Source: Rob Denell, 785-532-6705, rdenell@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/denellbio.html
Photo available: http://www.k-state.edu/media/images/oct11/Denell103111.jpg
News release prepared by: Trevor Davis, 785-532-2535, tjdavis@k-state.edu
Monday, Oct. 31, 2011
Fruitful results: Survivor fights 1xbet online casino with insects
MANHATTAN -- Rob Denell thought he was done with 1xbet online casino after his wife beat the disease. No more chemotherapy by his wife's side. No more long drives to hospitals. He was about to say goodbye to 1xbet online casino .
It turns out it was just the beginning chapter of a troublesome, yet fruitful relationship with the disease. It's a relationship that involves insects, Kansas State University's Johnson Center for Basic 1xbet online casino Research and a battle with 1xbet online casino .
Denell, a university distinguished professor of biology and director of the 1xbet online casino research center, primarily studies insects such as fruit flies. The creatures are linked to 1xbet online casino research.
Denell conducts genetic, developmental and molecular 1xbet online casino on insects and primarily studies the genetic control of early embryonic organization. The genes he studies in insects are shared with humans and can reveal the origins of some cancers.
When some genes are activated at inappropriate locations and times in insects, they change the structure of insects. An antenna can take the place of a leg, for example. The same rules apply to 1xbet online casino in humans: Changes in genes can lead to 1xbet online casino . Studying insects has the potential to detail the human development process and how 1xbet online casino forms.
"For both ethical and scientific reasons, insects offer powerful experimental approaches not possible in humans," Denell said. "History strongly supports the view that such insect studies can give key information about humans."
Denell has studied insects as an affiliate researcher for Kansas State University's 1xbet online casino research center since it opened in 1980. He became the director in 2003 after he survived a bout with 1xbet online casino , the second-leading cause of death in the United States and the No. 1 cause in Kansas.
Kansas State University's Johnson Center for Basic 1xbet online casino Research supports research, education and outreach to fight 1xbet online casino . Some 70 faculty researchers affiliated with the center represent 13 departments in five colleges.
Researchers primarily study molecules, organisms and cells that can help the fight against 1xbet online casino by understanding the basic components of life.
"Our strength is basic 1xbet online casino , which provides the foundation for more focused investigations into new approaches to preventive medicine, diagnosis and treatment," Denell said. "You have to have basic 1xbet online casino before you can have treatments and cures."
Since the center's opening in 1980, researchers have brought in more than million in active extramural funding, which translates to a regional economic impact of million.
The center also provides undergraduates with financial support to conduct real laboratory research and has supported the work of more than 800 undergraduates and their faculty mentors. The university's 1xbet online casino research center works closely with other Kansas research institutions to advance its basic research to clinical trials, including the University of Kansas 1xbet online casino Center.
A personal struggle with 1xbet online casino pushed Denell to become the 1xbet online casino research center's director. He found a lump on his neck in 2001.
"I knew then it was time to push the panic button," he said. Denell saw a doctor to get a biopsy and test his skin tissue for 1xbet online casino . He waited weeks to hear the results.
"That time between thinking you might have 1xbet online casino and knowing you actually do is the worst time," Denell said. "You're left adrift. You have no idea what will happen."
Denell was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal 1xbet online casino in the upper part of his throat behind his nose. His lymph node enlarged in his neck to capture cells released from the tumor.
Denell's wife had just battled and survived breast 1xbet online casino . The couple often drove back and forth from their home in Manhattan, Kan., to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., for her chemotherapy. This time Denell had to take a break from his teaching and research. He started treatment at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The debilitating treatment of radiation and chemotherapy took nine months, during part of which Denell was bedridden, and he could eat or swallow only with great difficulty.
Denell is now 1xbet online casino free. His chances of recurrence are low, but he fears another tumor caused by radiation could develop. Denell still suffers from the side effects of radiation such as poor salivary function, low blood pressure and loss of sensation in his fingers. He has trouble hearing and gets dizzy if he stands too quickly.
"I don't complain because I'm just happy to be here," he said. "The treatment was worth it."
The fight against 1xbet online casino will progress rapidly in the next few decades, Denell said.
"This is the most exciting time ever in 1xbet online casino research," Denell said. "I feel so privileged I'm at Kansas State University, where we remain dedicated to 1xbet online casino outreach and basic 1xbet online casino research. As a 1xbet online casino survivor, it's my personal mission to help coordinate research that eventually enhances diagnosis and treatment of these life-threatening diseases."
