www.med.wayne.edu Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

$6 Million Grant Establishes Center for African-American Urban HealthWith $6 million in funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences(NIEHS), Wayne State University has established the Center for African-American Urban Health,one of eight centers in the United States to study population health and health disparities.

WSU Benefits From Michigan Proteome Consortium GrantAn $11.9 million grant awarded to the Michigan Proteome Consortium from the NationalCenter for Research Resources will be shared by the four institutions, including WayneState University and Russell Finley, Ph.D.

Outpatient Cryotherapy Shrinks Benign Breast Lumps Breast cryotherapy is a safe, effective and nearly painless office-based procedure that significantly reduces benign breast lumps without damaging breast structure, according to Peter Littrup, M.D. “Patients leave the office 30 minutes after the cryotherapy is completed,” he said.

The Enzymatic Production of Methanol: A Biological Mechanism to Produce Alternative FuelConverting methane to methanol would provide an abundant fuel source, however theprocess is costly and requires high temperatures and pressures. Dr. Timothy Stemmler in theDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology recently announced the characterizationof a pure membrane bound particulate form of MMO (pMMO) in the Proceedings of theNational Academy of Science. This new finding allows methanotropic bacteria to convertmethane to methanol at ambient temperatures and pressure.

Angioplasty Cuts Death Rate Nearly in Half for Heart Attack VictimsThe debate over the best immediate therapy for a heart attack has tipped in favor ofmechanical reperfusion (angioplasty or bypass surgery) over thrombolysis (drugs to dissolveblood clots), according to a report by Mary Grzybowski, Ph.D., M.P.H., in the October 8,2003, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Horwitz Develops Novel Anti-Tumor CompoundsJerome Horwitz, Ph.D., one of Wayne State University’s and Barbara Ann Karmanos CancerInstitute’s most esteemed researchers, has created an exciting anti-tumor series, the SH80series, recently licensed to Sanofi-Synthelabo, a multi-national pharmaceutical company.

Neural Damage to Brain is Modeled in Retina to Better Understand Cell InjuryWith a four-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, Dennis Goebel, Ph.D., is studyingthe involvement of NMDA receptors in two kinds of cell death that are expressed followingstroke or lack of oxygen/glucose—apoptosis and necrosis.

Family Support, Resources Reduce Complications Following Spinal Cord InjuriesThe people who have the best outcomes after a traumatic spinal cord injury are those withfamily support and resources, said Colette Duggan, Ph.D., who is examining data from aqualitative, longitudinal study of quality of life following a spinal cord injury.

Teaching the Business of BiotechnologyA new graduate course called Introduction to the Business of Biotechnology (BMS 6100)offers a broad overview of the basic elements of entrepreneurship in the biotechnologyindustry from the drug discovery pathway to intellectual property and patents to businessplans and strategies.

Volunteers Recruited for Ovarian Cancer StudyEarly detection of ovarian cancer is critical to survival and Michael Tainsky, Ph.D., who isdeveloping a blood test to find markers of the earliest stages of the disease and recruitingAfrican-American women to participate in a new study.

Project Medical Education Informs PolicymakersProject Medical Education (PME) provided more than two dozen state legislators and staffmembers with a glimpse into a "day in the life" of a medical resident and student. Thetwo-day event was hosted by the OHEP Center for Medical Education and the WSU Schoolof Medicine.

Doctors’ Spouses Give and Receive Support Through AllianceThe Michigan State Medical Society Alliance--a volunteer group comprised of residentphysicians’ and medical students’ spouses--lends assistance to students and alumni of theWSU School of Medicine.

Congratulations to Budding ResearchersThe seventh annual Graduate Student Research Day held in September boasted proudyoung researchers who shared their work with students, faculty and colleagues.

Honors Convocation Praises School’s BestCongratulations to the faculty members who were recognized at the annual WSU School ofMedicine Honors Convocation.

Two Medical School Professors Join Academy of ScholarsThe Wayne State University Academy of Scholars is the highest recognition bestowed uponfaculty by their colleagues. Congratulations to Robert Sokol, M.D., and Serge Vinogradov,Ph.D., two medical school professors who were inducted into the academy this year.

Faculty Research Excellence AwardsCongratulations to the six faculty members who won research excellence awards from theuniversity this year.

Letter From the Dean

Honors

Notes

Rounds

Continuing Medical Education

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www.med.wayne.edu Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

The Detroit metropolitanarea is the most segre-gated in the nation, but$6 million in fundingmay help address health

disparities between whites andAfrican Americans in this commu-nity. The National Institute ofEnvironmental Health Sciences(NIEHS) has established Wayne StateUniversity as one of eight centersin the United States to study popu-lation health and health disparities.

Led by John Flack, M.D., M.P.H.,WSU’s newly established Centerfor African-American Urban Healthwill seek new ways to redresshealth disparities by identifyingpreventive strategies and thera-peutic approaches to chronic dis-eases that plague this population,namely obesity, cardiovascular dis-ease and cancer.

Dr. Flack will act as the principalinvestigator and enlist the commit-ment of 34 investigators from vari-ous areas of expertise. Together,they will work on targeted projectsthat focus on precursors and factorsmediating chronic conditions inAfrican Americans. These projects are:

• Obesity, Nitric Oxide, OxidativeStress and Salt Sensitivity

• Weight Loss in Breast CancerSurvivors, and

Inside

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2 4 8WSU Participates in MichiganProteome Consortium

AZT Creator Develops Anti-Tumor Compounds

Project Medical EducationInforms Policymakers

Your Alumni Connection, page 13

note

salum

• A Dyadic Intervention forCardiac Rehabilitation Patients

Dr. Flack, who has publishedextensively on African Americans’salt sensitivity and predispositionto hypertension, understands theunique health needs of the popula-tion to which he refers andbelongs. As a professor of internalmedicine and community medi-cine, he sees the immediate linkbetween a person’s individualizedhealth concerns and those they areautomatically subjected to byvirtue of their geographic location,gender, age, race or ethnicity.

The NIEHS says the eightnational centers will receive a total$60.5 million over the next fiveyears to support transdisciplinaryresearch to examine how the socialand physical environment, behav-ioral factors, and biologic pathwaysinteract to determine health anddisease in populations.

“African Americans compriseone of the largest minority groupsin the United States, and they suf-fer excessively from a wide rangeof obesity and lifestyle-relatedhealth conditions,” Dr. Flack said.“We hope to alleviate the dispro-portionate burden of diseasethrough better understanding ofthe precursors and how their inter-actions cause disease.” ■

$6 Million Grant Establishes Centerfor African-American Urban Health

Thanks to Dr. Flack, WSU has been named one of eight national centers to study precursors and factors mediating

chronic conditions in African Americans.

2 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Letter from the Dean

As 2004 begins, we are facing dramaticchanges within ourown health caredelivery system that

are both exciting and challenging.The imminent establishment of aDetroit Wayne County HealthAuthority is a landmark actionwhich will bring dramatic changeto the funding and access of healthcare to our community. As themajor providers of care to the un-and underinsured members of ourcommunity who will be mostimpacted, the 600 School ofMedicine faculty physicians expectto play a large role in the ultimatesuccess of this important new ini-tiative.

In addition, new leadership istaking the helm at our clinical part-ner, the Detroit Medical Center.Mike Duggan, former WayneCounty prosecutor, has beennamed CEO of the DMC and we arelooking forward to workingtogether to create a more efficientand effective health care deliverysystem. I think his outside man-agement perspective will bringsome refreshing changes and allowhis administration to focus on thebusiness of health care while hetrusts in the medical staff to deliverthat care in the best way.

One major initiative for theSchool of Medicine this comingyear is to bolster research pro-grams in key areas such as popula-tion studies, cancer and perinatol-ogy. We are working closely toobtain adequate support andfinancing to ensure the successand viability of these researchenterprises. Our ultimate goal is toraise not only our National ScienceFoundation research ranking fromNo. 22, which is quite a respectablespot, but also to grow our NationalInstitutes of Health support andallow our scientists to work on thebiotechnologies that are criticallyimportant to the health of ourworld.

On an end note, I’d like toacknowledge how lucky we are tobe part of an academic medical sys-tem whose focus is on quality careand the constant rebirth of scien-tific discovery. The Association of American Medical Collegesrecently issued a comprehensivereport that concluded the quality ofcare is unquestionably better inteaching hospitals versus non-teaching hospitals. Our researchers,teachers, students and residentsare the foundation of those teach-ing hospitals in Detroit anddeserve many accolades for theirinherent commitment to continu-ous improvement.

Although underfunded publichealth is a problem that remains a strong challenge, I am confidentthat we are making strong choicesin serving the people of metroDetroit.

Sincerely,

John Crissman, M.D.Dean, Wayne State UniversitySchool of Medicine

The $11.9 million grantawarded to theMichigan ProteomeConsortium from theNational Center for

Research Resources was goodnews for the Wayne StateUniversity node of the consortiumand its director, Russell Finley,Ph.D. Although the consortium’smain facilities are at the Universityof Michigan, the group was createdas a partnership among U-M, WSU,Michigan State University and the

WSU Benefits from MichiganProteome Consortium Grant

Dr. Finley characterizes proteins to understand how they function in living organisms.

Van Andel Research Institutethrough the Michigan Life SciencesCorridor in 2001. The five-yeargrant will be shared by the fourinstitutions.

The group’s overall objective is toidentify proteins and understandwhat they do in living organisms.Dr. Finley is the WSU project direc-tor and associate professor in theCenter for Molecular Medicine andGenetics whose work focuses ontechnologies to identify and char-acterize protein networks. In one

project, funded by the NationalHuman Genome ResearchInstitute, his group is constructinginteraction maps for the 14,000proteins from the fruit fly,Drosophila. These network mapswill provide information about spe-cific pathways and functions ofindividual proteins.

The Proteome Consortium Website is: www.proteomeconsor-tium.org. Dr. Finley’s Web site is:www.proteome.wayne.edu. ■

3Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Breast cryotherapy is asafe, effective andnearly painless office-based procedure thatsignificantly reduces

benign breast lumps without dam-aging breast structure, according toPeter Littrup, M.D., who presentedhis findings at the 89th ScientificAssembly and Annual Meeting ofthe Radiological Society of NorthAmerica (RSNA) in December.

“Patients leave the office 30 min-utes after the cryotherapy is com-pleted,” said lead author Dr. Littup,professor of radiology, urology andradiation oncology at Wayne StateUniversity and director of theimage-guided therapy program atthe Barbara Ann Karmanos CancerInstitute.

Cryotherapy for breast fibroade-nomas, or fibrous benign lumps, isan ultrasound-guided procedurethat uses exceptionally cold tem-peratures to freeze and kill abnor-mal tissue. Interventional radiolo-gists numb the breast tissuearound the mass and insert a cry-oprobe, which is similar to a large

Outpatient CryotherapyShrinks Benign Breast Lumps

Cryotherapy is a great alternative to surgery for removing fibrous benign breast lumps, according to Dr. Littrup and

nurse practitioner Laurie Freeman-Gibb.

needle, into the middle of thelesion. An ice ball forms at the tipof the probe and continues to growuntil the ultrasound confirms thatthe entire lump has been engulfed,killing the tissue.

According to Dr. Littrup, thereare three major advantages ofcryotherapy for breast fibroadeno-mas. The first benefit is visualiza-tion. Ice is easily visualized withboth ultrasound and CT, makingthe procedure safe and effective.Second, cryotherapy is virtuallypainless when the area around thetumor is numbed with a local anes-thesic. The third benefit is the cos-metic outcome. “Cryotherapy pre-serves the breast’s supportingarchitecture, or collagen, and doesnot leave significant surgicalscars,” Dr. Littrup said. Based onthe promising results of this study,radiologists at Karmanos havebegun using cryotherapy to treatmany other organ sites, primarilyusing CT guidance.

The researchers treated 42fibroadenomas in 27 patients withultrasound-guided cryotherapy to

evaluate outcomes and patientacceptance of cryotherapy forbreast fibroadenomas originallyplanned for surgical removal. Onaverage, the fibroadenomas werereduced in size by 73 percent. Nosignificant complications werenoted, and patients were pleasedwith the cosmetic results.

Affecting 10 percent of Americanwomen, most in their late teensand early 20s, fibroadenomas areoften considered a leave-alonelesion. However, approximately 1million are removed annuallybecause of size, continued growthor for cosmetic reasons. African-American women have twice theincidence of fibroadenomas asCaucasian women.

The ability to conserve breast tis-sue is also highly desirable in thetreatment of breast cancer, and Dr.Littrup has begun treating breastcancers under protocol.

Dr. Littrup’s co-authors areLaurie Freeman-Gibb, R.N.,Michael White, M.D., KathyCarolin, M.D., Ted Harb, M.D., andAmit Vyas, M.D. ■

Scientists concernedwith global warminghave long exploredusing methanol as analternative fuel source.

Methane, which is found in land-fills, wetlands and natural gas, iscurrently not efficiently used as afuel source because it has a lowenergy density and it is hazardousand expensive to transport.Converting methane to methanolwould provide an abundance ofwhat is a more tractable fuelsource. This process is currentlyaccomplished in industry, howeverit is both costly to complete andrequires high temperatures andpressures.

Methanotropic bacteria convertmethane to methanol at ambienttemperatures and pressure usingmethane monooxygenase (MMO)enzyme systems. While peoplehave been studying the solubleform of MMO for years, Dr.Timothy Stemmler in theDepartment of Biochemistry andMolecular Biology recentlyannounced the characterization ofa pure membrane bound particu-late form of MMO (pMMO) in the

The Enzymatic Productionof Methanol: A BiologicalMechanism to ProduceAlternative Fuel

Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science. Dr. Stemmlerand his colleague Dr. AmyRosenzweig, Department ofChemistry at NorthwesternUniversity, have characterized themultinuclear copper active sitecenter in the enzyme pMMO. Theirresults have direct implicationsinto the enzyme’s reaction mecha-nism. This research was recentlyhighlighted in a StanfordUniversity online science maga-zine (www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/research/highlights_archive/pmmo.html).

“It is interesting that pMMO isable to complete catalysis at roomtemperature and atmospheric pres-sure. Our data provide the first realcharacterization of the pure pro-teins’ active site and we are there-fore beginning to understand howthe enzyme functions. If we canelucidate the protein’s reactionmechanism, we may be able toexploit the biochemistry thatmethanotrops complete into amuch wider scale, producing amuch cleaner burning and soon tobe more abundant fuel that the fos-sil fuels,” says Dr. Stemmler. ■

Dr. Stemmler may have found a way to convert methane to methanol, providing an

abundant alternative fuel source.

4 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

The debate over the bestimmediate therapy for aheart attack has tippedin favor of mechanicalreperfusion (angioplasty

or bypass surgery) over thromboly-sis (drugs to dissolve blood clots),according to a report in the October8, 2003, issue of the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association.

Myocardial infarction patientswho received immediate mechanicalreperfusion had a 48.5 percentreduction of in-hospital mortalityrates, said lead author, MaryGrzybowski, Ph.D., M.P.H., assis-tant professor of emergency medi-cine. Expediting blood flowthrough the vessels as quickly andefficiently as possible is criticallyimportant to the survival of heart-attack victims.

Although immediate mechanicalreperfusion (IMR) or primaryangioplasty is generally considereda more dominant treatment strategywith better clinical outcomes andlower costs relative to thrombolysis,

Angioplasty Cuts Death Rate Nearly in Half for Heart Attack Victims

Myocardial infarction patients who received immediate mechanical reperfusion had

a 48.5 percent reduction of in-hospital mortality rates, according to a study by

epidemiologist Dr. Mary Grzybowski.

community hospitals don’t alwayshave an experienced cardiaccatheterization laboratory avail-able. Medications are often used asa less desirable, but quickly avail-able alternate therapy. Evidencefrom Dr. Grzybowski’s report rein-forces her preferred recommenda-tion to transfer patients to a terti-ary care hospital with more exten-sive facilities, as long as it is within60 to 90 minutes, rather than keepthem under surveillance with med-ication alone.

“The magnitude of benefit asso-ciated with angioplasty was evenbetter than we expected,” Dr.Grzybowski said. “The questionsthat need to be answered are howto triage these patients in the fieldprior to emergency departmentarrival and the degree to whichpatients will benefit if transporteddirectly to a hospital capable ofangioplasty and bypass surgery.”

This study, titled “The MortalityBenefit of Immediate Revascularizationof Acute ST-Segment Elevation

Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) inPatients with Contraindications to Thrombolytic Therapy: APropensity Analysis,” investigated19,917 patients from the NationalRegistry of Myocardial Infarction, acountrywide database that beganin 1990. “This study is uniquebecause it analyzes STEMI patientswith contraindications to throm-bolytic therapy who are eligible forreperfusion and because it quanti-fies the benefit of IMR treatment insuch patients,” Dr. Grzybowskisaid. “Future studies are needed toidentify optimal methods of provid-ing rapid access to IMR-capablehospitals.”

Dr. Grzybowski is a research epi-demiologist in the Department ofEmergency Medicine. Co-authorsincluded Elizabeth Clements,Pharm.D.; Lori Parsons; RobertWelch, M.D.; Anne Tintinalli, M.D.;Michael Ross, M.D.; and RobertZalenski, M.D. ■

Jerome Horwitz, Ph.D., one ofWayne State University’sand Barbara Ann KarmanosCancer Institute’s mostesteemed researchers, has

created an exciting anti-tumorseries, the SH80 series, recentlylicensed to Sanofi-Synthelabo, a multi-national pharmaceuticalcompany.

Dr. Horwitz, nationally recognizedas the creator of AZT and two otherleading therapeutics for AIDS andHIV, began searching for improvedderivatives of XK469, 2-[4-(7-chloro-2-quinoxalinyloxy) phe-noxy]propionic acid, originally syn-thesized at DuPont in 1991. Sincethen, he and a team of researchers,including Drs. Stuart Hazeldine andLisa Polin have synthesized andtested an additional 125 distinctanalogs of XK469. One of these,SH80, was found to be significantlymore active when tested in mice.

Dr. Horwitz Develops Novel Anti-Tumor Compounds

All of the analogs synthesizedwere evaluated in vitro to determinecytotoxicity against leukemias and

tumors. Selected in vitro activeanalogs were then tested in miceagainst various tumors. Tumors

tested included pancreatic adeno-carcinoma-03, colon tumor 26, andmammary adenocarcinoma-17/Adr.

After extensive testing and com-parison of the analogs to XK469,SH80 was deemed superior againstall three tumor types tested.Horwitz commented that eventhough the SH80 series showspromise, there is a tremendousrate of failure in drug discoveries.

“We are cautiously optimistic onthe potential effects of this com-pound,” said Dr. Horwitz. Furthertesting is necessary, with drug tri-als potentially starting in approxi-mately 24 months. “We will con-tinue to look at SH80 to gain anunderstanding of the mechanismand how it works.” If the compoundproves to be safe and effective, anew anti-tumor drug may be on themarket in six years or so.

“At 84, Dr. Horwitz is one of theoldest recipients ever of a five-year

grant from the National Institutesof Health/National Cancer Institute,”commented Fred Reinhart, WSU’sassistant vice president for Researchand Technology Commercialization.Working under this five-year granttitled “Optimization of XK469Against Transplanted Solid Tumors,”awarded in early 2000, Dr. Horwitzand his research team discoveredthe SH80 series. He still comes towork everyday and finds his cur-rent work challenging. He contem-plates a possible retirement at theend of his five-year grant in 2005.

Sanofi-Synthelabo is a majorglobal research-based pharmaceu-tical group ranking 7th in Europein terms of annual sales and amongthe world’s top 20 pharmaceuticalcompanies. Its core therapeuticareas are cardiovascular diseaseand thrombosis, diseases of thecentral nervous system, cancer andinternal medicine. ■

Dr. Horwitz, the creator of AZT, is testing his newly developed anti-tumor therapeutics.

5Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Apeculiar finding inhis first majorresearch grant ledDennis Goebel, Ph.D.,down an entirely new

and entirely exciting pathway. Amorphologist who became anexpert on the structures and synap-tic systems in the retina has sud-denly turned toxicologist. How didhe move from retinal structures toneural poisoning, damage andfatality? An unexpected turn in hisoriginal hypothesis took him there.Now he has a four-year NationalInstitutes of Health (NIH) grant toshow for his hard work and goodfortune.

After earning his master’s degreein chemistry from Wayne State in1988, Dr. Goebel envisioned him-self working in industry, mostlikely pharmaceuticals. But a majoreconomic downturn convinced himto earn his doctorate (in just threeyears) and led him into aresearch/teaching position atWayne State, instead of in a corpo-rate lab.

His first nationally fundedresearch grant was to define therole of the glycine transporter inregulating NMDA-receptor neuro-transmission. Instead, he foundthat NMDA receptors mediate celldeath through distinct pathways. Inhis new line of work, Dr. Goebelstudies the involvement of NMDAreceptors in two kinds of cell deaththat are expressed following strokeor lack of oxygen/glucose. One ofmost studied pathways is apopto-sis, which is a highly controlledprogrammed response. The secondmode is necrosis, which is thoughtto be nonspecific, far more unpre-dictable, and more destructive.

“We have already challenged andchanged the notion that necrosis isa nonspecific process,” he said.Studies from his laboratory haveshown that cells that die as a result

Neural Damage to Brain Is Modeled inRetina to Better Understand Cell Injury

Dr. Goebel has scored a large NIH grant to study the involvement of NMDA receptors in two kinds of cell death that are expressed

following stroke or lack of oxygen/glucose.

of necrosis are selectively targeted,mainly through NMDA-receptoroverstimulation. Work over thepast 3 years has led Dr. Goebel todevelop an in vivo retina modelwhereby he can effectively isolateNMDA-receptor induced apoptosisfrom necrosis, as well as have theability to study necrosis independ-ently from apoptosis.

This model has led to a newlyfunded NIH R01 grant which hasbegun to uncover the underlyingmechanisms that differentiatebetween these two modes of celldeath. Data recently obtained fromthis study clearly shows thatalthough NMDA-receptor activa-tion is necessary to trigger bothapoptosis and necrosis, beyondthis point, the two modes proceedindependently of the other.

Understanding that apoptosisand necrosis have two pathwaysthat both diverge and occur inde-pendently of one another will helpDr. Goebel and his team look forneuroprotective drugs that couldtreat visual disorders resultingfrom glaucoma or ischemia in theretina in hopes of developing ther-apeutic treatments for thesepatients and potentially to beapplied to patients recentlyafflicted by stroke in the brain.Since he uses the retina as a near-perfect model of the brain with allthe same neurotransmitters andreceptors, tests applied to the sim-pler retinal tissue might also beapplied to brain tissue.

Since he became a research asso-ciate at the School of Medicine in1991, he has: worked with Dr.Michael Bannon (psychiatry)exploring the role of the dopaminetransporter in Parkinson’s disease,then worked with his Ph.D. mentorDr. Roberta Pourcho (anatomy andcell biology) to characterize thesynaptic organization of the retina,developed his own independent

research program that combineshis morphological and biochemicalexpertise, become an active playerin the NIH Vision Core CenterGrant, and has earned a reputationas an accomplished neu-roanatomist/neurochemist special-izing in receptor interactions in themammalian retina.

“When the science takes anunexpected turn and faces me in anew direction, I can at least rely onsome instant gratification fromteaching,” Dr. Goebel said. A grossanatomy instructor for 11 years, Dr.Goebel was recently promoted toassociate professor and he says heloves teaching. “I truly enjoy the

interaction with the new medicalstudents and I find that I am able toremain sharp and focused becauseof it.”

Not bad for a guy who didn’t havethings go quite his way. ■

6 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

The people who have thebest outcomes after atraumatic spinal cordinjury are those withfamily support and

resources, said Colette Duggan,Ph.D., adjunct assistant professorof physical medicine and rehabili-tation. This may come as no sur-prise, but on the flip side of thatstatement sits a vulnerable popula-tion that needs better access toquality health care.

Dr. Duggan and her colleagueTara Jeji,, M.D., are examining datafrom a qualitative, longitudinalstudy of quality of life following aspinal cord injury (SCI). The majorstudy was funded by the NationalInstitute on Disability andRehabilitation Research, but a sub-sequent grant from the Blue CrossBlue Shield of Michigan Foundationallowed the researchers an oppor-tunity to focus in greater detail onsecondary medical complications.Their data is pulled from multiplepersonal interviews of 43 peopleadmitted to the RehabilitationInstitute of Michigan following SCI.Up to three interviews were com-pleted during the inpatient hospitalstay and four more were done at 6,12, 20 and 30 months post-injury,to explore patients’ observations oftheir own health care experiences.

Although the data analysis is notyet complete, a few major themeshave surfaced. “There was a stag-gering number of medical compli-cations and rehospitalizations dur-ing the 30-month follow-up period.This was most notable in the sub-group of six persons who were dis-charged to a community nursinghome. They incurred an average ofalmost nine medical complicationsand were readmitted to the hospitalfive times on average, but somehad as many as 12 hospital visitsdue to infection, pneumonia, bedsores and other problems,” Dr.Duggan said. “And in general, theyfelt forgotten, left out of the system,

Family Support, Resources ReduceComplications Following Spinal Cord Injuries

Dr. Duggan says people with spinal cord injuries are often forced to leave the hospital

before services needed for their ongoing care are in place.

and helpless.” Those people with private med-

ical insurance and family care-givers generally had less severecomplications because problemswere recognized and treatedquickly and properly. But Dr.Duggan notes that a large majorityof the SCI patients at the RehabInstitute are male, single, of minoritystatus, with unstable employmentrecords and either no insurance orinadequate public assistance(Medicaid).

“If these young men have nospouses or family members to takecare of them, and if they have noinsurance coverage, they end up innursing care facilities that arereally designed for geriatric patientswith dementia. These men typi-cally are under 50 years old, withno cognitive impairments, but theyhave partial or total paralysis andthey haven’t yet learned to copewith their disabilities. The nursinghome is really not the most suit-able place for them, but they haveno choice,” Dr. Duggan said.

Spinal cord injuries are verycomplex and require significantfollow-up and therapy. Dr. Duggansuggests that managed care’semphasis on shorter lengths of stayforces patients to leave the hospitalbefore they have adjusted to theirinjury, been educated about pre-vention concerns, or before bene-fits and services needed for theirongoing care are in place.

“It is important to consider thepersonal experiences of SCI con-sumers in the design and deliveryof health care services,” she said.“It is expected that policy makers,insurers, providers, researchers,clinicians and consumer groups willbe able to utilize these findings inways that will ultimately providehigh quality care tailored to theneeds of the urban poor, improvequality of life, and, at the sametime, contain health care costs.” ■

7Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Generally, graduatestudents in biomed-ical programs focuson science while stu-dents in the business

school develop their skills in busi-ness administration and entrepre-neurship. These two worlds arerapidly converging as the emerg-ing biotechnology industry fuelsthe translation and commercializa-tion of biomedical research. JoanDunbar, Ph.D., director of biotech-nology development at the Schoolof Medicine, has now united busi-ness and science in a new coursecalled Introduction to the Businessof Biotechnology. The graduatecourse (BMS 6100) is initiallyoffered in winter 2004 with aninvitation to postdoctoral fellowsand faculty to sit in on the presen-tations.

“We are providing a broadoverview of the basic elements ofentrepreneurship in the biotech-

Teaching the Business of Biotechnology

Dr. Dunbar is integrating graduate medical sciences with business perspectives through a new educational series on the business of

biotechnology. Biomedical researchers are the target audience, but others are welcome to participate.

nology industry,” said Dr. Dunbar.Each session will present a differ-ent issue in biotechnology, fromthe drug discovery pathway tointellectual property and patents tobusiness plans and strategies. Thecourse is funded by a grant fromthe Michigan Economic DevelopmentCorporation (EntrepreneurshipEducation Program) and sponsor-ship from the WSU School ofMedicine and the WSU TechnologyTransfer Office.

“There are multiple goals for thiscourse,” noted Dr. Dunbar “Thosegoals include preparing studentsfor research careers outside of aca-demia, educating scientists in theprocess of commercialization andthe potential role of faculty inthose activities and to nurture anew breed of entrepreneurs.”

For a complete list of topics, speak-ers and schedules, please email Dr.Dunbar at: jcdunbar@med.wayne.edu. ■

Early detection of ovar-ian cancer is critical tosurviving the diseaseand Michael Tainsky,Ph.D., professor of

oncology at WSU and theKarmanos Cancer Institute, isdeveloping a blood test to findmarkers of the earliest stages ofthe disease.

In an effort to recruit African-American women to participate ina new study, Dr. Tainsky engagedthe help of Stacey Lee, MissMichigan USA 2004, an African-American woman who visited theKarmanos Cancer Institute toencourage others to donate a sin-gle tube of blood for the study.

Nancy Levin, research coordina-tor for the study, said because theearly symptoms of ovarian cancerare frequently vague and canmimic other common medicalproblems, ovarian cancer is oftennot detected until the cancer hasspread beyond the ovary. Thisstudy by Dr. Tainsky is helpingdevelop a new blood test that ismore accurate and specific than

Volunteers Recruited for Ovarian Cancer Study

Miss Michigan USA, Stacey Lee, and Dr.

Michael Tainsky helped recruit African-

American women to donate blood to

study an early marker for ovarian cancer.

the currently used CA-125 bloodtest, which often misses cases andis better suited to detection of dis-ease recurrence and/or monitoringthe effectiveness of treatment.

The test is based on the fact thatwhen people get sick, the body pro-duces antibodies in response to thepresence of the tumor. In cancer,these proteins called tumor mark-ers circulate in the blood. This testis designed to utilize tumor markersto detect cancer in its earlieststages so patients can be diagnosedearly and accurately and they canbe treated before the diseasespreads beyond the ovary.

For more information, see:www.karmanos.org/news/needed.html. ■

8 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

State representative SandyCaul (R), worked as aregistered nurse foralmost 30 years in bothhospital and long-term

care settings. She said that back-ground is one of the reasons shedecided to become a lawmaker

“Even though I walked that talkfor many a year, I still thought itwould be a good time to getupdated as to some of the currentpractices and procedures that arehappening,” she said.

Caul was one of over two dozenstate legislators and staff memberswho attended Project MedicalEducation (PME) in October.Designed to provide state policy-makers with an accurate knowl-edge base that will empower themto make insightful decisions thataffect state medical schools, theiraffiliated teaching hospitals andthe people they serve, PME gavestate legislators a “day in the life”of a medical resident and student.The two-day event was hosted bythe OHEP Center for MedicalEducation and the School ofMedicine.

Legislators got a first-hand lookat things like a medical resident’sclinical “morning report,” clinicpatient schedule and makingrounds. They saw a typical stu-dent’s curriculum schedule, forexample, or a debt load statement.In addition, legislators had achance to personally interact withmedical students and residents, toask them questions and to hearabout their concerns and chal-lenges.

“The more education and knowl-edge we can get as representa-tives, the more wisdom we willhave to make the right decisionsthat are really a benefit to peoplein the state,” said Caul. “Becausewithout their health, there’s noth-ing else that really counts.”

Rep. Gary Newell (R) doesn’thave a health care background,which is ok in the budgetingprocess, he said, “but it’s still goodto understand what it is that youare financing. And we do put a con-siderable amount of money — about$170 million — into graduate med-ical programs. We’re here to seewhat we’re doing with that money.”

Project Medical Education Informs PolicymakersNewell chairs the community

health subcommittee of the houseappropriations committee.

“There are certain problems thatpresent themselves all across thestate as far as health care is con-cerned,” he said. “The more I canlearn about how these things aredone, the better I can serve thepeople that I’m serving.”

The event consisted of dinnerand PME-themed presentations atthe Detroit Marriott RenaissanceCenter, followed the next day withvisits to the School of Medicineand participating OHEP hospitals.Those included Henry FordHospital, North Oakland MedicalCenter, Oakwood, Providence, St.John, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland,William Beaumont, as well as eighthospitals from the Detroit MedicalCenter (DMC).

“The goal was not to advocate thespecifics of future decisions but toset the context in which good leg-islative decisions can be made,”said Joe Bracato, executive directorof OHEP. “We wanted to provide anon-site learning experience inorder to illustrate the critical valueof supporting the educational envi-ronment within our health caresystem. And we’re very happy withthe response and turn out wereceived.”

Also attending was Rep. MichaelSwitalski (D), who was planning aFriday night visit to DetroitReceiving Hospital’s emergencyroom, the busiest emergency roomin the state with some 85,000 vis-its per year.

“I think I’ll see a lot of actionthere, and it’ll probably change meforever,” he said. “I want to seewhat they’re dealing with in termsof volume and the high intensity oftrauma situations. We have bigproblems in the state budget-wise,and I’m going to have to under-stand the problems here in themedical sector to really understandthe effects of the decisions wemake in Lansing.”

PME was comprised of severalcentral themes: in-state physiciantraining and retention; residentprovision of medical care; andfunding issues for graduate med-ical education. ■

Dr. Herman Gray tells policy makers about the people served through WSU’s graduate medical education program.

Medical students and residents informed legislators about typical patient schedules,

curriculum loads and loan debts.

More than 20 state legislators and staff members attended Project Medical Education to learn

more about medical schools and teaching hospitals.

9Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Continuing Medical EducationCongestive Heart Failure for the 21st CenturySaturday, February 7, 2004The Somerset InnTroy, Mich.

Medicolegal Investigation of DeathApril 21-23, 2004The Dearborn InnDearborn, Mich.

For more information or to register for conferences, please callWayne State University’sDivision of ContinuingMedical Education at(313) 577-1180.

Physicians, in general,have pretty stressfulcareers. Their spouses,by association, feel theweight of that stress in

their homes and family life, too.Student loans, long hours, the costof malpractice insurance, and mar-ginal reimbursement policies areissues that affect medical families,not just medical doctors.

Finding common bonds with oth-ers is important to the AmericanMedical Association Alliance--avolunteer group comprised of resi-dent physicians’ and medical stu-

Doctors’ Spouses Give and Receive Support Through Alliance

dents’ spouses. The Michigan StateMedical Society has its ownAlliance group and they lend assis-tance to students and alumni of theWayne State University School ofMedicine.Every spring, the MSMSAlliance (MSMSA) presents theschool with funds to help studentsdefray the cost of clinical skillsexams, interview travel and otherincidental expenses that increasetheir rapidly accumulating debt.

Alliance groups across the coun-try work in partnership with theAmerican Medical Association toeducate physicians’ family mem-

bers about health issues, so thatthey may educate others in turnand act as advocates for qualitymedical care. They support educa-tional programs that improve pub-lic health and they take up causesand get involved in legislativeissues that impact the practice ofmedicine.

Second-year WSU medical stu-dent Christine Veenstra acknowl-edges that her classmates and col-leagues spend lots of time buriedin books, on call at hospitals, andtrying to serve patients—leaving lit-tle time to clue their families in to

The seventh annualGraduate StudentResearch Day held inSeptember boastedproud young researchers

who shared their work with stu-dents, faculty and colleagues.

“As a completely student-organ-ized and student-run activity, itincreasingly demonstrates theenthusiasm and scientific talentpossessed by our graduate stu-dents, and the dedication theyexhibit toward their science train-ing,” said Kenneth Palmer, Ph.D.,assistant dean for graduate programs.

Congratulations to Budding ResearchersCongratulations to the followingwinners:

Oral Competition1st Place - Pam Osenkowski whopresented “Structure-FunctionAnalysis of Membrane Type 1-Matrix Metalloproteinase.”

2nd Place - Sandia Waller who pre-sented “Evening Ready-to-Eat CerealContributes to Weight Management.”

3rd Place - Christian Kreipke whopresented “NMDA Receptor BlockadeAttenuates Locomotion Elicited byStriatal D1-Receptor Stimulation.”

The winning graduate students for 2003 were Christian Kreipke, Selina Glaros,

Pam Osenkowski and Quinn Parks.

the health care issues of the day.Alliance helps spouses getinvolved in medicine by educatingthem, giving them a voice, allow-ing them to volunteer for commu-nity programs that make a differ-ence, and presenting the legisla-tive issues and how they willimpact practitioners.

“It allows medical families, notjust doctors, to be informed cham-pions for America’s health,”Veenstra said. ■

Poster Competition1st Place - Quinn Parks who pre-sented “Genetic Differences inPseudomonas Aeruginosa OcularVirulence.”

2nd Place - Beth Szliter who pre-sented “Pseudomonas AeruginosaInfection in Contact Lens-WearingRats: Molecular Analysis.”

3rd Place - Selina Glaros who pre-sented “Cross-Talk BetweenActivated AKT and ER Alpha Leadsto Tamoxifen Resistance in BreastCancer Cells.” ■

10 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

Siddhartha Annamraju, M.D.,internal medicine resident at Sinai-Grace Hospital, was an award final-ist for a poster presentation on“Implantable Cardiac DefibrillationThreshold Determination ViaSingle Ventricular FibrillationInduction” at the American Collegeof Cardiology-Michigan ChapterScientific Meeting in October.

Vicki Baker, M.D., has beenappointed interim associate deanfor research at the Wayne StateUniversity School of Medicine.

Harry Chugani, M.D., professorof pediatrics, neurology and radiol-ogy, has been invited to be on theeditorial board of Neurology, theofficial journal of the AmericanAcademy of Neurology.

Stephanie Conant, pre-doctoralstudent, gave an invited presenta-tion at the Americas Committee forTreatment and Research inMultiple Sclerosis (MS) meeting inOctober. Her presentation wastitled “Autoreactive T Cells Persistin Animals Protected AgainstAutoimmune Encephalomyelitisand Can Be Activated ThroughStimulation of Innate Immunity.”Along with co-author RobertSwanborg, Ph.D., she is studyinghow a disease like MS could betriggered by microbial agents.

La Ventra Ellis-Danquah, librar-ian and coordinator of educationand community services atShiffman Medical Library, was oneof two medical librarians selectedfor the 2003-2004 Leadership andCareer Development Program,sponsored by the Association ofResearch Libraries and the MedicalLibrary Association.

Richard Gallagher, Ph.D., pro-fessor of family medicine, servedas guest editor for the fall 2003issue of the Journal of CancerEducation which featured a seriesof articles on the topic of tobaccouse cessation. The lead review articletitled “Tobacco Cessation: NewChallenges, New Opportunities” wasauthored by Dr. Gallagher and JohnHopper, M.D., assistant professorof internal medicine and pediatrics.

Herman Gray, M.D., associatedean for graduate medical educa-tion, has been appointed chief ofoperations for Children's Hospitalof Michigan.

Murali Guthikonda, M.D., asso-ciate professor of neurosurgery,was an honored guest of the 5thIndian Skull Base Society inSeptember. Dr. Guthikonda led themeeting with didactic and cadav-eric skull base surgical dissectiondemonstrations. He also gave pre-sentations on “The Management ofTuberculum Sellae Meningiomas”and “Ophthalmic SegmentAneurysms: Classification andManagement.”

Xi Huang, Ph.D., research scien-tist in anatomy and cell biology,received a $14,000 award from theMichigan Eye Banks andTransplantation Center to study“The Role of Toll-like Receptors inBacterial Keratitis.”

Mark Ireland, Ph.D., associateprofessor of anatomy and cell biol-ogy, received a $12,865 award fromthe Michigan Eye Banks andTransplantation Center to study“The Epidermal Growth FactorReceptor (EGFR) and the Post-NatalDifferentiation of Lens Fiber Cells.”

Sinoj John, M.D., internal medi-cine resident at Sinai-GraceHospital, was an award finalist fora poster presentation on“Expression of B2 Subunit MutantsAlters Localization of L-TypeCalcium Channels in Rat AdultCardiomyocytes” at the AmericanCollege of Cardiology-MichiganChapter Scientific Meeting inOctober.

Peter Karpawich, M.D., profes-sor of pediatrics and director of cardiac electrophysiology atChildren’s Hospital of Michigan,was an invited faculty participantat the annual scientific meeting ofthe Southeastern PediatricCardiology Society. His presenta-tion on cardiac pacing was part ofthe featured symposium, “PotentialApplications of CardiacResynchronization in CongenitalHeart Disease.”

He also co-authored the first clin-ical study on use of pacing cardiacresynchronization therapy (CRT) inpatients with congenital heartdefects and severe heart failure asan alternative to heart transplant.His findings were presented at the2003 scientific session of theAmerican Heart Association.

Notes

Anna Ledgerwood, M.D., pro-fessor of surgery, was installed asfirst vice-president of theAmerican College of Surgeons.

Joshua Liao, Ph.D., assistantprofessor of pathology, received a$150,000 grant from the LanceArmstrong Fund to study testicularcancer.

Robert Lisak, M.D., ParkerWebber Chair of Neurology, profes-sor and chair of neurology and professor of immunology/microbi-ology, has been appointed vice-chair of the Accreditation Councilof the United Council of NeurologicSubspecialties (UCNS).

Jeanne Lusher, M.D., distin-guished professor of pediatrics andMarion I. Barnhart HemostasisResearch Professor, was appointedto the National Heart, Lung andBlood Institute’s Data and SafetyMonitoring Board for Hemostasisand Transfusion Medicine ClinicalTrials. In addition, Dr. Lusher:

• chaired the Third InternationalConference on Inhibitors ofClotting Factors in Septemberand will be publishing the pro-ceedings soon.

• was an invited speaker and session chair at the FifthInternational Symposium on Immune Tolerance Inductionin Patients With InhibitorAntibodies Against ClottingFactors in October.

• organized and chaired the 20th anniversary InternationalSymposium on Clotting Factor Inhibitors--New Basic,Translational, and ImmunologicAspects, held in September. Sheis now editing the proceedingsfor publication.

Husseini Manji, M.D., professorof psychiatry and behavioral neu-rosciences, is well cited in theSeptember 11 issue of Nature in anarticle about lithium. He andGregory Moore, Ph.D., are recog-nized for shedding light on howlithium works as a therapeuticagent.

Tsveti Markova, M.D., assistantprofessor of family medicine, hasbeen elected chair of the ProgramDirectors Committee and a mem-ber of the board of directors for theMichigan Academy of FamilyPhysicians.

The following faculty members were recognized atthe annual WSU School of Medicine HonorsConvocation. Congratulations to all honorees fortheir hard work and commitment.

2003 Teaching AwardsGeorge Brush, Ph.D., cancer instituteJames Moseley, Ed.D., community medicineWilma Henderson, M.D., emergency medicineTsveti Markova, M.D., family medicineAnne Victoria Neale, Ph.D., family medicineSharon Popp, Ph.D., family medicineJohn Porcerelli, Ph.D., family medicineKendra Schwartz, M.D., family medicineJeffrey Hobden, Ph.D., immunology and microbiologyMatthew Jackson, Ph.D., immunology and microbiologyLoutif Aboussouan, M.D., internal medicinePatricia Brown, M.D., internal medicineBasim Dubaybo, M.D., internal medicineJohn Ebright, M.D., internal medicineWillane Krell, M.D., internal medicineJames Kruse, M.D., internal medicineHoward Rosman, M.D., internal medicineCharles Schiffer, M.D., internal medicineLiborio Tranchida, M.D., internal medicineWilhelmine Wiese, M.D., internal medicineWilliam Coplin, M.D., neurologyAnthony Johnson, D.O., obstetrics and gynecologyWilliam Brown, Ph.D., pathologyFazlul Sarkar, Ph.D., pathologyStephen DiCarlo, Ph.D., physiologyJoseph Dunbar, Ph.D., physiologyDonal O’Leary, Ph.D., physiologyDaniel Walz, Ph.D., physiologyJames Tyburski, M.D., surgery

Lamp AwardStephen DiCarlo, Ph.D., physiology

Staff AwardJames Tyburski, M.D., surgery

Pfizer Humanitarian AwardJohn Ebright, M.D., internal medicine

Academic Achievement AwardsClass of 2004 Ross GermaniAlex HaynesKathleen StirlingCorey Treadway

Class of 2005 Thomas Pulling

Class of 2006 Dina El-Essawi

Honors ConvocationPraises School’s Best

11Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

DMC Board Appoints Duggan CEOThe Detroit Medical Center

board of trustees announced onDecember 8, 2003, the selection ofMichael Duggan, former WayneCounty prosecutor, as the newpresident and chief executive offi-cer of the health system.

The decision follows a nationalsearch to replace former DMCCEO, Dr. Arthur Porter, whostepped down in October. Duggantook the position effective January5, 2004.

“Our board is very confident inthe selection of Michael Duggan asCEO,” said Chuck O’Brien, DMCchairman of the board. “After athree-month search, interviewinghospital executives from Michiganand around the nation, Mike’sname surfaced as someone who isvery aware of the importance ofthe DMC, the challenges some ofour institutions are facing and whois very concerned about the futurestability of this organization. Hehas an outstanding record ofachievement as an administratorand is well respected by our com-munity leaders.”

“The complement of businessand political knowledge Mike willbring to our physicians and man-agement team is outstanding,which will truly give us the oppor-tunity to continue the restructur-ing and repositioning we havebeen focused on since the begin-ning of the year. I am confidentthat Mike and our establishedexecutive team will accomplish asuccessful turn-around for theDMC,” said John Levy, DMC boardmember and chair of the CEOsearch committee.

Duggan has lived in Livonia,Mich. for 40 years. He is a gradu-ate of Detroit Catholic Central, andreceived his undergraduate andlaw degrees from the University ofMichigan. Following a private lawpractice, Duggan joined WayneCounty as the deputy county exec-utive, overseeing a $2 billionbudget, 10 county departmentsand 6,000 county employees.Duggan ran for and was electedWayne County prosecutor inAugust 2000. In 1987, he worked topass legislation for the “plus card”

Rounds

system. This is a health assistanceprogram that put 50,000 unem-ployed poor people into a WayneCounty system that allowed localHMOs to bid for their business. In1995, he led efforts to establishanother county health programcalled Health Choice, and he wasboard chair of Health Choice from1995-2000.

Dr. Heppner Accepts Associate Vice President Position at WSU

Gloria Heppner, Ph.D., has beennamed associate vice president forresearch at Wayne State University.

Dr. Heppner, professor of internalmedicine, has been a member ofthe WSU community for 24 years.She most recently served as assis-tant dean for cancer programs atthe School of Medicine and deputydirector of the Karmanos CancerInstitute.

In her new position, Dr. Heppnerwill be primarily responsible forthe developing and implementingnew research at WSU, securingnew research funding, managingand updating internal researchsupport programs and administer-ing intellectual properties.

According to John Oliver, vicepresident for research, Dr.Heppner’s two decades in univer-sity and hospital leadership shouldgive her all the tools she needs tohelp WSU’s research enterprisecontinue to grow.

“Wayne State’s School ofMedicine has benefited fromGloria’s expertise for years,” Oliversaid. “We feel very fortunate tohave someone with her level ofcommitment and experience jointhe university-wide researcheffort.”

Dr. Diamond Takes Part in National Infertility Study

Michael Diamond, M.D., is one ofeight researchers in the U.S. to leada National Institute of Child Healthand Human Development (NICHD)study to treat infertility in womenwith polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS). The study is the largest ofits kind.

In polycystic ovary syndrome, anexcess of male hormones, inter-feres with normal ovulation andother body systems. Five to 10 per-cent of women of reproductive agehave PCOS. The syndrome beginsin childhood but is often undiag-nosed until adulthood whenwomen fail to become pregnant.

Dr. Diamond, professor of obstet-rics and gynecology and director ofthe Division of ReproductiveEndocrinology and Infertility, said

women wishing to take part in thestudy should:

• Be between the ages of 18-39;

• Be seeking to become pregnant;

• Have eight or fewer periods ayear, or have periods that are45 or more days apart; and

• Have elevated levels of testos-terone.

Volunteers can expect to partici-pate in the study from 30-32weeks, to be monitored for possibleside effects and for pregnancywhile taking the medication. Studyparticipants will receive free ofcharge all study medications, bloodtests performed after enrollment, aphysical exam including an ultra-sound of the ovaries, a pregnancytest, and, if they become pregnant,an ultrasound test to confirm thepregnancy.

Medical Anthropologists and Linguists Characterize Safetyin Emergency Rooms

A National Science Foundationstudy by a team of medical anthro-pologists and linguists at WayneState University’s Institute forInformation Technology andCulture (IITC) has identified pat-terns of speech and social interac-tion that contribute to maintainingmedical safety in a hospital emer-gency room. The study, titledLearning to Listen, used airlinecockpit voice recorder technologyto record more than 300 hours ofinformal conversation among doc-tors, nurses and technicians in anemergency room, and comparedthe changing speech patterns withpatterns and trends in patient care.

As researchers Dr. Allen Batteauand Margaret Karadjoff reportedNov. 20 at the annual meeting ofthe American AnthropologicalAssociation in Chicago, they foundthat the emergency room in thestudy has a very safe environment,with a significantly low incidenceof error. Errors, such as leavingpatients unattended or orderingincorrect medications, rarely occur.When such errors do occur, theyare nearly always caught beforepatients are affected.

This pattern of being able todetect and correct errors is typicalof high reliability organizations,characterized by a high level ofteamwork among all personnel.Teamwork – open communication,respect for expertise, constantlearning, and mutual reinforce-

Mark Marunick, D.D.S., associ-ate professor of otolaryngology,was inaugurated as the 52nd pres-ident of the American Academy ofMaxillofacial Prosthetics inNovember. He was also selected forinclusion in the 2004-2005 firstedition of “The Best Dentists inAmerica.”

Yousha Mirza, M.D., psychiatryand behavioral neurosciences resi-dent working in Dr. DavidRosenberg’s lab, published“Reduced Glutamate in ChildhoodMDD” in the Journal of theAmerican Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry.

David Rosenberg, M.D., profes-sor of psychiatry and behavioralneurosciences, was highly praisedin the Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry book review of his text,“Pharmacotherapy for Child andAdolescent Psychiatric Disorders,Second Edition.”

Michael Simon, M.D., associateprofessor of internal medicine(oncology), received a Blue CrossBlue Shield of MichiganFoundation grant for his research,“Comparison of DietaryAssessment Methods in a Low FatDietary Intervention Program,”which was published in Nutritionand Cancer.

Jack Sobel, M.D., has acceptedthe newly created position of assis-tant dean for clinical scienceresearch at the Wayne StateUniversity School of Medicine.

Dan Walz, Ph.D., has assumedthe newly created position of assis-tant dean for basic scienceresearch at the Wayne StateUniversity School of Medicine.

Jayne Weiss, M.D., professor ofophthalmology and pathology atthe Kresge Eye Institute, wasappointed to the board of directorsof The Cornea Society, a nationalorganization for corneal sub-spe-cialists.

Lucia Zamorano, M.D., profes-sor of neurological surgery andradiation oncology, received anhonorary appointment as professorat the Department of ComputerScience and BiomedicalEngineering at Rutgers University.This appointment will enableresearch collaboration in the fieldof computer-assisted surgery. ■

ment – is created and reinforcedthrough informal communication.

The researchers are now study-ing the speech patterns to see ifthey offer clues for when team-work is about to break down. Ifchanges in linguistic patterns indi-cate a degradation of situationalawareness, then this becomes apowerful tool for improving patientsafety. This suggests that whenmedical teams monitor their ownteamwork, they can become moreaware of when the team needs topull together for the patients’safety.

Detroit Receiving Wins Circle of Life Award

The palliative care service atDetroit Receiving Hospital recentlyreceived an award of recognitionfrom the Circle of Life Committeeof the American HospitalAssociation.

The service, initiated by Dr.Robert Frank, associate dean foracademic and student programs,and Dr. Richard Carlson, formerchief of critical care, was one of thefirst in the country.

The service is currently staffedby Meg Campbell, R.N., and Dr.Michael Stellini, assistant profes-sor of internal medicine. ■

12 Winter 2004 - Volume 15, No. 1

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HonorsPatricia Dhar, M.D., assistant

professor of internal medicine,received a $7,500 grant to host thePfizer Visiting ProfessorshipProgram in Rheumatology. Dr.Carolyn Gordon, a rheumatologistfrom the University ofBirmingham in England conducteda series of WSU seminars inOctober, thanks to Dr. Dhar’saward.

Samuel Johnson, M.D., andFaysal Saksouk, M.D., associateprofessors of radiology, were hon-ored with the Magna Cum Laudeexhibit award at the 2003Radiologic Society of NorthAmerica meeting in November-December. There are six suchawards given out of over 600 sci-entific exhibits and presentations.

Yousha Mirza, M.D., psychiatryand behavioral neurosciences resi-dent, received a $1,000 travelgrant to attend the AmericanAcademy of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry’s 50th anniversarymeeting in October. He was one of50 residents nationwide to be cho-sen for this honor.

Apurva Motivala, M.D., inter-nal medicine resident at Sinai-Grace Hospital, won second placein the poster research competitionfor the American College ofCardiology-Michigan ChapterScientific Meeting in October. Thewinning research project focusedon “The Role of Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Elevation of Circulating AsymmetricDimethylarginine Level.”

Kamal Nasser, M.D., internalmedicine resident at Sinai-GraceHospital, won first place in theposter research competition for theAmerican College of Cardiology-Michigan Chapter ScientificMeeting in October. His researchwas on “Maturation of theMicrovasculature in HealingMyocardial Infarcts: A PotentialRole for Platelet Derived GrowthFactor.”

Ananda Prasad, M.D., Ph.D.,professor of internal medicine, wasamong eight honorees inductedinto the International Institute'sHeritage Hall of Fame.

Norbert Reinstein, M.P.H.,adjunct instructor in communitymedicine, was honored with aService Recognition Award as apreeminent health educator andhistorian in recognition of his 30years of outstanding and distin-guished service to the Departmentof Community Medicine and theDetroit community.

Mark Ritter, M.D., psychiatryand behavioral neurosciences resi-dent, was awarded a $1,500 travelgrant to attend the AmericanAcademy of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry’s 50th anniversarymeeting in October. He was one of50 residents nationwide to be cho-sen for this honor.

Natalia Tanner, M.D., professorof pediatrics, is featured in theNational Institute, National Libraryof Medicine exhibition titled“Changing the Face of Medicine:The Rise of America’s WomenPhysicians.” The exhibit opened inWashington, D.C., in October andwill travel through major U.S.cities. ■

Alan Hudson, Ph.D.Immunology and Microbiology

Errol Crook, M.D.Internal Medicine

The Wayne StateUniversity Academyof Scholars is thehighest recognitionbestowed upon fac-

ulty by their colleagues.Congratulations to Robert Sokol,M.D., and Serge Vinogradov,Ph.D., two medical school pro-fessors who were inducted intothe academy this year.

Dr. Sokol is a distinguishedprofessor in the Department ofObstetrics and Gynecology. Heserved as dean of the WSUSchool of Medicine from 1989to 1999, and has served theuniversity since 1983. His per-sonal research with theNational Institutes of Healthhelped Dr. Sokol develop a

Two Medical School ProfessorsJoin Academy of Scholars

Faculty Research Excellence Awards

well-earned reputation as the lead-ing expert on the subject of fetalalcohol syndrome. He continues toserve as director of the C.S. MottCenter for Human Growth andDevelopment, which houses theprestigious Perinatology ResearchBranch, funded by the NationalInstitute of Child Health andHuman Development.

Dr. Vinogradov is a professor inthe Department of Biochemistryand Molecular Biology. For fourdecades, he has contributed to bio-physics and biochemistry throughhis work on oxygen binding pro-teins. In 1971, he authored“Hydrogen Bonding,” whichbecame the standard text on thesubject and he founded the firstGordon Conference on “Oxygen

Binding Proteins,” well-knownas the most prestigious scien-tific meeting of its kind in theUnited States. His researchfocuses on the physical andchemical properties of inverte-brate hemoglobins; kineticsand thermodynamics of theirdissociation and reassociation;and thermodynamics andkinetics of ligand and cationbinding.

Founded in 1979, theAcademy of Scholars recog-nizes outstanding scholarshipand creative achievementamong faculty members atWayne State University.Election to the academy is a rig-orous process and life-longappointment.

Jeffrey Loeb, M.D., Ph.D.Neurology

Stanley Terlecky, Ph.D.Pharmacology

Assia Shisheva, Ph.D.Physiology

Kenneth Honn, Ph.D.Radiation Oncology

Congratulations to the following faculty members who won research excellence awards from the university this year.