University of Kansas’s Frontiers Program

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Former executive director of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association (ANDA) in Kansas City, Kansas, Ann Brandau-Murguia, contributed significantly to the area’s revitalization efforts. While working with ANDA, Ann Brandau-Murguia was the co-chair of the Frontiers Project at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Referred to as Frontiers-University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the program provides scientists and researchers with a number of opportunities.

The Frontiers Program is about helping researchers, scholars, and scientists connect with funding sources and offer training. The program is supported by a $25 million grant through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program supports all disciplines in their efforts to research and find innovative solutions to health care.

Collaboration is key to the program’s purpose. With over 50 hubs nationwide, the program connects professionals from all over Kansas including researchers from affiliated schools, health organizations, national CTSA leaders, investigators, patients, and communities. The program support systems include biostatic and research support, clinical studies and recruitment support, informatics, education and training, among other assistance. Researchers can also apply for grants as low as $5,000 up to $20,000.

A Brief Explanation of Food Deserts

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Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

An accomplished community developer in Kansas City, Kansas, Ann Brandau-Murguia most recently served as executive director of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, a community housing organization that aims to revitalize the Argentine community. Among Ann Brandau-Murguia’s notable accomplishments in this role, her involvement in the construction of a Walmart gave greater access to healthy food and eliminated a significant food desert.

According to the American Nutrition Association, a food desert is an area where residents have little to no access to fresh fruits, vegetables, or other whole foods. Typically resulting from a lack of grocery stores or farmers markets, food deserts often exist in impoverished areas. Food deserts often have many convenience stores, making heavily processed and high-sugar foods the only option for neighborhood residents who do not have personal transportation. The result is a growing obesity epidemic in the United States, where more than 23 million people live without access to healthy, affordable foods.

To combat this problem, the USDA has created a map of the country’s food deserts, and the Center for Disease Control outlines strategies to address the issue, such as creating community gardens, improving public transportation, and revising tax laws to incentivize supermarkets to open in food deserts.