MANHATTAN — The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cancer.k-state.edu/" target="_blank">Johnson&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Center</a>&nbsp;at Kansas State University has selected 14 graduate students to receive&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Awards to support their summer&nbsp;research&nbsp;endeavors. Graduate&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Awards are made on a competitive basis to provide outstanding graduate students the opportunity to conduct their&nbsp;cancer&nbsp;research&nbsp;and publishing full-time during the summer without the interruption of classes. "These are the workhorses of the laboratory," said Sherry Fleming, the center's director and a professor of biology. "Their work is critical to the lab's success and most of the students continue on to become scientists studying&nbsp;cancer&nbsp;and related areas that contribute to the fight against&nbsp;cancer." The awards generally provide $5,000 to $7,500 to graduate students working in a&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Center member lab. The funds allow them to spend more time working on&nbsp;research&nbsp;than on non-academic jobs. The&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Center, a unit of the university's College of Arts and Sciences, supports the&nbsp;cancer&nbsp;research&nbsp;and training of its faculty members and their undergraduate and graduate students. All of its programs are funded through private gifts. Graduate and Undergraduate&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Awards are supported by endowed funds and other direct gifts, including sums of funerary memorial gifts honoring the deceased through philanthropy. The following students received Graduate&nbsp;Cancer&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Awards; included is each student's faculty mentor. A list that includes their&nbsp;research&nbsp;project titles is at&nbsp;<a href="https://cancer.k-state.edu/awards/studentawardees.html" target="_blank">cancer.k-state.edu/awards/studentawardees.html</a>. Christopher Messer, doctoral student in biology,&nbsp;Alma, mentored by Jocelyn McDonald, associate professor of biology; Dryden Baumfalk, doctoral student in human ecology,&nbsp;Colby, mentored by Brad Behnke, professor of kinesiology; Dalton Dacus, doctoral student in microbiology,&nbsp;Junction City, mentored by Nick Wallace, assistant professor of biology; Joel Steyer, doctoral student in genetics,&nbsp;Lenexa, mentored by Richard Todd, associate professor of plant pathology; Arnaldo Torres-Hernandez, doctoral student in chemistry,&nbsp;Manhattan, mentored by Ryan Rafferty, associate professor of chemistry; and Tanner Richie, doctoral student in microbiology,&nbsp;Salina, mentored by Sonny Lee, assistant professor of biology. From out of state: Alexis Carpenter, doctoral student in microbiology,&nbsp;Lee's Summit, Missouri, mentored by Rollie Clem, professor of biology; and Stephen Hammond, doctoral student in human ecology,&nbsp;Warsaw, Ohio, mentored by Carl Ade, associate professor of kinesiology. From out of country: Tshegofatso Ngwaga, doctoral student in biology,&nbsp;Botswana, mentored by Stephanie Shames, assistant professor of biology; Wei Wu, doctoral student in chemistry,&nbsp;China, mentored by Ping Li, associate professor of chemistry;&nbsp;Sabari Rajendran, doctoral student in chemistry,&nbsp;India, mentored by mentored by Jun Li, professor of chemistry;&nbsp;Anuja Paudyal, doctoral student in microbiology,&nbsp;Nepal, mentored by Govind Vediyappan, assistant professor of biology; Bibek Subedi, doctoral student in biology,&nbsp;Nepal, mentored by Kathrin Schrick, associate professor of biology; and Deepa Upreti, doctoral student in physiology,&nbsp;Nepal, mentored by Masaaki Tamura, professor of anatomy and physiology.&nbsp; K-State News and Communications Services Division of Communications and Marketing

Fourteen Kansas State University graduate students receive cancer research awards totaling $95,439