for Department of Corrections approval to conduct the survey.

“Performance is a way to talk about being human,” Jinks said in her TEDx talk. “I believe that connection with one another leads to empathy and with increased empathy and self-respect, it becomes more difficult to hurt others or yourself.”

Jinks hopes to one day expand ArtsAloud to all prisons in the state, but she needs more trust and confidence among prison administrators for that. She also wants to work with released prisoners and their families and continue to tell their stories in performances done in public spaces such as parks, schools and libraries, and at community events like festivals.

“I’m trying to educate and inform so that people in Oklahoma, which has the fourth-largest prison population in the country, can experience how similar so many prisoners are to themselves regardless of skin color and economic status,” Jinks says. V

For more information, visit artsaloud.okstate.edu/.

Winter’s Hawk: Red-tails on the Southern Plains – James W. Lish, Physiological Sciences; University of Oklahoma Press

Paying With Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran – John M. Kinder, History and American Studies; U of Chicago Press

Color photographs and lessons in southern Great Plains biodiversity, underscoring the Red-tailed Hawk’s place in Oklahoma’s tallgrass prairie ecology

A history of American warfare through the lens of its troubled legacy of injury and disability (see story on back cover)

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Movement in Aging Study links physiological changes with motor function

BY C H R I S T Y L A N G CO L L EG E O F E D U C AT I O N

PHOTOS / GARY LAWSON

As humans age, our motor function decreases, leading to a higher risk of falls and injuries, which can have devastating results. An ongoing study led by Oklahoma State University exercise physiology assistant professor Jason DeFreitas is researching what physiological changes cause the decline of motor function in aging.

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DeFreitas noted strong evidence in recent studies that suggests muscle spindles, sensory receptors found in vertebrate muscles, have a more direct role in motor function than previously believed. He designed a study to specifically test if losses in muscle spindle function are responsible for, or at least play a significant role in, Jason DeFreitas, age-related losses in motor function.

College of Education The study challenges existing paradigms about motor control, hypothesizing that age-related sensory losses precede motor losses and may actually cause them.

“We think that spindles may have a significant influence on motor control during every movement. However, this isn’t what is currently being taught,” DeFreitas says.

DeFreitas joined Oklahoma State University in 2013 and brought with him an expertise in neuromuscular physiology and a passion for research.

“This is my first aging study. I’m taking my background in the neural control of movement, the spinal cord, and the neuromuscular system and applying it to the aging population,” he says. “I like solving puzzles, especially those that require creative solutions, (much like) designing a research study to answer the unknown.”

In 2014, DeFreitas received funding from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Tech-

nology (OCAST). Research funded by OCAST investigates causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human diseases and disabilities and facilitates the development of innovative health care products and services. The funds, renewable for up to three years, have supported the initial phases of DeFreitas’ study, allowing him to purchase new equipment and hire research assistants.

DeFreitas and his team test subjects ranging in age from 18 to 98 years old. To date, more than 100 subjects have been tested.

“We have tested a lot of healthy, college-age individuals, as well as older subjects who have severe motor and sensory deficits (over the age of 75). We’re working to add more subjects in the 30- to 60-year-old range to better define the aging process.”

If they are able, participants visit the Applied Musculoskeletal and Human Physiology Laboratory on the Stillwater campus. The lab is one of only six in the United States and 25 worldwide equipped with the most recent advancement in motor unit technology, called surface dEMG. The system uses a non-invasive surface sensor to detect and measure the neural activity during voluntary movements.

“The brain controls muscles through the use of neurons, and this state-of-the-art system allows us to non-invasively detect the activity and behavior of those neurons,” DeFreitas explains.

During a lab visit, subjects’ balance is evaluated using a Biodex Balance System. Static measures, such as how much a person sways while standing, and dynamic measures, such as the ability to adjust to movements, are recorded.

“Balance requires a unique integration of both our sensory and motor systems. These assessments allow us to determine which of these systems, if any, has a deficit that could affect balance and fall risk,” DeFreitas says.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSU FACULTY

Marketing Analytics Roadmap – Jerry Rackley, Marketing; Apress Explains what marketing analytics are and how to set up an analytics process

Agricultural and Food Controversies: What Everyone Needs to Know – F. Bailey Norwood, Agricultural Economics; Michelle S. Calvo-Lorenzo, Animal Science; Oxford University Press Confronts controversial issues in agriculture by guiding readers through scientific literature to form educated opinions

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

The research team also gathers information about participants’ muscles, the force they produce and how the properties change under conditions such as fatigue and aging. Participants’ reflexes are tested with patellar tendon taps using a small reflex hammer (much like what is done during a physical). Ultrasound images of the thigh are also taken, to reveal the size and quality of the leg muscles, during the visit to the lab.

If older individuals are unable to go into the lab, a mobile version of the tests can be performed. DeFreitas and his team have recruited study participants at the Stillwater Senior Center and visited assisted living centers and nursing homes in the area with their mobile testing center.

Why it matters DeFreitas’ study is in the second phase of a five-phase plan. In the coming year, he is working on a proposal seeking funds from the National Institutes of Health that would support his work as it enters phase three.

If, as DeFreitas hypothesizes, a strong relationship can be found between losses in muscle spindles and age-related motor losses, the next step is a long-

term longitudinal study that will solidify the cause and effect relationship. Ultimately, DeFreitas would like to design training interventions and do outreach to educate retirement communities about what can be done to delay age-related losses in motor control.

While research is DeFreitas’ passion, he genuinely enjoys mentoring graduate students. His efforts in working with OSU graduate students were recognized in 2015 when he was named the Phoenix Faculty Award winner. The award is student-nominated and presented by the OSU Graduate and Professional Student Government Association.

DeFreitas spends time with his doctoral students daily, including frequent brainstorming meetings. He involves them with manuscript peer-reviews, study design, grant writing and more.

“I want to give my doctoral students experience that will help prepare them to be successful faculty members in the future. I learn from them as much as they learn from me. It’s a very active relationship and we all benefit from it. The Phoenix Award was a validation for me that I’m doing things the right way and that the extra work I put in is appreciated.” V

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DeFreitas observes a subject’s musculoskeletal evaluation while Ph.D. students (from left) Zachary Pope, Ryan Colquhoun and Michelle Miller watch.

Insects and Society – Wyatt Hoback, Entomology and Plant Pathology; Great River Learning

Combined Stresses in Plants: Physiological, Molecular, and Biochemical Aspects – Ramamurthy Mahalingam, editor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Springer

E-book focusing on the science of entomology

A novel research theme, combined stress is a crucial paradigm for improving multiple stress tolerance in plants

Ancient Berry’s Rich Future College of Human Sciences researcher shows nutritional value of wolfberries

BY J U L I E B A R N A R D CO L L EG E O F H U M A N S C I E N C E S

Little red and orange wolfberries have been used in China for centuries to ensure longevity and treat age-related conditions of the liver and the eye. But those qualities and many more have only recently been confirmed by researchers using modern high performance analytic methods.

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College of Human Sciences assistant professor in nutritional sciences Daniel Lin and his colleagues are providing evidence of the berry’s effectiveness on retinal degeneration.

Wolfberries, or Goji berries, are the fruits of two closely related perennial plants, Lycium barbarum and Lycium Chinense, which are native to Asia and southeast Europe. Commercial production mainly comes from plantations in the Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uyghur regions in China.

The bioactive components in wolf berries include polysaccharides and carotenoids, among others. The fruits contain high levels of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are believed to have significant importance in eye health. Lin and his colleagues studied the preventative effects of dietary wolf berry on diabetic retinopathy.

Daniel Lin and his colleagues discovered in animal trials benefits to the eyes, including improving diabetic retinopathy, by consuming dietary wolfberries.

During the study, mice were fed a diet that included 1 percent wolf berries. The control group’s diet did not include wolf berries. High-performance liquid chromatography indicated mice fed the wolf berry diet for eight weeks had increases of around 13.7 percent in overall zeaxanthin and lutein concentrations in liver and retinal tissues.

Retinal damage caused by diabetes is the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in working age adults. Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) is a major cause of the progression of the disease. No permanent cure is currently available.

Mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell because they generate most of the cell’s supply of adenosine triphosphate, the source of the cell’s energy. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the primary indicator of retinal degeneration in diabetes. Mitochondria damage in mice fed wolfberries for eight weeks was completely reversed. The study showed wolfberry improved dispersion of mitochondria and increased pigment granules in the retina’s epithelium cells.

The vascular system in the retina provides nutrients and oxygen to the inner retina; new blood vessels supply the outer retina. In diabetes, elevated blood glucose, hyperglycemia and blood flow decline result in hypoxia or oxygen shortages in the retina. Dietary wolfberries ameliorated hypoxia and slowed down vascular dysfunction in the retina of the mice.

“In the study, dietary wolfberry restored the thickness of the whole retina, in particular the inner nuclear layer and photoreceptor layer,” Lin says.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSU FACULTY

The ESPN Effect: Exploring the Worldwide Leader in Sports – John McGuire, editor, Media and Strategic Communications; Peter Lang Sports media scholars examine ESPN and its impact on culture, sports journalism, audience, and the business of sports media

Equine Neurology, 2nd edition – Martin Furr, editor, Physiological Sciences; Wiley-Blackwell A new edition of the only equine-specific neurology book with comprehensive, clinically oriented information

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

PHOTOS COURTESY DANIEL LIN

Production of wolfberries has moved to the U.S. with the berries now being grown in Arizona, California and Nevada.

13 “To our knowledge, this is the first report that wolfberry bioactive constituents prevented or delayed the onset of the disease of diabetic retinopathy in an animal mode,” Lin says.

“We believe the inhibition of hypoxia may be beneficial to maintaining healthy vision for diabetic patients,” he says. “The bioactive components in wolfberry may very well delay the progression of retinal degeneration for people suffering from diabetes.”

Not satisfied with one aspect of wolfberries’ impact on health, Lin is also studying its effects on obese mice.

“High-fat diets cause mitochondrial dysfunction, and a study of obese mice indicates wolfberry dietary intervention can lead to the prevention of excessive amounts of triglycerides and other fats in liver cells,” Lin says.

With the burgeoning costs associated with pharmaceutical treatments, research-based evidence of the lasting effects of nutraceuticals such as wolfberries will have tremendous impact on the health and well-being of the world’s population.

Lin said the western world is taking notice of the tiny fruit’s potential as wolfberry production is being found in Arizona, California and Nevada.

“Shipping the fresh fruit is difficult, so most of the fruit from China is dried,” he says. “The dried fruit is still highly effective, but as with all fruits, fresh wolfberry is best.”

It appears the ancient remedy may well soon be the next new functional food to enhance and improve health. V

Fundamentals of Oil & Gas Accounting, 6th edition – Charlotte Wright, Accounting; PenWell

The Suicide Club – Toni Graham, English; University of Georgia Press

A training manual and professional reference to current issues facing oil and gas producers operating in the U.S. and internationally

Short stories of people “bound together by the worst sort of grief,” after someone close takes his or her own life

Shining the Light on Research Video series highlights the wealth of exploration at OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa

BY K I M A R C H E R O S U C E N T E R FO R H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

Research shapes our understanding of the world. . . Sharing our work could lead to important breakthroughs that will potentially impact the lives of millions.

—Bruce Benjamin

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Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences has focused on becoming the premier biomedical research institution in northeastern Oklahoma because research is the lifeblood of a university environment, lending vitality and richness that is absent without academic exploration.

“Research is at the core of learning. This search for knowledge is learning in its purest sense,” says Bruce Benjamin, OSU-CHS vice provost for graduate programs, associate dean for biomedical sciences and associate professor of physiology. “Such exploration stimulates the mind and is necessary for finding answers to important questions.”

To showcase that research as part of the university’s land-grant mission, Research Spotlight, an ongoing video series, highlights the diverse spectrum of faculty research at OSU-CHS. Each video focuses on an individual researcher’s work. Videos are posted to the OSU Center for Health Sciences’ website along with accompanying stories and are featured on OState.TV. “A strong research program enables faculty to be engaged in and aware of the latest knowledge in their respective fields and generates enthusiasm that benefits students and faculty,” Benjamin says. “This series offers a glimpse into all of the important work going on at OSU-CHS and the potential this research has to improve lives and help us live healthier, safer lives.”

Each researcher is faced with a challenge: Take a complex project and break it down for viewers into a short, easily understood presentation.

Most begin with a quest to find an answer to a specific question: How can we better predict cardiovascular disease? How can snake antivenom be improved?

What do the lives of dinosaurs millions of years ago tell us about animals today?

Each of those questions, representing a line of research at OSU-CHS, has been highlighted in Research Spotlight.

Charles Sanny, chair of the OSU-CHS Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology and biochemistry professor, found out first-hand how expansive the outreach series has been.

His research into the effectiveness of snake antivenom that could lead to improved treatment options for those bitten by a poisonous snake was featured in the series. In a state with seven types of venomous snakes, including the diamondback rattlesnake, cottonmouths and copperheads, Sanny’s work hit a nerve.

Stories about his research were widely disseminated throughout Oklahoma through various media outlets.

“Anyone visiting the OSU-CHS website is able to get understandable and informative introductions to our research by the actual scientists themselves,” Sanny says.

“The Research Spotlight series is a great way to showcase the many exciting research efforts that are going on here at OSU-CHS.”

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Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

Faculty with the Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa who have been featured in the Research Spotlight video series include (from left) James Hess, Rashmi Kaul, Gerwald Koehler, Charles Sanny, and Kathleen Curtis.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OSU CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES

Rashmi Kaul, whose research has garnered more than $150,000 in support from a local cancer charity, has been featured in Research Spotlight for her efforts to determine the link between hepatitis C and liver cancer.

“Research is a creative endeavor that brings innovative ideas to solve a problem. And for that purpose, universities serve as temples of education for our future generation but also incubators of innovation,” she says.

“Globally, it is becoming increasingly important that research is the best system for educating the next generation of innovators and scientists.”

Kaul believes the series informs the public about valuable, innovative research underway at the university and raises awareness about diseases that may prompt valuable feedback from community members with these conditions.

“The Research Spotlight series can identify community members with a personal interest for further research in a particular disease or condition,” she says.

“They can become community champions, create awareness and facilitate funding support for the research.”

Research topics cover medicine, biomedical sciences, forensic sciences, paleontology, health care administration and athletic training.

Examples of the series include: • James Hess, chair and director of the OSU School of Health Care Administration, discussing research

on new business models to help insurance companies operate successfully within a changing health care economy.

• Associate professor of microbiology Gerwald Koehler, shared his research on the trillions of microorganisms living in the human digestive tract and how they affect the central nervous system.

• Associate professor of physiology Kathleen Curtis, discussed how estrogen influences the brain and affects physiology and behavior, building on her years of research on human hormones.

OSU-CHS continues to encourage research through collaboration with the community and engagement with faculty and students.

“Research shapes our understanding of the world.

It adds to the accumulation of knowledge and provides a source for new ideas and innovation across a range of multi-disciplinary areas,” Benjamin says. “Solutions to problems and cures for disease have all come about as a result of research. Sharing our work could lead to important breakthroughs that will potentially impact the lives of millions.” V

The Research Spotlight series is developed and produced by OSU Marketing and Communications Services in Tulsa. To learn about research projects underway at OSU-CHS, visit the Research Spotlight website at www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/researchspotlight/.

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15

Blending

Cherokee Beliefs Passion Science

with

for

BY JAC Y B R A D FO R D DA S N R

Research leads OSU alumna Amber Anderson to serve Native American communities

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Amber Suena Anderson’s full name means “golden beyond tomorrow,” and the Cherokee Nation citizen takes this meaning to heart.

“I’ve always felt like with my name, I have a responsibility to take care of those in the generations to come,” Anderson says.

It is a philosophy she refined and solidified during her years as a biochemistry and molecular biology student at Oklahoma State University.

The recent alumna from Warr Acres, Oklahoma, says two things affected her the most as a student at OSU – undergraduate research and involvement with Native American communities. And combining the two has transformed her into the individual she is today, she says.

Anderson is thankful to have found a unique way to weave her culture into her passion for science.

It is a traditional Cherokee belief to keep seven generations, both ahead of you and behind you, in mind for everything you do. She says this belief encouraged her to serve as a mentor for other Native American students at OSU through various roles such as Miss American Indian OSU and Native American Student Association president.

Her platform as the 2012-2013 Miss American Indian OSU was to challenge more Native American students to become involved in research.

“I try to encourage Native American students, especially in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, to know not only what their potential is, but also the importance of them becoming involved in research and extracurricular activities that will allow them to achieve things they never imaged they could before,” Anderson says.

Her interest in Native American health was sparked as a child by her dad’s work in the public health field.

Her passion for research did not fully develop until she arrived at OSU, she says. As a Freshman Research Scholar, she was in Patricia Canaan’s research lab — and after her first semester, she was hooked.

Canaan, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, calls Anderson’s enthusiasm contagious.

“Amber is an excellent role model and ambassador for Native Americans and she has always represented the OSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology well throughout her multiple events and occasions,” Canaan says. “We are excited to see how she succeeds in her future pursuits in public health.”

Anderson has experienced Harvard Medical School in Boston and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York thanks to internships and summer research programs.

But an experience closer to home at the Oklahoma City Area Inter-Tribal Health Board confirmed her career path.

“In this position, I was treated as a young professional in the field as opposed to an intern,” Anderson says. “I had the opportunity to help create a prescription drug abuse fact sheet that was distributed throughout the state, so in a sense, I felt like I was making an impact to many tribal communities and generations.”

PHOTO / TODD JOHNSON

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Amber Anderson, who graduated from OSU as an undergraduate, studied biochemistry and molecular biology. She says undergraduate research had an important impact on her career direction.

In 2015, Anderson was recognized for her research poster presentation at the national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science in Los Angeles. Also recognized were OSU students (from left) Shane Morrison, a doctoral student studying zoology and interdisciplinary toxicology, and Grant Williams, a sophomore studying physics.

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

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During this internship, Anderson became involved in a research project about perceptions of Native Americans.

The study, sponsored by the Oklahoma Area Tribal Epidemiology Center and AARP, included a tribal community survey to better understand the beliefs of American Indians/Alaska Natives living in Oklahoma.

Anderson says the assessment provided information on the challenges and priorities in life, monthly expenses and consumer-related issues.

“This research is unique because, although there has been a lot of Native American research in the past, there has hardly ever been a focus on the perceptions of Native Americans,” Anderson says. “Stepping into the community and being submerged in the culture opened up great opportunities for gathering usable information.”

Anderson presented this research at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science National Conference in Los Angeles last year.

SACNAS was founded more than 40 years ago by career academics and research scientists committed to unifying their voice and offering guidance to Hispanics, Chicanos and Native Americans in the STEM fields.

The national conference is a gathering of nearly 4,000 students and professionals, and includes more than 1,000 poster presentations.

Anderson has qualified to attend the conference since 2012. Her final conference as an OSU student will be the most memorable because she received an outstanding poster presentation award.

“This award is the highlight of my research career because I have poured so much of my heart into my research,” Anderson says. “It was very rewarding to earn an award the last year I was able to go and to represent my university and academic college on a national platform.”

She feels sharing her love for the topic felt like more of a conversation with the judges and participants instead of a formal poster presentation.

“If you’re passionate about something, it is very easy and fun to talk about it,” Anderson says. “You long to share your knowledge with others.”

Anderson says being a biochemistry and molecular biology student was often challenging, but she is thankful she stuck it out.

“There were times when it was tempting to give up,” she says. “The faculty in my department have all helped me and encouraged me on. I’m really glad I never gave up on my dreams.”

John Gustafson, biochemistry and molecular biology department head, said having diverse leaders will be essential for the next generation of students, and he is confident Anderson will fulfill this responsibility.

“The diversity in science including women is very scarce, and we must work toward decreasing this lack,”

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

I felt like I was making an impact to many tribal communities and generations.

—Amber Anderson

For OSU commencement, Anderson and her mom beaded her cap in orange and black.

She chose NDSU for graduate school because it is the only public health school in the nation with this study option. She says she is extremely excited for her courses, such as research issues in tribal communities and American Indian health disparities, because she feels they were custom designed for her interests.

“As soon as I received notification of my acceptance, I suddenly felt so at peace with everything in my life because I knew now that this is the direction I was destined to go,” Anderson says.

In the future, she hopes to continue her educational journey to earn a doctorate while continuing to study infectious diseases.

“With these degrees, I will work to improve the health of the Cherokee Nation and other tribal members by focusing on disease prevention and educational programs,” Anderson says. “Someday I hope to have my own research lab focusing on just that.” V

PHOTO / TODD JOHNSON

he says. “How can we continue enhancing additional students that represent diversity if we do not have these people as role models? This is what makes Amber so unique. She is that role model.”

Because of her academic success and involvement at OSU, Anderson also was named the first recipient of the Cherokee Nation Foundation OSU Scholarship.

To symbolize her time at OSU, Anderson ordered her graduation cap and gown months in advance so she and her mom, Tina, would have time to bead her cap. The two have always enjoyed beading and making jewelry together, and this project may be the most unforgettable for both of them.

She says the beading was done on a loom, using orange and black colors they selected together.

An eagle feather varies in meaning from person to person. For Anderson, it was symbolic of hard work, dedication and commitment to her people. As she earns future degrees, she says the collection of feathers will represent each of her experiences and collectively represent her journey to serve the Native American population.

During her commencement ceremony in May 2015, Anderson says she was flooded with emotion looking up at the beaded feather hanging next to her tassel.

“I was thinking about how fortunate I am to have graduated from a university that is supportive of all displays of cultures as well as the many memories I have made here,” Anderson says.

As she walked across the stage of Gallagher-Iba Arena to receive her diploma, she says even President Burns Hargis complimented her on her beaded feather.

Anderson is pursuing a master’s degree in public health with an option in American Indian public health at North Dakota State University.

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The Broader Impact of Scientific Research Summer chemistry program opens doors to American Indian students

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

BY JA M I E H A DW I N CO L L EG E O F A RTS A N D S C I E N C E S

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A few years after arriving at Oklahoma State University in 2004, associate professor of chemistry Charles Weinert began using his own money to develop a summer research program to recruit American Indian students to STEM careers.

“American Indian students are underrepresented in the sciences,” Weinert says. “With nearly 40 tribes in Oklahoma, the opportunity to reach this group of students is higher here than in Chemistry professor most places.”

Charles Weinert Weinert visited 10 Oklahoma high schools in the spring of 2008 to recruit students for the summer program’s first run. After his visit to Frontier Public Schools in Red Rock, Oklahoma, student Julia “Hope” Conneywerdy emailed Weinert to express her interest in the program.

“She was a little timid when she first came here, but very excited,” Weinert says. “I think she was surprised we let her do most of the work on her own, even letting her use a million-dollar NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. It did a lot for her confidence in the lab.”

In the summer of 2008, Weinert was working with a high school student in his lab for the first time and applying for an NSF career grant, which helps junior faculty develop their careers.

He was able to use Conneywerdy’s achievements to demonstrate a successful track record for this proposed program, which strengthened his request.

Weinert adapts the program to each student’s goals and interests. One summer, he even had a third-grader participate, which involved lab demonstrations rather than actual research projects.

However, when the students do take on research projects, they help with components of Weinert’s current

research, often completing a step in the overall puzzle of his investigations of the element germanium.

Conneywerdy and others have helped with integral parts of his research and have been named as contributors on published academic papers.

After Weinert’s NSF career grant expired in 2015, he received a $390,000 three-year renewable NSF research grant. With this grant, he specifically requested funding for the summer research program because he had shown how it fulfilled the grant’s “broader impact on society” requirements.

The NSF funding allowed Weinert to cover such participant costs as housing, transportation and even a stipend. Because this latest grant is renewable, he hopes to continue funding for years to come.

“As long as we continue to be successful and show that people are interested, I’m hoping someday this might turn into an even bigger program,” Weinert says.

“In fact, we already have someone verbally committed to coming next summer.”

Researching Silicon Alternatives Most smartphone or computer chip technologies are made with silicon-based materials. Weinert and his team are busy synthesizing oligomers of germanium, which could lead to more effective chip technology.

“Germanium lies below silicon on the table of elements,” Weinert says. “By studying the structure of germanium and understanding its properties, we hope to synthesize oligogermanes [shorter, finite versions of

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PHOTO / CHARLES WEINERT

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Julia “Hope” Conneywerdy uses a Schlenk line to prepare air-sensitive germanium compounds during her 2008 summer experience in Weinert’s lab.

Weinert and Conneywerdy, now an OSU graduate student, reunite on campus more than seven years after they first worked together.”

longer germanium molecular chains] that can surpass the semi-conductivity of related silicon-based materials.”

Weinert’s research with germanium is widely known in the field of synthetic chemistry. As part of a three-day European lecture tour last summer, he was invited to speak at the University of Freiburg in Germany, where Clemens Winkler discovered germanium in 1886.

ready to graduate in December 2014, she considered getting her master’s degree while she waited to start physician’s assistant school.

Wanting to return to OSU, she found a fast-track master’s program that was similar to a pre-medical option with OSU’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Conneywerdy began classes before she was officially accepted and recently completed in her first full semester as an OSU graduate student. She is set to graduate with her master’s in May 2016.

“I have to give a big thanks to Dr. Weinert and his summer program,” Conneywerdy says. “It really sparked my interest in science, and I’m so glad to be back at OSU.” V

On the fast track When Conneywerdy was a sophomore at Frontier Public Schools, she had seen pictures of microscopes in science textbooks, but had never used one.

“I always knew I wanted to go into the medical field,” Conneywerdy says. “The summer program was the first time I was in a lab setting, and I finally got to use a microscope. I was hooked!”

After high school, Conneywerdy went to Northwestern Oklahoma State University on a golf scholarship and majored in biochemistry. When she was getting

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21

Probiotics in Poultry FAPC research uses wheat-sourced strains to produce healthier chickens

BY B R IT TA N Y G I L B E R T FA P C

Sales of probiotic-fed chicken products in the United States have increased 34 percent in the last year due to the demand for antibiotic-free poultry.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest chicken processor, announced it would eliminate the use of human antibiotics and use only probiotic-fed chickens in its operations by September 2017.

This trend has researchers at Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center, a part of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, studying the implementation of probiotics in chicken feed.

“The reason for the study was to help the food industry produce a healthier bird,” says Patricia Rayas, FAPC cereal chemist. “When the probiotics are ingested, they try to outweigh the bad bacteria.”

22

Garnering results Rayas, along with Alejandro Penaloza, visiting assistant professor, and Zorba Hernandez, postdoctoral visiting scientist, began studying probiotics in November 2014. Other members of the team were graduate students Sabitri Gautam, Sudhir Pasupuleti, Thiago Montaigner Souza and Pryscila Velazco, as well as Ali Beker, poultry senior research specialist for OSU’s Department of Animal Science.

The research team received 300 broiler chickens, which were housed at the OSU poultry farm for 42 days. The broilers were split into four test groups to try different preparations of probiotics.

The team fed the chickens probiotics as a supplement by using a mixture of probiotic strains created by Penaloza and a standard feed diet.

Probiotics are used to boost the immune system and serve the microbiota in defending bacteria.

PHOTOS / MANDY GROSS

Left: The FAPC team are (from left) Alejandro Penaloza, visiting assistant professor, Zorba Hernandez, postdoctoral visiting scientist, and Patricia Rayas, FAPC cereal chemist. Above: Probiotic strains are optimized and taken from a bioreactor.

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Definitions Exoenzymes: an extracellular enzyme

Microorganism spore: the resistant stage of bacteria

Microbiota: community of microbes that live in the intestine

Micro ecology: ecology of a system of microorganisms in the intestine

“Our hypothesis was that the probiotics would improve the community of microbes in the gut of the chicken,” Rayas says. “The broilers were then fed the probiotics two different ways – mixed in the feed and liquid administration.”

The final step of the study was to process the chickens in FAPC’s processing facility. Data was collected to calculate feed efficiency, and ground samples of the broilers were taken to the Cereal Chemistry Laboratory for further research.

Results showed in the first two weeks that the broilers receiving probiotics had an increased weight gain and lower death rate. When a broiler gains weight, it gains muscle mass and produces more food, which increases potential profit and quantity.

“When the main objective is reached, the isolated probiotics may be useful for the poultry to produce chicken that is free of antibiotics and better feed efficiency,” Hernandez says.

Research has shown probiotics give broilers protection for intestinal integrity and help defend the immune system from unwanted bacteria.

Finding probiotic strains FAPC’s Cereal Chemistry Laboratory housed the collection of the probiotic strains, which was sourced from wheat. Penaloza isolated the strains and selected those with high production of exoenzymes.

“The advantage of using these strains of probiotics is that it helps improve the use of nutrients in the feed,” Penaloza says. “The strains also will stabilize the microorganisms in the gut of the broilers.”

Hard wheat, flour and water were fermented to enrich the microorganism’s spores, Penaloza says. The strains of probiotics were isolated, and those with high

Probiotics: a preparation, such as a dietary supplement, containing live bacteria that is taken orally to restore beneficial bacteria to the body; a bacterium of such a preparation

production of enzymes of interest were placed under intense heat to ensure they would survive when cooking the food pellet.

The research team is working with OSU’s Technology Development Center to patent mixtures of probiotic strains for particular uses. TDC, which helps with the development of new products, the integration of new technology and the increase of capital investments, also funded this research.

Future research Hernandez says further research is needed to evaluate other strains of probiotics and acquire more knowledge to measure the benefits of using probiotics in the poultry industry.

“This research can bring health benefits to chickens and people by maintaining healthy microbial community in the intestine of the chickens,” he says. “This would maintain healthier chickens and reduce the use of antibiotics. Additionally, the use of probiotics also can generate ecological benefits and increase the efficiency of feed conversion of the broilers.”

Rayas says the team has high hopes for future research projects.

“Our hypothesis for the next research project is to use a spore-based probiotic that supports the balance of the micro ecology by simulating the colonization of beneficial bacteria,” she says. “This will improve the broilers intestinal health and enhance growth performance. In the future we hope to create a mixture so the industry can maintain a healthier intestine for the chickens.”

The ultimate goal is to help the poultry industry continue to provide a safe product to its consumers. V

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24

Interdisciplinary, International and Intertwined

BY B R I A N P E T R OT TA CO L L EG E O F A RTS & S C I E N C E S

She is from China. He is from the Netherlands.

Naturally, they fell in love and moved to Oklahoma.

PHOTO / BRIAN PETROTTA

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

After being separated for a time by faculty positions 600 miles apart, Wouter Hoff and Aihua Xie are together as researchers and teachers at OSU.

Wouter (“VOW-ter”) Hoff and Aihua (“A-wah”) Xie met at an international conference in Leiden, the Netherlands, in 1994. Two years later, he was receiving the Netherlands’ Society of Biophysics award for best Ph.D. thesis (given every two years) and she was at the ceremony, for she was conducting experiments using an International Infrared Free Electron facility in the country. Eventually they settled in at Oklahoma State, with offices next door to each other, though “settling” is not a word often associated with Hoff and Xie. In fact, both came to the United States because they were unable to quiet the rumblings of academic pursuits in their home countries.

Xie was fortunate enough to be part of the first wave of Chinese students admitted to a higher education institution following a decadelong nationwide suppression of formal education brought on by the Cultural Revolution. The odds of admission were microbial, yet there was Xie, only six months removed from secondary school, admitted with — and above — those up to 10 years older. She further proved to be among the best of the best when she earned inclusion into a new interna-

tional exchange program, which allowed her to study physics in the United States.

Hoff also came to the United States in search of opportunity. In 2014, The Netherlands showed a population of just under 17 million people, somewhere between the populations of Illinois and New York. Though he was able to remain in his hometown of Amsterdam all the way through the completion of his thesis, he knew he would have to leave to continue his research. Speaking generally of his home country, Hoff says, “If you want to stay in science, you go abroad.”

And that is precisely what Hoff and Xie did. Hoff landed the prestigious Damon Runyon-Walter Winchel Foundation post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Houston while Xie took a faculty position at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. In 1997, she came to OSU as an assistant professor of physics. Hoff spent two years as a post-doc at OSU before taking a full-time faculty position at the University of Chicago.

He would not return to OSU until 2005.

“For a number of years, we commuted 600 miles between Stillwater and Chicago, then the opportunity arose where we could both work at OSU, and that was a great solution to our ‘two-body’ problem,” Hoff says.

The OSU Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics offered him an associate professorship in 2005 and a full professorship in 2011. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and heads the graduate program in Microbiology/Molecular and Cell Biology. Xie was named a full professor in 2006.

25

What we are striving to do is to make a new step — boldly go where no one has gone before.

—Wouter Hoff

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Today, Hoff and Xie are separated by fewer than 600 millimeters, with offices side-by-side in the Henry Bellmon Research Center. The beautiful, state-ofthe-art facility houses, among other things, Xie’s Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) research laboratory, which has commanded approximately $1.6 million in outside research funding. She believes the NSF MRI funding for this Advanced FTIR Lab is greatly enhanced with the multidisciplinary environment created by the HBRC. “This building really capitalizes on collaborations, particularly interdisciplinary collaborations,” Xie says.

She was a member of the planning committee, architect committee and the user committees for the HBRC and dreams of its expansion, or even a second building, on campus.

Her enthusiasm for this emerging technology is palpable for she has just scratched the surface of its applications. Think of FTIR as an Xray, only at the chemical level. FTIR research could make life-changing discoveries in biomedical, bioenergy, and agricultural sciences. It has also been used to assess the authenticity of paintings by Leonardo DaVinci.

Hoff sits across a table from Xie and it quickly becomes apparent the two still share a freshman’s excitement for each other. Though both are internationally respected researchers, they become almost embarrassed when discussing their own achievements, so one must fill in the blanks for the other. Twenty-six seconds after Hoff begins to tell of his journey to the United States, Xie interrupts.

“Let me just add two things about Wouter,” she interjects. With deep fondness she mentions his thesis awards and adds another important fact he missed: Hoff discovered one of six known chromophores (molecules that detect color in nature) while at the University of Amsterdam.

“I forgot all that stuff,” Hoff laughs. “It’s good to have such a great fan.”

This discovery of P-coumaric acid has led to Hoff’s work being quoted more than 2,000 times in international research. Better still, it provided a springboard to the Cancer Research Foundation honoring him with its Young Investigator Award in 1999.

Research is a passion for both Hoff and Xie but it is not their only passion. They are also dedicated to teaching and serving an international audience.

Hoff is excited about a current program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The program involves the creation of a Life Sciences Freshman Research Scholar cohort, which consisted of 32 OSU students in its first year, and Hoff’s involvement, which is directing students in his introductory microbiology course to conduct real, authentic research by isolating new strains of bacteria. The first wave of research resulted in three publications for three genomes isolated by first-year students.

The idea of combining research with instruction is carried on by Xie with her upper-level and graduate physics students. She believes it is the best way to

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

cure what has been described as the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) “crisis” in the United States.

“I think we’re both trying to do two themes,” Hoff says of their teaching methods. “Tone is active learning, not just looking at a PowerPoint. The second theme is ‘authentic.’ It is not a fake exercise. It is really something useful, relevant, and interesting.”

Another key to success in the classroom is simply to listen to the student, Xie notes.

“If you just tell the student, ‘Do exactly this,’ that’s when we bore them to death,” Xie says. “When you learn for yourself, you are motivated.”

Along with research and teaching, Hoff feels the third pillar of their success is service. He became the graduate program coordinator for microbiology and revamped the first-year graduate curriculum in microbiology and created an accelerated master’s program.

Additionally, Hoff serves as the editor of the highly respected Journal of Biological Chemistry.

A turning point for Xie came in 2005 when she helped organize a National Science Foundation-funded workshop for professional skill development for women physicists in 2005. The program has become a yearly event, and Xie still uses its skills today.

Xie continues to take down stereotypes about women in physics, culminating in her election as chair of the Biological Physics Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics in 2015. The commission, known as C6, promotes international cooperation in biological physics from both developing and developed countries. She is already organizing a meeting in Brazil for the summer of 2016. She will be joined by 10,000 physicists.

“So, what are you going to do next?” Hoff jokes.

The punch line may be on us. Armed with industrial-sized beakers full of ideas — and already having shown the ability to bring their ideas to life — Hoff and Xie actively search for the next thing and have little interest in repeating an experiment.

“What we are striving to do is to make a new step — boldly go where no one has gone before,” Hoff says.

As large as their imaginations may be, it is unlikely Hoff and Xie could have predicted they would settle in Stillwater. At OSU, they found the perfect place to build upon their three pillars of research, teaching and service. V

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Xie’s Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) research laboratory holds great promise for future research.

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A Walk to Wellness OSU-Tulsa researcher examines the health benefits of labyrinths

BY S E A N K E N N E DY O S U -T U L S A

Walking the circular path of a labyrinth is a study in relaxation for Megan York, a health education and promotion major. The quiet, dim corner of Oklahoma State University-Tulsa’s Main Hall Commons that houses the Sparq Meditation Labyrinth provides an opportunity for York and others on campus to engage in an increasingly popular wellness exercise.

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“Evidence shows that the circular walking patterns of labyrinths help with calmness and mental focus,” says Amy Bowersock, clinical associate professor of health education and promotion. “This calming, meditative effect can have a substantial impact on stress and adds another dimension to our health and wellness efforts.”

Bowersock, whose research interests have focused mainly on physical activity, has begun a study to gather data about the wellness benefits of labyrinths and their meditative effects.

“We are learning more about users’ perceptions of their own personal wellness and how they are benefiting from using the labyrinth,” Bowersock says. “Part of the challenge of this research is understanding how individual perceptions about meditation and wellness influence the actual benefits users experience.”

A labyrinth is a series of winding pathways in a circle around a central point. Users follow the curved path to get to the center. Unlike a maze, a traditional labyrinth has no dead ends.

“Research has shown that the winding pathways enable people to clear their minds from distractions and focus on being in the moment,” says Bowersock. “This practice helps people refocus while they are walking through the labyrinth.”

Wellness innovator Lynn Wallace, access and collection services librarian at OSU-Tulsa, proposed bringing the Sparq labyrinth to OSU-Tulsa.

Helping her mother fight terminal cancer after having just recovered from her own round of cancer treatment had left Wallace emotionally drained.

“I found several meditative ways personally to cope, including coloring, cross-stitching and utilizing a meditation labyrinth,” Wallace says. “After talking to Dr. Bowersock about coping during stressful times, I realized that this was a missing piece of our campus wellness offerings.”

The Sparq Meditation Labyrinth was developed

by Matt Cook, emerging technologies librarian at the University of Oklahoma. It has traveled the country to promote the health benefits of mindful meditation at events and academic institutions.

Using a touch-screen interface, the Sparq labyrinth projects a lighted pathway onto the floor. Users are able to select from a variety of culturally significant patterns to suit their mood or meditation goals. The entire process generally takes about five minutes from start to finish.

“Concentration improves, stress hormones are reduced and a sense of calm produces a better end product for the user after a session in the labyrinth,” Wallace says. “Mindfulness meditation while walking the labyrinth enables participants to focus on that moment — being present — not on the paper due in an hour or the test in the next class.”

It also provides a beneficial alternative to consuming high-calorie energy drinks or making unhealthy choices to aid concentration and studying, Wallace says.

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According to the University of Edinburgh, labyrinths date back more than 4,000 years, and ancient remains have been found all across the world. Some were purely decorative, while others were constructed for walking.

Bowersock sees many avenues of research branching out from this initial project. She is interested in how adding mindful meditative activities affects a person’s overall physical activity.

“The Setchenov Phenomenon has shown that individuals who are fatigued to exhaustion can reduce fatigue by utilizing a diverting activity while exercising,” Bowersock says. “I’m interested to measure the effect on fatigue that these meditative activities would have on individuals while they are exercising in the wellness center.”

She is also interested in working with youth sports and high school programs to see if the use of the laby-

rinth could be used for developing mental training and deflating strong emotions in highly stressful situations.

Students in the Health Education and Promotion program also used the labyrinth for several wellness-related class projects during the fall semester.

The temporary labyrinth installation on the OSU-Tulsa campus has elicited a positive response from OSU’s wellness program. The university is looking at add a permanent labyrinth installation on the Stillwater campus, and OSU-Tulsa is looking for ways to adding a permanent labyrinth on campus as well.

“A labyrinth provides an opportunity to students, faculty and staff to take a short walk and regroup mentally,” Bowersock says. “The calming and health benefits users will receive from using the labyrinth are an innovative addition to OSU’s America’s Healthiest Campus® initiatives.” V

PHOTO COURTESY OSU-TULSA

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OSU-Tulsa Health Education and Promotion student Megan York walks a labyrinth in the Main Hall Commons.

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Forget Green, Turf is Orange & Black OSU bermudagrass varieties have hit a homerun in sports stadiums

Sports enthusiasts may not realize it but they are seeing a Cowboy connection when they watch home games of Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals and the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins, even if it is literally being trampled underfoot.

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“We didn’t start our bermudagrass development program with the intention of specifically turning out high-end turf for major sports; the resulting products have just been what a number of professional and amateur organizations have needed,” says Dennis Martin, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist and one of five OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources researchers credited with developing Latitude 36, the bermudagrass variety used at those sports complexes.

Latitude 36 also is the turf of choice for the practice fields of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens, and as the football, baseball and track turfs at the University of Virginia. Another OSU-developed variety, Patriot, is on the practice fields of the Indianapolis Colts, the football and soccer fields at Purdue University and the Chesapeake Energy Roof Sports Field in Oklahoma City.

And that is not counting the “home-grown advantage” Patriot and yet another variety, Riviera, have been providing Cowboy nation. Patriot bermudagrass is on OSU’s Hedge practice field complex and the two natural grass practice football fields east and southeast of the Sherman Smith indoor facility. Riviera is on the outfield at OSU’s Allie P. Reynolds Stadium and was used on two baseball fields at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

PHOTO / TODD JOHNSON

BY D O N A L D S TOT T S DA S N R

Turf industry professionals listen to presentations about OSU bermudagrass varieties at the 2015 Turf and Landscape Field Day.

There is even an orange and black connection at the University of Oklahoma, where the Sooners renovated from TifSport to Latitude 36 bermudagrass on Owen Field last year.

“Start talking about golf courses, and the list expands almost exponentially,” Martin says.

“It’s fitting, in a way, as it was a series of grants from the United States Golf Association beginning in 1986 and continuing through the 1990s and 2000s that really helped usher in the modern era of OSU bermudagrass development.”

OSU professors Charles Taliaferro and Mike Kenna of DASNR’s Department of Agronomy were the principal investigators associated with the 1986 USGA grant, building upon national research and the work of Wayne Huffine, an OSU professor and researcher of forages and

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pastures from the 1950s into the 1980s. Huffine and his colleagues developed Oaklawn centipede and played a major role in the development of Sunturf bermudagrass.

OSU released Guymon in 1982, the first seed-propagated variety better adapted to more northern latitudes than bermudagrass produced in Arizona and California.

“Our successes today would not have happened without the work of Charles, who retired in 2005; Mike, who is now the USGA director of research; and Doug Breede, my predecessor at OSU and now director of research with Jacklin-Simplot Seed,” Martin says, “not to mention the patience of DASNR administration through the years because none of this happened overnight.”

The 1990s were a time of trial and tribulation, with no final product to show for the efforts of the OSU Bermudagrass Development Team.

“It takes about 10 years to work through necessary steps such as germplasm selection, hybridization and evaluation at the local, regional and national levels,” says Yanqi Wu, holder of OSU’s Meibergen Family Endowed Professorship in Plant Breeding. “But by the early 2000s, we were releasing Yukon, Rivera and Patriot, and then in about 2010, we released Latitude 36 and NorthBridge.”

Part of what makes OSU’s bermudagrass development efforts unique is the size and multidisciplinary make-up of the research team.

“While people expect us to draw upon the expertise of researchers in the plant and soil sciences, our ultimate goal of giving industry and consumers a high-quality product has led us to draw upon DASNR resources in agricultural economics, horticulture, landscape architecture and more,” Wu says.

“Jeff Anderson retired, and we still call on him.”

Anderson, longtime OSU horticulture professor of plant stress physiology, provided key expertise on freeze tolerance, working closely with the leading plant breeders, Taliaferro and his successor Wu. “Improved cold tolerance is one of the major aspects our bermudagrass varieties are known for nationally,” Wu says. “Bermudagrass is a southern grass, traditionally susceptible to winter kill, but our varieties are allowing for its expansion into and use in more northerly climes.”

Bermudagrass is a popular turf choice on lawns as well, thanks to its sod-forming growth habit, long-lived perennial nature, ability to rebound from heavy traffic and resistance to many environmental stresses such as heat and drought. It is also exceptionally tolerant to frequent low mowing, a boon to golf course managers and homeowners alike.

Latitude 36 was intensively tested at OSU for seven years before researchers at other land-grant institutions in the southern United States and the central transition zone working through the National Turf Evaluation Program examined the grass. At the conclusion of the 2007-2012 NTEP trials, Latitude 36 claimed overall top honors as the nation’s best bermudagrass variety.

Other OSU-developed bermudagrasses such as Patriot and Riviera lay claim to a similar notable heritage of research-proven quality and performance.

“While the sports connection is eye-opening, it’s at the local level that our OSU-developed turfgrasses may be having the greatest benefit, as lawns, in parks and other venues that directly affect a significant number of people and the communities in which they live,” Martin says. “We’ve also been adding to both basic and applied research that will lead to further advances and improved varieties.”

OSU faculty from the division’s departments of plant and soil sciences, horticulture and landscape architecture and agricultural economics participated in a multistate, five-year U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant that was recently concluded.

“The NIFA – Specialty Crop Research Initiative Turfgrass Breeding grant supported or partially supported research published in 17 journal articles and 13 conference abstracts; the training of 20 graduate students, 14 undergraduate researchers and three post-docs; four consumer surveys; two cultivars; and more than 60 workshops, seminars and Extension activities,” Martin says. “That is science in action.” V

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Keen Eyes Lead to Discovery A re-examination of the ear opens new chapter in animal pathology

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

BY D E R I N DA B L A K E N E Y C E N T E R FO R V E T E R I N A RY H E A LT H S C I E N C E S

Brad Njaa (center) discusses his research with DVMs and anatomic pathology residents (from left) Heather Herd, Nick Sorensen and Alix Dieterly.

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Brad Njaa, associate professor in OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and in the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, was asked to write a chapter on the ear for the Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease Fifth Edition by James F. Zachary and M. Donald McGavin. In preparation for that chapter, he opened nearly every middle ear in dogs and cats that crossed his necropsy table. In doing so, he started noticing things that had not been recognized before or that didn’t quite match up with current publications.

In 2009, a study reported that 3,442 cats were examined and only 59, or 1.7 percent, had otitis media.

Feeling that the prevalence of otitis media might be underreported in cats from what he had seen, Njaa enlisted the help of Dr. Mee Ja Sula, an anatomic pathology resident at OSU at the time, and set out to test that hypothesis.

“Histologic characterization of the cat middle ear: in sickness and in health” was authored by Drs. Ja Sula, Njaa and Mark Payton. It required only detailed observation.

Njaa hopes it will lead to more investigation of otic disease.

“The first cat I worked on had otitis media, defined as inflammation of the middle ear,” says Njaa. “I found the cat dead alongside the road. Without any medical history on the cat, I can’t confirm it; however, I surmise that the cat met its death because it was having trouble navigating due to the discomfort in its middle ear.”

The research was partially funded by the Roger J. Panciera Pathology Educational Fund. The images in the publication were taken with an Aperio digital microscope in OSU’s Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. Near the end of the project, the veterinary center’s Research Advisory Committee provided support through the Research Equipment and Development fund for a digital stereomicroscope imaging system that was used to depict images of the middle ear.

“We looked at 50 cats for a total of 100 ears. A total of 48 ears, nearly 50 percent, showed lesions of previous or ongoing otitis media. This is a much higher occurrence than the 2009 study reported,” Njaa says.

Otitis media can cause discomfort and irritation that could result in behavioral issues.

“Middle ear inflammation can lead to facial neuritis, which could lead to abnormal posture of the ear pinna. The common misconception is middle ear inflammation leads to head tilt but that is a reflection of internal ear inflammation, not middle ear,” says Njaa. “If both ears are affected, it can lead to a very subtle sign of the cat extending its neck.”

Because the changes in the cat’s behavior are subtle, owners might not pick up on the changes.

“We did discover that unlike dogs where otitis media is secondary to otitis externa, in cats there is not a

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single case of otitis externa,” Njaa adds. “In the cat, otitis media is thought to occur primarily as a sequela of upper respiratory tract disease. This often occurs as a direct consequence of bacteria from the nasopharynx or simply auditory (Eustachian) tube dysfunction.”

Njaa’s research re-introduced an anatomic region of the body that is largely avoided and forgotten in veterinary medicine – the ear.

“When talking about the ear, I am referring to the middle and inner ear compartments. Because of the bony shell, complex anatomy and delicate sensory apparatus, there are few articles addressing the pathology of this compartment in common veterinary journals.”

To get this information into the hands of more veterinarians, Njaa’s findings are included in several books, including Jubb, Kennedy and Palmer’s Pathology Domestic Animals, G Maxie ed, 6th edition 2015; Zachary and McGavin’s Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease, 5th edition, 2012 and 6th edition, 2016; and Tumors in Domestic Animals, D. Meuten, 5th edition 2016.

“Greater attention needs to be paid to cats with the possibility of otitis media being more prevalent that once assumed,” says Njaa. “A problem for practitioners is the lack of clinical disease or very subtle signs associated with bilateral otitis media. Most people associate a head tilt with otitis media, but that actually is a sign that refers to otitis interna affecting the cranial nerve VIII or the vestibulocochlear nerve. Furthermore, otitis media may cause drooping ears related to facial nerve paralysis (cranial nerve VII). The droopy ears may be due to chronic, bilateral otitis media necessitating imaging studies and appropriate therapy before it becomes more serious and leads to otitis interna or meningitis.”

Njaa says studies have investigated upper respiratory disease (rhinitis) in cats leading to meningitis by traversing the nasal cavity. These studies did not investigate middle ears for disease.

“I presume that at least some of the cats with chronic rhinitis may have had dysfunctional auditory tubes (Eustachian tubes) that could have initially led to otitis media followed by otitis interna and meningitis.

This is an area that has not been pursued and one that I would love to investigate.” V

PHOTO / BRAD NJAA

Bones of the ear are compared to a penny in a photo taken using a stereomicroscope system in the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

An Award-Winning Paper The paper on the feline middle ear published by Njaa’s team earned them the 2015 C.L. Davis Journal Award.

Each year the award is given to authors of publications that appear during the calendar year in Veterinary Pathology that meet the following criteria: • Advance significantly the area of knowledge covered by the manuscript.

• Demonstrate exemplary scientific techniques and scholarly conceptions.

• Demonstrate technical excellence in the text, figures and tables.

“I consider this a wonderful honor primarily because it largely involved clarifying a poorly understood area that was based on observations in the necropsy room that were incongruent with current thought or recent publications,” says Njaa.

To read Njaa’s research in full, visit vet.sagepub.com/content/51/5/951.

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Honoring Research Pacesetters 2015 Regents Distinguished Research Award recipients Oklahoma State University annually recognizes the scholarship and leadership of researchers who represent the best in their respective fields and whose influence extends beyond the laboratory or archive. In 2015, seven OSU faculty members were honored with the Regents Distinguished Research Award. Recipients are selected based on evidence of outstanding and meritorious research achievements and are recognized nationally and internationally in their fields of study. The winners were recognized at the 2015 OSU Awards Convocation in December.

Allen W. Apblett, professor of chemistry College of Arts and Sciences Apblett’s research focuses on the application of inorganic chemistry, catalysis and nanotechnology to areas including the protection of the environment, improvements in industrial processes, development of advanced materials and homeland security. His work has garnered more than $8 million in research funding. Apblett has been named a fellow of the American Ceramic Society and the American Chemical Society. He has published 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and has 15 U.S. patent applications, three of which have been granted. His work has resulted in the spinoff of three private companies, and in 2011 he was named the Riata Outstanding Faculty Entrepreneur.

Garey A. Fox, professor and Buchanan Endowed Chair in biosystems engineering

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Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Fox investigates processes involved in the transport of sediment, nutrients and pathogens in surface and subsurface pathways. His team has developed methods to improve our understanding of how seepage and preferential flow contribute to streambank erosion and affect water quality. He serves as director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Center, bringing together the expertise of more than 75 faculty members. Fox shares his knowledge by mentoring graduate and undergraduate students as well as leading the annual Student Water Conference. His awards include the New Holland Young Researcher Award, Halliburton Outstanding Faculty Award, Burks Environmental Research Award and the Whatley Research Award.

Edward Jones, Regents professor of English College of Arts and Sciences As a scholar of international distinction, Jones researches the life and works of 17th-century English poet John Milton. Focusing on historical documents, his research has resulted in two books with additional titles nearing completion. His most recent published work, Young Milton: The Emerging Author 1620-1642, won the Milton Society’s Irene Samuel Award in 2013. Jones has been selected to edit the Oxford University Press edition of Milton’s Complete Works and he serves as editor of the Milton Quarterly, the leading peer-reviewed journal in the field. His scholarship has resulted in collaborations with the world’s pre-eminent Milton biographers.

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Carey Pope, Regents professor and Sitlington Chair in toxicology Department of Physiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences Pope’s research focuses on the neurotoxicity of organophosphate compounds (OPs) with the goal of understanding the complex interactions of OPs with acetylcholinesterase and non-acetylcholinesterase target biomolecules for development of therapeutic strategies against OP intoxication. Pope’s work has garnered more than $11.5 million in research funding as a principal investigator, with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences continuously funding his laboratory for 15 years. Along with fellow OSU faculty members, Pope developed the Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program in 2012 that includes 30 faculty members from six OSU colleges. The program developed a graduate certificate program and a fellowship in interdisciplinary toxicology for graduate students.

Rathindra Sarathy, professor of management science and information systems Spears School of Business Sarathy investigates the development of theory, techniques and measures relating to the protection of confidential numerical data within the larger fields of data security and statistical databases. His research has shown it is possible to protect data while retaining its usefulness. Sarathy is widely known for his emphasis on producing high-quality publications, and his work has been published in respected journals in a number of disciplines including information systems, management science, computer science and statistics. Five of his articles have appeared in Business Week’s top 20 business journals worldwide. Sarathy’s work has resulted in a U.S. patent for a data masking procedure.

Barbara J. Stoecker, Regents professor and Marilynn Thoma Chair in human sciences College of Human Sciences In her 27-year career at OSU, Stoecker has investigated micronutrient deficiencies and human health. Her work has included pioneering research into the nutritional role of the trace element chromium, iodine and vitamins A and E. Stoecker’s groundbreaking research has taken her around the world to investigate micronutrient deficiencies in developing nations, particularly in Africa and Asia. She has been particularly interested in making recommendations to governments and organizations to influence nutrition policies. She has published more than 90 scholarly articles and has made numerous national and international presentations. Stoecker has served on numerous panels for organizations including the National Academy of Sciences.

Weili Zhang, professor of computer and electrical engineering PHOTOS / KEVIN M cCROSKEY

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Zhang is an internationally influential investigator of cutting-edge and strategically important areas of terahertz plasmonics and metamaterials. His research is important in the development of ultrafast semiconductors and materials of unconventional properties.

He has published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals, which have been cited more than 3,500 times. He has served as associate, guest and feature editor for six journals, on the editorial board of seven journals, and as a reviewer of five national/ international grant programs. He sits on the program committees of more than 20 technical conferences and has been elected a fellow of the Optical Society of America.

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National research prominence New V.P. for research aims to raise OSU’s scholarly profile

BY J E F F J O I N E R R E S E A R C H CO M M U N I C AT I O N S

Kenneth W. Sewell sees big things ahead in the realm of research at Oklahoma State University. As OSU’s new vice president for research, Sewell recognizes the amazing breadth of research and scholarly activity taking place on OSU’s campuses. He also recognizes that many people on and off campus don’t realize how much research is done here — and he plans to change that.

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Sewell, a native Oklahoman, was born in Coweta, southeast of Tulsa. He graduated from high school there in 1982 and attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) in Miami, where he played football on the college’s nationally ranked team. Coaches from Kansas State University noticed the offensive lineman and recruited him.

Yet, an injury changed the direction of Sewell’s life and career. He played for two seasons at K-State but sustained a neck injury. He decided it was time to give up his dreams of playing in the NFL and changed his focus at K-State.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” he says. “I’m quite certain that if I hadn’t played in so much pain and had a more successful football career, I wouldn’t have put as much energy into academics.”

Sewell, always a strong student, initially majored in physics at NEO but then became fascinated with human behavior and began focusing on psychology. He was torn between divinity school with a career in the ministry or studying clinical psychology and working as a practitioner. He applied to graduate programs in both fields, but undergraduate research launched him on a life’s journey.

“I had no thought that I would catch the research bug,” he says. “But working on research with a mentor and graduate students changed my perception. Applying your skills to answering questions and solving problems was a life-changing experience.”

Seeing his name in print on his first published journal article didn’t hurt his ambitions to be a researcher, either.

Sewell earned a master’s and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Kansas. In 1991, he accepted a faculty position at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. Within a few months he was thrust into one of the most high-profile investigations of his career.

In October of that year, a man walked into a Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, Texas, and killed 23 people in what was then the nation’s worst mass shooting.

Within 48 hours of the incident, Sewell arrived in Killeen with permission from local authorities to conduct research into the effect of the trauma on survivors and first responders. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the topic of Sewell’s Ph.D. dissertation at Kansas and he found parallels between the anxiety suffered by those in Killeen and Vietnam War veterans suffering from PTSD that he studied in Kansas.

“It was a novel finding at the time,” Sewell says. “We developed a conceptual framework for the treatment of traumatized individuals that, along with ensuing research of others, is still influencing that field today.”

Sewell was a faculty member and administrator at UNT for 21 years while also maintaining a psychology practice in Denton. In 1996, he was named director of UNT’s clinical psychology doctoral training program.

Sewell was named associate vice president for research and then interim V.P. at North Texas. He accepted the position of vice president for research and economic development and executive director of the graduate college at the University of New Orleans in 2013.

In 2015, Sewell became the vice president for research at OSU. He sees as his mission the need to maximize the incredible potential of the research enterprise here. “Nothing has to be started from scratch.”

OSU has a great tradition because of its history as a land-grant university, which includes research as an explicit part of its mission, along with instruction and public service.

Research at Oklahoma State University | www.vpr.okstate.edu

PHOTOS / KEVIN M cCROSKEY

Kenneth Sewell

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“That’s what sets us apart because OSU fully embraces that and has stayed consistent with that framework,” Sewell says.

There is a parallel between support for a university’s large sports programs, and especially for high profile teams, and for research at OSU, Sewell says. Promoting and supporting the football and basketball team is not unlike supporting researchers, including high profile areas of research and study.

“We want our students, faculty, and staff on campus, and our alums and other constituents off campus, to know that we’re a major research university and that we have focal strengths,” he said, adding that since his arrival in Stillwater he has been working with OSU faculty and administrators to identify those areas of interdisciplinary strength.

Those identified areas of strength will be the fields that OSU is known for, but identifying key programs doesn’t mean other areas will lose support. Sewell says he will work to ensure that all areas of research at OSU are supported and promoted.

Another goal for Sewell is seeing OSU rise on the national stage of major research universities. He would like to see the university become more involved in big issues affecting research nationally.

“We need to be in those conversations about the direction of research,” he says. “We need to be there because we have something to say.” V

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After They Come Home OSU historian studies impact of war on wounded warriors

BY J E F F J O I N E R R E S E A R C H CO M M U N I C AT I O N S

PHOTO / JEFF JOINER

Libraries and bookstores overflow with the works of scholarly and popular military historians who write about epic battles, the blunders and triumphs of generals and the hubris of political leaders in wartime. John Kinder writes about war as well, but his scholarship focuses on the impacts of war after the soldiers come home.

Kinder is an associate professor of history and American studies at Oklahoma State University. He is a military and cultural historian of the aftermath of war.

For as long as the American military has fought in conflicts, wounded men and women have come home to a nation that at times embraced them and, at other times, shunned them.

“Wars don’t end when the guns go silent,” Kinder says. “For those who experienced them, wars go on for the rest of their lives. Looking at disabled veterans was one way to understand how the legacy of war goes on in our culture and in people’s everyday lives — long after we believe the war came to an end.”

In 2015, Kinder published his first book, Paying With Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran, an examination of a dual view of American experience in war. How does society resolve fighting limited wars with limited casualties with the presence of disabled veterans, the visible reminders of war’s aftermath?

Much of Kinder’s book looks at the aftermath of World War I when modern ideas of aiding disabled veterans were debated and the phrase “The problem of the disabled veteran” was coined. Various groups

called for rehabilitation programs or increased spending on social and medical services and providing maimed veterans with jobs and homes. Antiwar groups used disabled veterans as visual cues for avoiding war. All of these notions were played out in competing messages in popular American culture.

Fast-forward to the Gulf Wars when U.S.-led forces defeated the Iraqi military with thunderous air assaults and the use of machines that limited the American service member’s exposure to the enemy.

“The Gulf Wars promised fighting with far fewer American casualties by relying on weapons that removed the American soldier from the battlefield,” Kinder says. “And all of that, in my mind, is linked to these longstanding anxieties about what is the physical cost of America’s wars.”

As a cultural historian of war, Kinder is pulling back a curtain for his students and readers that reveal how the disabled American veteran has been used variously as symbols of national pride, sacrifice, courage and sense of duty — or as symbols of the moral cost of war.

“I’m interested in how American culture reacts to war, make sense of war and how war leaves its mark on the language we speak and the popular culture,” Kinder says. V