Researchers

Researchers from the KU Center for Community Health and Development advanced global community health efforts by collaborating with the World Health Organization to deliver a digital "toolbox" to partners in 300 countries. This resource supports local health promotion strategies and helps communities strengthen their public health infrastructure. At the same time, lessons learned from this international work are being applied in Kansas, bringing global insights home to improve local health outcomes.

Structural engineer Elaina Sutley works with communities, policymakers, and fellow researchers to study how building design influences not only the physical safety of structures but also the social and economic resilience of the people who rely on them. By examining how damage from natural disasters disrupts daily life and how well‑designed engineering can reduce that disruption, she collaborates with partners across Kansas and around the world to strengthen structural systems. Her work ultimately helps create safer buildings, protect communities, and shorten recovery times after disasters, improving resilience locally and globally.

Researchers at the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kansas, working in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Water Resources (DWR) and building on earlier efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), took over and expanded a statewide groundwater‑measurement program to address declining aquifer levels. Since 1996, the KGS has partnered with DWR to collect annual water‑level data from roughly 1,400 wells across the High Plains aquifer. By gathering and analyzing this information, the team supports a more accurate understanding of groundwater conditions and helps Kansas develop sustainable water‑management strategies to combat long‑term over pumping and ensure a more secure water future.

Bonnie Johnson, professor of public affairs & administration, led a study to see how planning commission staff reports could be reenvisioned. That research uncovered broader and unexpected findings from respondents discussing how the study's group reflective practices could benefit how planning commissions function. The open-access study was published in the Journal of the American Planning Association.

Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, a professor of music therapy at the University of Kansas and a clinician, researcher, musician, and mother, has spent nearly 30 years integrating artistic insight with scientific rigor to advance health outcomes across the lifespan. Working with colleagues at KU and within the broader music therapy field, she created the Therapeutic Function of Music (TFM) Plan, a groundbreaking tool that is transforming clinical practice by helping practitioners intentionally design music-based interventions. Through this collaborative approach, Hanson-Abromeit and her partners are applying the TFM Plan to support early brain and language development, ease challenges associated with prematurity and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and improve symptoms for adults living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Her work ultimately harnesses the healing potential of music to address critical health issues and improve quality of life for people in Kansas and far beyond.

KU professor Folashade Agusto led research published in the peer‑reviewed journal PLOS One using computer modeling and large datasets to analyze COVID‑19 transmission in a South African community. The research highlighted that human behavior-such as compliance with mask mandates and quarantines-had the greatest impact on transmission patterns.