COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH
Research Magazine for Colorado State University
On the cover: Kaitlyn Wagner is a Ph.D. candidate in Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology at Colorado State University. Recently she has been working with Professor Mark Zabel to screen saliva for COVID-19, from students living on campus.
Chasing pandemics
A framework for resilience
Land-grant universities prepared to meet biodefense challenge
Re-creating live-animal markets in the lab lets researchers see how pathogens like coronavirus jump species
CSU researchers part of national search for coronavirus vaccine
An intertwined approach: CSU infectious disease experts make progress in national pandemic response
Ehrhart named director of Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging
CSU economists helped shape $2 trillion economic stimulus bill
One Health summer research program for veterinary students
Earning a Ph.D. from the kitchen table
CSU’s Medical Researchers Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
CSU researchers rapidly developing treatments, drugs and vaccines for COVID-19
Vaccine manufacturing in the 21st century
Working with pharmaceutical companies to screen for antiviral COVID-19 compounds
Woodward, CSU team join forces on rapid-response ventilator project
Research team inks licensing deal for COVID-19 viral detection test
Perspectives from the School of Public Health
Saving Lives: testing healthcare workers to minimize transmission of COVID-19
Engineering lab at CSU transformed into testing site for COVID-19 medical protective gear
Rushika Perera, Sue VandeWoude land COVID-19 research awards from the Boettcher Foundation
Cell phone data helps track mobility patterns during social distancing
Enter, stage left: CSU study looks at how the performing arts can return in a healthy manner during COVID-19 pandemic
To the faculty, staff, administrators and students of Colorado State University:
Congratulations to Colorado State University on a fantastic year for research and innovation! The breadth and depth of research at your land-grant institution and its impact on both our state and country is impressive. And the significant work that each and every one of you are performing is part of a grand and storied tradition at CSU.
Your institution, in particular, responded in profound ways to this year’s COVID-19 outbreak. From supporting the state in evaluating PPE for front line workers, to producing new vaccines and necessary countermeasures, CSU has shown us once again how vital science and scientific research are to our society and the people of Colorado. Your mission of training the next generation of leaders is critical to the rebuilding we must engage in as a state and as a nation.
So again, let me express my sincere gratitude. And please pass on my thanks and best regards to the many administrators, faculty, staff, and students who have made your year such a success. I look forward to partnering with CSU in the years to come as the institution continues its great mission in education, research, and community engagement.
Sincerely,
Joe Neguse
U.S. House Representative (D-CO 2nd District)
Colorado State University Research
Publisher
Alan Rudolph, Vice President for Research, Colorado State University
Guest Publisher
Joyce McConnel, President, Colorado State University
Senior Editor
Lauren Klamm, Director of Communications, Office of the Vice President for Research
Design and Production
Lisa Schmitz, Designer, University Communications
Production Editor
Adriana McClintock, Project Manager, University Communications
Copy Editor
Betty Grace Mickey, Assistant Director of Communications, University Advancement
Alan Rudolph, Vice President for Research, Colorado State University
Jeanne McAdara, Principal, Biolexica Health Science Communications
Kerri Wright-Platais, Special Advisor to the Chancellor for International Agriculture, CSU System
Richard Bowen, Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Mike Hooker, Director of Media Relations, University Communications
Jeff Dodge, Writer and Senior Public Relations Specialist, University Communications
Christopher Staten, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, College of Agricultural Sciences
Tracy Webb,
Ty Betts, Digital Media Specialist, Office of the Vice President for Research
Heather Pidcoke, Chief Medical Research Officer, Colorado State University
Mary Guiden, Science Writer and Senior Public Relations Specialist, University Communications
Coleman Cornelius, Executive editor, University Communications
Allison Vitt, Communications Manager, Energy Institute
Anne Manning, Science Writer and Senior Public Relations Specialist
Tracy Nelson, Director of the Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University
Curtis Esquibel, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, Boettcher Foundation
Tony Phifer, Writer and Senior Public Relations Specialist, University Communications
Your Source for Research News
To stay up to date on the latest Vice President for Research news visit: research.colostate.edu.
A Letter from Joyce McConnell
This is our time. As a land grant university with a world-class research enterprise, Colorado State University has the strong foundation, clarity of purpose, and determination to address the global public health crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as we confronted the initial impacts of COVID-19 on our community and on university operations, more than 125 CSU researchers galvanized their research teams to address the specific challenges created by the pandemic.
Because CSU has decades of experience addressing community health needs via infectious disease research and response, our researchers were able to begin translating ideas into solutions, not just for Colorado, but for our nation and our world.
At CSU, teams are developing four COVID-19 vaccine candidates and creating innovative new methods and diagnostics to detect the virus. We partnered with Fort Collins-based Woodward, Inc., to develop a low-cost, durable ventilator that could be quickly manufactured and deployed. And at the request of Governor Jared Polis, CSU coordinated testing of new personal protective equipment to safeguard front line workers. Teams of our researchers are monitoring impacts of the pandemic on senior care facilities, supply chains, mental health, and the efficacy and distribution of federal stimulus funds. Across the board, CSU is engaged with public and private entities and organizations, identifying and implementing new best practices that will help overcome a whole range of extraordinary pandemic-related challenges that are reshaping our world.
I am inspired and made hopeful every day by the expertise, the commitment, and the innovative spirit of CSU researchers across the university. They give me confidence that we will continue to create real-life solutions to whatever challenges come our way, and that our communities will emerge from these difficult times stronger than ever. Together, we will not just continue; we will thrive.
Sincerely,
Joyce McConnell
President