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On Monday, I went to the Michigan Health Policy Forum, hosted by our Institute for Health Policy. The speakers included Catherine Frank, MD (’85), of Henry Ford (and MSU), and Jennifer Johnson, PhD doing fascinating presentations. Cathy’s talk was on Zero Suicide and Jennifer spoke on the National Center for Health and Justice Integration for Suicide Prevention.
This week, we welcomed President Kevin Guskiewicz to Grand Rapids and successfully completed our consultation with the LCME secretariat last week. But, we also lost a founding lion of the college in Tom Johnson, MD.
To close the gap between women’s health research and other scientific disciplines, Ward and Mari Walstrom of Harbor Springs have made a $1 million gift to bolster education and research in the MSU College of Human Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
A newly published study found that one in five U.S. adults who die by suicide spent at least one night in jail in the year prior to their death. Rapidly and efficiently providing prevention, screening and outreach resources for this group is critical to reducing adult suicides nationwide.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. And, to begin, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in our lives. In honor of the day, I am going to spend a few paragraphs outlining our college’s scientific and social mission dedication to motherhood.
Donna Tran and Kyle Burton are new graduates from the College of Human Medicine and, motivated in part by personal experience, plan on careers helping patients and families dealing with cancer.
This is a week of celebrations. We celebrated staff at the All-University Awards. Friday night is the college’s Minority Banquet. Saturday is the MD graduation, when we celebrate our faculty award winners and new Spartan MDs. May the fourth be with us.
The latest published research from College of Human Medicine faculty.
April research grants awarded to faculty at the College of Human Medicine.
“Flint has a history of paving the way forward. Flint knows how to resist, reinvent, revive and thrive. Now, by showing the world what community-driven public health can look like, Flint is innovatively leading the way for health, hope and opportunity.” – Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
Graduation starts this weekend. Today, I will shake the hands of our PhD graduates as well as the graduates of our programs in the Master of Science in Biostatistics, Master of Science in Epidemiology, and Master of Public Health at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
A $2 million investment by the Mall Family Foundation has empowered the recruitment of genetic autism research expert Lucas Pozzo-Miller, PhD, to the College of Human Medicine as the inaugural Mall Family Endowed Professor in Genetic Autism Research.
On April 1, Johnson assumed a new job as the founding chair of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, overseeing nearly 200 faculty and staff.
Morteza Mahmoudi, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Radiology and the Precision Health program, and team say yes their latest findings are expected to benefit patients with neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis, or MS; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS; and Parkinson’s disease, or PD.
We wish EVP Beauchamp Godspeed as he moves toward his next challenge. As a group, we have made progress on fixing the health insurance waiver debacle, the financial aid debacle, and now resolving the rec fee issue in the last year.
Dr. Beauchamp has announced that he will be leaving MSU to become Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and Executive Dean for the School of Medicine at Georgetown University.
Dr. Lewis served as the interim chair during the creation of Department of Anesthesia. Under his leadership as the founding chair, the department will engage students and faculty in all eight college campuses and develop research and education programs statewide.
We celebrated the college’s 60th Anniversary at the Secchia Center with our first of a series of anniversary community Town Halls. We focused on the transformative period of the college’s class expansion in Grand Rapids.
We are preparing to kickoff the 60th anniversary town hall series and last week the Town Hall hosted a 60th Anniversary panel of early faculty and a graduate from the first four-year graduating class. On April 9, we will hold a special Town Hall live from Grand Rapids to talk about the college’s transformation in that community over the last 20 years.
Sean Valles provides his thoughts on a landmark policy change in an Alabama Supreme Court ruling - that frozen embryos stored in the freezers in Alabama in vitro fertilization, or IVF, clinics legally qualified as children.
Community-based organizations, nonprofits, policymakers and local residents will benefit from the first Health Equity Report Card, or HERC, for Genesee County and the city of Flint. The online tool helps people understand the overall landscape of community health by comparing 50 health-related indicators from 26 public sources.
Joined by family and friends, the Class of 2024 gathered across the college’s eight statewide campuses to celebrate Match Day and learn where they are headed for residency this summer. Get a glimpse into those celebrations by watching the recap video and explore residency placements across the country.
Sean Valles has a simple approach to those who are reluctant to get vaccinated against flu, Covid-19, and other diseases like measles: listen to them and address their concerns.
As the College of Human Medicine turns 60 this year, we are focused on our social impact. We continue to welcome non-traditional students, who are not straight out of college. We provide opportunities to students, who then help provide the opportunities of health in the communities in which they serve.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
MSU researchers released the annual report “Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance in Michigan: 2023,” at the start of National Poison Prevention Week (March 17-23). The week emphasizes the importance of safely using and storing chemicals, such as cleaning agents, pesticides and disinfectants.
Rising Spartan MDs at eight MSU College of Human Medicine community campuses statewide learned where they matched for residency this summer.
Today is Match Day! I am happy to say it looks like Match Day 2024 went well for our students. Our overall placement rate at the end of the week including Match, Military Match, SOAP, and Advanced Matches was 98%, which is great and very standard for us.
I’ve been on the road for more than a week and half, including a stretch of seven nights in seven different cities, but through it all, it has been a delight to spend time with our students, current and graduated. This is our combined legacy, the work of students who use their time away from school to help others and hone their craft as well as alumni who have given their careers to the health and wellbeing of their communities. So be it.
Three students were named winners of the 2024 Annie Li Yang Student Essay Contest. Students were asked to reflect on the connections between their clinic and classroom experiences and share how it has impacted their growth as future physicians. Read the award-winning essays.
The Tetrad Initiative is a new cross-unit and cross-college collaboration among faculty who have not worked together before, resulting in projects that create opportunities for extramural support of unique research programs. Here are the award recipients associated with the college.
What we have witnessed has been remarkable. We know what has beset us, and we have seen what lurked in the corners. In truth, the path out of the wilderness has never been clear, but if it were, we would have no chance to see the beauty and wonder in the wild. We are fortunate to be called to the clear purpose and service of a great university.
Michigan State University researchers Evangelyn Alocilja, André Bachmann, and Richard Lunt have been named Senior Members by the National Academy of Inventors.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
The College of Human Medicine Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology ranked number one in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2023, according to the new Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research report.
The annual Reach Out to Youth event gave young learners an opportunity to learn how the brain works through interactive stations, brain games and presentations by the medical students. Parents attended workshops with community leaders and health professionals. This year’s theme was “Map Your Mind.”
Counties could save money and keep more people out of jail by improving access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder services, according to a study led by Jennifer Johnson, PhD, C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health.
Join us in celebrating Black excellence in medicine! We are highlighting the voices, experiences and achievements of several Black students in the College of Human Medicine.
It has been an eventful few weeks for my calendar, including the launch bash for the Rx Kids initiative, the Remembrance Conference, the Blue Ridge Rankings, and a rush of receptions before the main campus spring break.
The inaugural conference brought together medical students and faculty to engage in conversations, curriculum and programming through a public health approach to reduce firearm injuries and fatalities.
Kent Key, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, was honored at the university's Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awards Ceremony for his community-engaged approach to creating community-driven solutions that advance health equity.
Starting on Sunday evening, teams of students and faculty from nine medical schools and the AAMC gathered at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center for the Remembrance Conference focused on a public health approach to address the epidemic of firearm violence. The conference was hosted by the College of Human Medicine and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University at Buffalo in collaboration with the AAMC. The conference was more successful than I could have hoped.
In one of the poorest cities in our nation, Rx Kids launches and offers a bold solutions-driven effort to eliminate infant poverty.
About this time of year, the academic medicine world anticipates the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings, which use National Institutes of Health (NIH) data to list schools, departments, and PIs by the monetary size of their NIH portfolio.
One year ago, on the night of February 13, 2023, students, faculty, and staff across Michigan State University campuses received a series of notifications: "Run, Hide, Fight!” During those dark hours, three Spartan students were killed. Five additional Spartans were transported to Sparrow Hospital in critical condition, while the greater Spartan community was left with irreparable trauma.
Last week, I left you with a cliffhanger about an upcoming important announcement, and this week, I am delighted and proud to announce the MSU Dairy Store has named an ice cream in honor of Rx Kids and the College of Human Medicine.
According to Jennifer Johnson, PhD, Chief Translation Officer with the MSU Office of Health Sciences and C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health, suicide can be avoided with proper behavioral intervention. The key, of course, is to connect the right people with the right resources at the right time.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to treat neuroblastoma, an often-fatal pediatric cancer, based on pioneering research by College of Human Medicine professor André Bachmann.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
A team of Michigan State University scientists has unveiled a potential game-changer in the fight against glioblastoma, the most common and currently incurable form of brain cancer.
This week I have been rounding with our internal medicine service. Seeing patients is an anchoring experience for me and certainly helps reset my priorities after too many spreadsheets and too much university politics. I get to see how the hospital systems work from the inside, and I can contribute to and delight in the great work of our students and residents. I also had the chance to attend Governor Whitmer’s State of the State address.
Albert William Sparrow III, MD, MPH, age 90, passed away on January 25, 2024, in East Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Sparrow joined the faculty of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 1972 as professor of medicine where he remained until his retirement in 2011. He was among the pioneering faculty of the College of Human Medicine.
The college’s strategic plan has a cross-cutting theme supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. I want to celebrate two of our departments and their dedication and commitment to supporting LBGTQIA doctoral students. The Department of Translational Neuroscience and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, both within the College of Human Medicine, have consistently supported outreach efforts to the LBGTQIA+ community.
Nagy A. Youssef, MD, PhD, has joined the leadership teams of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
A new year brings new and exciting things for the college. This Wednesday, the community of Flint celebrated the launch of Rx Kids, the first citywide cash prescription program for mothers and babies in the country. This is also our 60th anniversary year! Over the course of 2024, we will be holding events around the state celebrating our history and the great work of our people.
Enrollment for Rx Kids is now open to every pregnant mom and newborn in the city of Flint. The program described as “prescription for health, hope, and opportunity” aims to eradicate deep poverty among families with infants in Flint by empowering parents with the freedom to choose how best to use the funds to fit their families’ needs.
Carolina de Aguiar Ferreira is doing research she can't do anywhere else. She works in the highly collaborative Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, or IQ, and the isotopes come from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, a U.S. Department of Energy user facility located in the heart of campus.
The department formerly known as MMG — the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics — has officially changed its name to the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, or MGI. There are several reasons for the change, although Victor DiRita, the department chairperson, needed just a couple of sentences to summarize why the decision was made.
Last Saturday, 25 College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine students walked the runway in the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre as part of the Anatomy of Fashion: A Runway Show for Charity to raise money for Care Free Medical.
The latest published research from College of Human Medicine faculty.
The latest research grants awarded to faculty at the College of Human Medicine.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
I’m at a bit of a loss as to what a meaningful summary of the year would look like. Across the state our faculty take care of patients in every imaginable setting from the most technological suite in the hospital to a patch of ground under a bridge. Our students bring energy, talent, and dedication to our communities and join faculty in the work of health care, scholarship, and outreach. Across departments and units, we discover and provide context, we improve policy, and we change brains and transform lives. With the people of our communities as collaborators and colleagues, we have made a real difference to so many.
Leonard M. Fleck, PhD, has been named University Distinguished Professor, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a faculty member by the university. Fleck is appointed in both the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice and the Department of Philosophy.
Our students are everywhere! December 16, the Student Council and SNMA will sponsor “Anatomy of Fashion: A Runway Show for Charity.” One of our affected students, Joshua Mills, will be speaking to the MSU Board of Trustees about the health insurance debacle facing our students.
On a snowy evening this week, I had dinner with a lovely group of alumni and former MSU faculty in Traverse City. We discussed the college as it was and the work we do now as we approach the college’s sixtieth year. Inevitably, people ask about their favorite faculty member or maybe the most memorable.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
In his new role as senior associate dean for research, Nara Parameswaran plans to continue a passion that has driven his work for many years: solving problems.
Of all the awards the university uses to recognize excellence, I think my favorite is the Outstanding Supervisor Award. The WorkLife Office arranges surprise celebrations for the handful of winners each year. The college has been fortunate to have deserving recipients in past years, and this year we have two! Congratulations to Jennifer Raffo of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and to Steve Ondersma, PhD, of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health and Ob/Gyn.
Learn about the Northern Wilderness Emergency and Sports Medicine “COMPASS” elective, unique to MSU College of Human Medicine’s Upper Peninsula Region Campus. Students experience the Upper Peninsula’s environment while learning valuable skills they can use as future physicians.
Morteza Mahmoudi, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Radiology and Precision Health Program, has been recognized in the “2023 Highly Cited Researchers” list, a ranking organized annually by Clarivate Analytics.
Corewell Health and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine are funding nearly $1.4 million in new research grants that will tackle potential new therapies for diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease and more.
Recognizing the need for a community of military medicine students and physicians within the College of Human Medicine, second-year students Joshua Rabotnick and Rachel Armstrong founded the Military Medicine Interest Group at the college in March 2023. Read about the group, their motivation for its creation, and the nature of a career in military medicine.
The college does not take cultural, scientific, or political positions, but our people do. My own opinions can tell you something about me as a person, but as the dean of the College of Human Medicine, I am here for all our staff, faculty, students, patients, research subjects, and community partners even, or especially, if they disagree with me or others in the college. All I ask is that we be good to each other. It is easy enough to be nice to people when you agree, but I especially ask that we be good to each other when we do not agree
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, alumnus and former dean of the College of Human Medicine, and Jack Lipton, PhD, professor and founding chair of the Department of Translational Neuroscience, were named “Notable West Michigan Leaders in Health Care.”
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
Sometimes the struggle of moving a project forward is like swimming around in a bowl of tapioca pudding: there must have been a starting point, but after circling for long enough, you have lost track of the beginning and ending; no creature evolved to swim in this stuff; and although you liked tapioca at one time, now you are not so sure. And then there are weeks like this one, when you’ve apparently eaten so much of the pudding, you can climb out of the bowl, and many projects take an important step forward in the same week.
The Michigan State University Board of Trustees approved six new departments in the MSU College of Human Medicine. The departments – dermatology, otolaryngology, pathology, radiation oncology, urology, and neurosurgery – are being developed as part of the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences partnership.
MSU and other organizations are urging increased awareness during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, Oct. 22 to 28, designated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A passion project for third-year medical student Elena Lafata is now an online toolkit for clinicians and members of the LGBTQ+ community to learn about HIV PrEP and make informed decisions about prevention.
MSU and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation are expanding public health initiatives to improve health and quality of life for the city’s residents.
Last week, I wrote about the violence in the Middle East, and the world overall, and how our students, staff, and faculty experience the violence in the streets and neighborhoods of their families and loved ones. It is frightening, infuriating, alienating, and traumatic.
Congratulations to the recipients of the College of Human Medicine's 2023 faculty and staff awards.
In a recent State News article, Dean Sousa discusses two new scholarships to address the shortage of medical doctors serving indigenous communities and reduce health disparities through the Indigenous Pathway program
Kenyetta Dotson, DMIN, MSW, provides insight into the public health issue of violence. Violence is a doorway to unhealthy outcomes and poor living conditions; violence impacts the lives of thousands of individuals every year. The American Public Health Association officially deemed violence a public health crisis in 2018.
Detroit native Charles (“Chaz”) Hong, MD, PhD, has been named chair of the Department of Medicine.
Mark DeLano, chair of the Department of Radiology in the College of Human Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine, shares his perspective on the issue of radiation levels from cell phones.
A few highlights from the past busy week: the college held the inaugural Ambassador Peter F. Secchia Lecture; we celebrated the renewal of the CHM portion of the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes; we announced a $19 million NIH center grant, Multilevel Interventions to Advance Maternal Health Equity Center, aka, MIRACLE Center and more, in this week's update.
A new statewide center led by researchers at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences and Corewell Health will study ways to reduce an alarming number of pregnancy-associated deaths and complications, particularly among Black, Hispanic and rural residents.
Jayne Ward, DO, FACH, FAAN, has been appointed chair of the Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology.
In the next month or so, we will get our summary findings from the LCME. We have seen a draft by the site team, but that draft will change with the review by the LCME committee. I want to express my sincere gratitude for our team of students, faculty, and staff who have done so much great work on this process in the last few years. I’ll note that whole effort was complicated by dealing with COVID during our data collection year. Thank you one and all.
Internationally renowned cancer researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi joined MSU as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also serves as the co-director of the forthcoming Center for Cancer Health Equity Research at MSU.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
Adrianne Haggins, MD (‘07), MS is a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan, who works on issues of health disparities among other scholarly interests and shares some thoughts in the final installment for Women in Medicine Month.
New MSU College of Human Medicine and Corewell Health research led by Cristian Meghea, Ph.D., lead author and associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, shows that in-home, enhanced prenatal services provided by community health workers, nurses and social workers can dramatically reduce the risk of premature births, the main cause of infant deaths among Black and Hispanic populations.
Eneka Lamb, a third-year student, took a break from a surgical rotation in Midland to talk about her interest in rural medicine and her recent election as chair of the National Rural Health Association’s Student Constituency Group.
From clinics to classrooms, women physicians, residents, and med students lead with purpose and inspire those around them every day. Join us in honoring women in medicine this September during #WIMMonth.
Heidi Burns (’13), a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Michigan, writes an excellent piece stretching from her time at the College of Human Medicine through Ghana to the NIH and into the academy.
As happens all too frequently, I began the week sending out an email to students, staff, and faculty attempting to briefly notify them of opportunities for support available to those impacted by yet another potentially triggering event.
The news and events of the weekend bring back some of this trauma even as the adjudication of the case is not yet complete. We are going to be in this for a while, but I am glad we have each other. Please be there for one another, and the people in our communities. There are support resources for our students, staff, and faculty, and all of our campuses have psychological support services as well.
September is Women in Medicine Month, and just as in 2021, I have asked a few women to write a piece for the Dean’s Update reflecting their experience and thoughts related to women in medicine. This week, Candace Smith-King, MD (’03) is writing for us.
As August turned to September, I passed five years in the dean’s chair(s) at the College of Human Medicine. I’ll grant you this has been spread over eight years, and about three-quarters of that experience was as interim dean. Interim or not, as of today, I have done 133 Town Halls and nearly 200 weekly updates. Based on my experience, interim years are longer than regular years.
Backed by a $26 million federal grant, researchers at three Michigan universities, a leading health care system, and a state agency will continue a long-term study of how exposure to environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood can impact health for a lifetime.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
Of the 12 Oliver Goldsmith, MD, Scholarships awarded this year by Kaiser Permanente, four recipients were College of Human Medicine students. Enrique Cazares-Navarro, Aldana Garcia, Patricio Ruano, and Melanie Valentin received the scholarship for their commitment to social justice and caring for underserved communities.
If you are in need of some inspiration, look no further than Thursday’s Fall Convocation welcoming 11,000 new students to the university. There were many highlights: College of Human Medicine faculty member and university president Dr. Teresa Woodruff inducted the new students into MSU, the MSU Drumline was awesome as always, and CHM faculty member Dr. Jack Lipton was the university mace bearer!
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine welcomed its 2023 entering class at the medical school’s White Coat and Matriculation Ceremony, Saturday, Aug. 19, at DeVos Performance Hall. The 189 medical students participated in the time-honored tradition of donning crisp new white coats and taking the medical student oath.
The Rizvi family's connection to MSU runs deep! Ramsha Rizvi, a first-year student at the College of Human Medicine, is following in her family's medical footsteps. Inspired by her brother Syed, who attends the College of Osteopathic Medicine, and her mother Dr. Humaira Rizvi, a dedicated clinical assistant professor at both MSU medical schools, Ramsha is beginning her own journey in medicine.
Our White Coat Ceremony is tomorrow. Students begin their College of Human Medicine careers as they finish, walking before the community in a special place where a future colleague adorns them with clothing very specific to their future role in life. That sentence could describe the transition ceremonies of countless cultures over human history and to students and faculty of any era.
Daniel S. Mazzuchi, MD, age 84, died August 10, 2023, at Trillium House in Marquette following a battle with cancer. Dr. Mazzuchi was instrumental in developing the Upper Peninsula campus for the MSU College of Human Medicine. A scholarship established in 1983 for Upper Peninsula students was renamed the Mazzuchi Scholarship in 2006 to honor Dr. Mazzuchi.
We are delighted to have a new class of students and I was able to introduce myself to them, but mostly I talked about the College of Human Medicine and the good work the college does in the world through the remarkable achievements of our students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
As the nation grapples with the firearm epidemic, MSU College of Human Medicine students directly impacted by gun violence on their own campus are using their role as future physicians to advocate for change. Read Jasmanpreet Kaur's essay on the topic.
William Dery, MD, died Tuesday, August 1, 2023. He was a graduate of Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and a former program director for the MyMichigan Family Medicine Residency Program in Midland, where he made significant, lifelong contributions to family medicine resident education, serving as a teaching physician for 40 years.
You all will know that our strategic plan includes a grand challenge to improve health equity. A program like Rx Kids is a mountainous affirmation of our dedication to the cause, but know I value each step we take to improve health equity no matter the length of the stride.
Rx Kids, the nation’s first citywide prenatal and infant cash allowance program, receives approval of $16.5M from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant in the FY2024 Michigan budget to propel a healthy start for all Flint babies during the critical first year of life.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
This week, I had the pleasure of providing some brief opening remarks at the 2023 MSU Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Family Professionals Conference and to chat with former university president M. Peter McPherson. And, it is with sadness that I report the death last week of the Hurley Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency director, Dr. Gassan Bachuwa and the decline of Dr. Dan Mazzuchi, who has entered hospice.
Ade Olomu, the Blanch B. and Frederick C. Swartz Endowed Professor of Medicine and chief of the College of Human Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine, recently received the Society of Internal Medicine’s 2023 Herbert W. Nickens Award. The Society gives the annual award to those who have “demonstrated exceptional commitment to cultural diversity in medicine or to improving minority health.” Ade Olomu, the Blanch B. and Frederick C. Swartz Endowed Professor of Medicine,
Georgia Anna Lewis Johnson, MD, passed away Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at the age 93 years. Dr. Johnson became the first Black female faculty physician in the College of Human Medicine in 1969, serving as an internal medicine assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. She was director of adolescent services and practiced at Olin Health Center.
George Thurston Rowan, PhD, age 80, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2023. He was the founder and director of the David Walker Research Institute in the College of Human Medicine and taught classes to first-year medical students in the college, and was an MSU faculty member for more than 35 years.
According to Kristen Upson, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, women with a history of endometriosis had higher concentrations of cadmium in their urine compared to those without that diagnosis.
Thanks to Supratik Rayamajhi, MD, who has been serving as the college’s interim chair of the Department of Medicine and welcome to Charles (Chaz) Hong, MD, PhD, as the incoming chair of our Department of Medicine. I also got to shadow Family Medicine physician for a bit that had me feeling nostalgic.
Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, was recently was named the College of Human Medicine’s associate dean for public health, a new position created to coordinate and expand the college’s efforts to promote and protect the health of entire communities.
This month our new second-year students have begun their Middle Clinical Experience and are off in clinics and wards. The third years, now rising fourth-year students, are studying for Step 2, and July 1 was the start of the year for new residents and fellows across the country. It may be summer, but our students, faculty, and staff are all working hard.
In this week's Dean’s Update, Dean Sousa discusses the Supreme Court’s ruling on Affirmative Action, the effects of air pollution from Canadian wildfires, and more.
Backed by a grant from The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, second-year College of Human Medicine student Mary Finedore created a pilot program to support vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth and those aging out of foster care.
In honor of Pride Month, Dr. Amie Hop (she/her) joined our DEI Grand Rounds to talk about the importance of gender-affirming care.
This week, the MSU Board of Trustees has been on retreat in Grand Rapids. In addition to their retreat, the board held their June public meeting in the Secchia Center Friday morning.
Michigan State University neuroscientist Irving Vega is often found in his lab studying the impact certain proteins have on the development of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. But when he’s not conducting research, Vega makes time to go out into the community to talk about Alzheimer’s disease and engage with students about their interest in science.
This is Pride month, when we commemorate and celebrate the culture and rights of the LGBTQAI+ community.
Periodically, I bring other people into the update to express their own experiences or to write about their community. This week, I am including a few paragraphs written by Man Yee (Tiffie) Keung, a Flint Campus medical student in the Class of 2024.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a prestigious grant to a College of Human Medicine professor and a Helen Devos Children’s Hospital physician to study a rare genetic disease and related disorders that until recently were unknown.
For all the struggles and challenges in the world, it is heartening and inspiring to be with people actively working to improve opportunity and communication. As I wrote last week, we hosted Black Leaders of Detroit (BLD) and Flint community members at the Flint Journal Building last Sunday.
On May 13, the Class of 2023 reunited at the MSU College of Human Medicine Commencement Ceremony after spending their third and fourth years of medical school in hospitals and clinics at the college’s statewide community campuses. See all the ways we celebrated them!
Tamarandobra (Dobra) Ogeh, a third-year medical student at the College of Human Medicine’s Flint Campus will get to complete one-month clinical rotation with the Detroit Lions and Henry Ford Health sports medicine physicians as part of the NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative.
Our peoples suffer war, persecution, and disasters amplified by distrusts we hold dear and fears that hopelessness foments in us. And yet, as I looked out on our graduates last Saturday, and I watched Ben and Anne promise themselves to each other, and as I heard our students respond to Dr. Mona’s call with their own prescriptions for a healthier world, my fears lessened and my hope was kindled.
College of Human Medicine professor André Bachmann and two Corewell Health physicians, Caleb Bupp and Surender Rajasekaran, have been named the 2023 Inventors of the Year for their discovery of a previously unknown disease and development of an effective treatment.
Friday evening we gather with the Student National Medical Association for the college’s annual Diversity Senior Recognition Program. We are honoring a record number of MD students at the dinner this year – the program has outgrown the Kellogg Center’s Lincoln Room, and we will be in the Big Ten A.
As a young girl in China, the thought of becoming a doctor never occurred to Marielle He. After graduation, she begins her residency in general surgery at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. He says medicine gave her a purpose and serving as a Navy physician is an important way for her to give back. Read more about Marielle's road to residency.
Nick LeMire comes from a family of doctors with a long history of serving underserved communities in the Upper Peninsula. After graduating from the UP campus, Nick will begin a residency in family medicine through the University of Washington Chelan RTT. While plans could change, Nick has an eye towards returning to the UP to start his own practice. Read more about his road to residency.
In this dean's update, I share about some of my community experiences, including attending the Community Meeting of the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease and the graduation presentations of ELAM (Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine) in Philadelphia. There will also be updates for the community at the Spring Faculty Meeting on May 9.
While studying for a bachelor’s degree in ceramics, Ellie Gschwendtner worked as an anesthesia technician. While watching a plastic surgeon work, she was intrigued by the similarities between the two fields and believes her experience in ceramics will make her a better physician. Gschwendtner is a Traverse City Campus graduate with a Leadership in Rural Medicine certificate.
Kelvin Lim has always been passionate about serving others. He was initially drawn to politics but found his calling in medicine after serving as a medical scribe. Lim was an emergency medical technician in Los Angeles before med school. After graduating from the College of Human Medicine’s Grand Rapids Campus, he will begin a urology residency at University of Rochester Medical Center and Strong Memorial Hospital.
After graduation, Antara Afrin is first heading to Harvard for a pediatrics preliminary year, then a three-year dermatology residency at Yale. Her passion for serving underserved communities is fueled by her parents’ example and her Muslim faith. Read about her road to residency.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
The Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Society recently presented Kulkarni, MD, a College of Human Medicine emeritus professor of Pediatrics and Human Development, with its 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.
On a recent episode of “MSU Today with Russ White,” Dean Sousa, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Ridgway White discuss the visionary partnerships and important community-based research happening within the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health.
Sejal Mehta draws on her experience as a patient early in life to provide compassion care to her patients. After graduation, she heads to Baylor College of Medicine for a pediatric residency. Read about her road to residency.
Thomas Barker will carry on the family legacy of practicing medicine and community service. Read about his road to residency.
The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology has again ranked among the top recipients of research funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to a report by the nonprofit Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
The college and university are economic and health drivers in their communities. Community-focused donors in both Flint and Grand Rapids brought the college and hospitals together to create educational and research opportunities that continue to drive economic growth as well as health. Read about our Inventors of the Year Award and how a $15 million Mott Foundation grant will help shape those communities.
Thanks to an intended $15 million “challenge” grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Rx Kids will be the first citywide program in the United States to address maternal and infant poverty with the novel approach of unconditional cash allowances to ALL City of Flint pregnant moms and babies.
Over the last several years, the dean’s office and the university have benefited from an energetic and engaged group of faculty in academic governance. Our new strategic plan, our accreditation site visit, our leadership searches, faculty promotions, and our work in the larger university all depend upon engaged faculty on college and university committees.
Three student essays were chosen for the 2023 Annie Li Yang Student Essay Contest. First place winner was Joshua Rabotnick and his essay “Scar Tissue.” Second place winner was Taylor Lombard with her essay “Medical School: Holding Two Truths.” Third place winner was Patricio Ruano with his essay “Como Te Voy A Olvidar.”
The reach of the College of Human Medicine continues to astonish me. I met with the leadership of the HUDA free clinic in Detroit, met with alumni who have answered the call to provide care and learned some things I'd like to share in this update.
The LCME can be a consuming effort, but during the process, we have continued with our teaching, patient care, research, and prepared for more growth. As you know, the college has been developing new statewide departments, which will help anchor our partnership with Henry Ford and other partners.
Stacey Missmer, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology in the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, discusses a global genetic study that shows link between endometriosis, other debilitating pain conditions. Missmer is the U.S. leader of IEGC for the second phase of the study.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
A new startup, CavGene Therapeutics, Inc., will further research initiated by Kathy Steece-Collier, PhD, a professor of Translational Neuroscience in the College of Human Medicine. For decades, she has led an effort to reduce or eliminate a frequent side effect of a drug commonly prescribed for Parkinson’s patients.
Our Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) site visitors left Grand Rapids on Wednesday after a good visit. Read more about the process and what we have to look forward to.
Third-year student Rezi Uyeh, a 27-year old Nigerian American artist, combined her passion for children, health care, teaching and mentorship to write and illustrate her first book, “Girls for Medicine".
The Department of Translational Neuroscience hosted the event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum where participants experienced 17 hands-on activities like performing deep brain stimulation on a gelatin brain, extracting DNA from a banana and viewing neurons under the microscope.
184 rising Spartan MDs at seven MSU College of Human Medicine community campuses statewide learned where they matched for residency this summer. 100% of the college's senior students have secured residency placements.
This year, our students, who experienced the full brunt of the pandemic, had a great Match Day. Today, I am excited to report that our overall residency placement rate for the 2023 graduating class is 100%.
Since 2018, 37 College of Human Medicine students passionate about reducing health disparities in underserved populations have participated in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health’s Research to Reduce Disparities in Disease (R2D2) Program.
The college is headed into the final work before our accreditation site visit March 20-22 in Grand Rapids. Our team has sent in our updates, we are making videos of our spaces, including the new spaces in East Lansing, and the Academic Affairs team is meeting with people in preparation for each session.
This year’s MSU program on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Secchia Center was free and open to children ages 7-11 from public schools in Grand Rapids and West Michigan. The program was sponsored by the Student National Medical Association and the Urban League of West Michigan.
Sharing our expertise with the world is a part of how we make the world better. There are many updates I'd like to share with you this week. Read more.
The American Neurological Association celebrated black history month and interviewed the College of Human Medicine's Larry Charleston, IV, MD, MSC, FAHS. Read the full interview.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
In the last two weeks, we have seen the best and worst of our society. The trauma, murder, and gun violence reflecting the most callous parts of our world has broken hearts and shaken many of us to our core. Yet our university and the communities surrounding us have responded with overwhelming support and selflessness.
We failed our kids, again. But it is worse than a failure. It’s no exaggeration to say we are waging war on our children. A war with many fronts.
Zakia Alavi, an associate professor of psychiatry in Michigan State University’s Department of Pediatrics and Human Development in the College of Human Medicine, answers questions about dealing with trauma after a tragic incident, how to deal with returning to normal routines, and how to deal with the feelings of grief, anger and fear that follow.
See the latest updates regarding the tragedy on campus and the dean's messages to our community.
This week, the college welcomed our LCME consultants to Grand Rapids for our mock site visit. I had the pleasure to meet with the team a couple of times and appreciate their expertise and the feedback they gave us.
Lead author Claire Margerison, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the MSU College of Human Medicine, finds pandemic just ‘tip of the iceberg’ for causes of death in pregnant, postpartum people.
The struggles of our society will not be solved by one group of people or one institution, but we can improve the lives of those with whom we work.
Catch up on news headlines and more updates from the college.
David Klee, MD, has been appointed community assistant dean, following the retirement of Dan Webster, MD, founding dean for the Traverse City Campus. Klee is a family medicine physician with a history of working with students and residents. While he’s always had a strong interest in teaching, it also was the lure of the college’s rural health education program that drew him.
Some things feel just too big for one of us or seem too big even for a majority of us. On the other hand, each day is a chance to help someone in need.
Third-year College of Human Medicine student Michael Knox started his podcast “Just Breathe Collective” in 2021 with the intention of connecting with others through shared vulnerability. He has since produced seven episodes and plans to continue it throughout his medical career. We interviewed Michael to learn more about his podcast and what the future holds.
Carolina de Aguiar Ferreira, an assistant professor in the Colleges of Human Medicine and Engineering, is opening her own lab to study promising new therapies that hunt down cancer cells and kill them with radioactive isotopes.
After nearly five decades as a pediatrician and an epidemiologist specialized in studying the causes and prevention of neurodevelopmental disabilities in infants, Nigel Paneth retired – sort of.
The College of Human Medicine’s Strategic Plan includes a goal to increase the public intellectual work available to our staff, students, and faculty. Specifically, we have a goal to support career growth and development of our people, and one of the strategies is to support and build capacity of our staff and faculty to do public intellectual work.
This is the season when we begin to notice the return of the light, when we notice that our resolutions have faded or taken hold. It’s the season when the excitement and stress of holiday expectations are behind us. It’s the season when the fields are fallow.
Yasi Zamani-Hank is a graduate of Michigan State University who recently earned her doctorate in epidemiology. She is currently completing her postdoctoral research in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at MSU. Her research focuses on understanding the social determinants of racial and socioeconomic disparities in adverse birth outcomes and the role of adverse life experiences on women’s health.
A new laboratory model will better enable scientists to study the development of endometrial cancer, the most common gynecological cancer in the U.S.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is this coming Monday. As part of the community’s celebration, Fred Gray is the featured guest at the 38th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan’s event at the Lansing Center this Monday.
Kate Lax, the college's former associate director of development, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2023, at the age of 38. She was a friend to many and a ray of sunshine to all. A bridge to donors and colleagues, Kate’s legacy will live on at the College of Human Medicine and at Michigan State University forever, through the students, alumni, and faculty she was so passionate and dedicated to serving.
Michigan State University researcher Morteza Mahmoudi studies factors impeding the development of very promising and extremely tiny diagnostics and therapeutics known as nanomedicines.
The last year ended with a flurry of activity: approval of the college’s strategic plan, submission of the LCME materials, approval of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, and CAC approval of six new departments. The new year will bring implementation of the strategic plan, the LCME accreditation survey team visit, and new opportunities for hope and inspiration.