The Institute for Neurological Disorders (IND) of the University of Kansas Medical Center brings together six disease research areas, creating synergy between scientists and clinicians and accelerating the progress of medical research from discovery to application. The IND will unite the following six divisions:

Brain Injury and Repair will focus on stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury with the goal of finding new ways to improve the survival of brain tissue, promote repair of neural circuits and restore function.

Neuromuscular and Movement Disorders will include research focusing on Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Neurodegenerative Disorders will study the mechanisms behind disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral palsy, ALS and multiple sclerosis in hopes of developing new therapeutic strategies.

Hearing and Equilibrium Disorders will address a key concern of an aging population and capitalize on KU’s lauded explorations in the fields of hearing loss, tinnitus and balance disorders.

Women’s Pain Disorders will investigate how nerve cells transmit signals to the brain, examine genetic predispositions to pain and research pharmacological treatments of fibromyalgia, pelvic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, endometriosis and migraine headaches.

Cognitive and Behavioral Health will examine how the normal brain processes information leading to appropriate behavior and how this processing may lead to addictions and impulsive behaviors such as gambling, overeating or aggression.

In Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas, one of the most agriculturally abundant areas of the country, food insecurity is around every corner. The vision of Second Harvest Community Food Bank is to end hunger through food distribution, education and advocacy.  Second Harvest provides food assistance in a 19-county region through a network of over 100 agencies that include pantries, food kitchens, crisis centers, shelters and other nonprofits.  Last year, Second Harvest distributed 3.8 million pounds of food to their clients, which are largely comprised of children, seniors, the working poor and people with disabilities. 

Second Harvest is guided by four initiatives to nourish the more than 10,900 neighbors in need in Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.  The initiatives are comprised of the following:

Promoting Healthy Eating – Healthy eating has a direct effect on not only obesity, but the general health of the individual.

 Feeding Families – According to the Census Bureau in 2007, 49 million Americans experienced hunger and over 17 million households were considered food insecure and 19 million people lived in working poor families.

 Feeding Seniors – According to the Census Bureau, 36% of the seniors had to choose between buying food and paying for medicine.

Feeding Children – Thirty percent of Second Harvest Community Food Bank’s Clients are children under the age of 18.