For members of the Translational Medicine student organization, it’s OK to have pipe dreams. In fact, it’s encouraged.

Class of 2014 student Brandon Busuito, a Rochester Hills, Mich., native, founded Translational Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine last fall to promote the design, development and realization of entrepreneurial endeavor by School of Medicine students.

“We don’t limit what ideas can come out of this. A lot of the ideas that have come up so far are medically related, but we stress to think outside the box and go in any direction you want to,” said Busuito, the organization’s president.

Translational Medicine has partnered with the WSU School of Medicine, Henry Ford Health Systems, The Innovation Institute at Henry Ford and the College for Creative Studies, and aims to show students the path to market for products and ideas to improve health care and the patient experience.

Participants who complete a project will earn a Medical Design Apprenticeship certificate recognized by WSU, The Innovation Institute and CCS. They also will have the opportunity to present their final products to investors at the Innovation Institute. Coursework includes design process seminars, hands-on workshops and personal product development meetings.

“Many medical students are pressed for time, and we wanted to provide them with something tangible that they can put on their residency applications, and that they can talk about on their interviews,” Busuito said.

The organization is advised by Madhu Prasad, M.D., associate professor of Surgery at WSU and director of the year-old Innovation Institute, located in Detroit. “Medicine in its current form is a very left-brain activity. I believe in balancing left- and right-brain activities, or at least, giving the students who might have interest and talent in right-brain activities the opportunity to develop it,” Dr. Prasad said. “They don’t know yet what ‘cannot be done’ and therefore feel less awed by challenging existing norms.”

Busuito met Dr. Prasad at a surgical externship last summer, and attended a tour of The Innovation Institute soon after it opened. “He wanted to show us how the medical world and the design world were colliding at The Innovation Institute,” Busuito said.

He observed work from engineering students, medical design students and others, but nothing representing WSU’s medical students. “It seemed to me there was a voice missing,” he said.

The Translational Medicine group introduces future physicians to creativity, design, engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship much earlier than comparable programs elsewhere, Prasad said. It takes advantage of the spare time many first and second year students sometimes have, and uses it productively.

The group held its first informational workshops in February, March and April, with presentations by Dr. Prasad, as well as innovators like Kala Majeti, Ph.D., a systems engineer and philanthropist; Detroit artist Tyree Guyton of Heidelberg Project fame; Whirlpool Vice President of Design for North America Patrick Schiavone; designer and sculptor Harry Bertoia and others.

Several ideas, both medical and non-medical, were discussed at the workshops, including patient transport systems, dishwasher door redesign, surgical instrument organization to eliminate confusion in operation rooms and redesigned IV systems. Project proposals are due this month. Those who move forward will be matched with a volunteer mentor in the appropriate field. The final presentation to investors will take place this fall.
“The health care environment in general is going to be changing a lot. It’s going to be a fluid concept. The input physicians have is going to be even more important than ever,” Busuito said. “The speed of medical advancement is ever accelerating, so that’s certainly one force in that equation, and certainly the health care legislation will change the way people do things.”

Medical student Christopher Sy of Detroit saw Translational Medicine as a rather unique opportunity he couldn’t pass up. The neurosurgery enthusiast spent time as an Emergency Medical Technician and has been exposed to health care in the emergency setting. He is leaning toward designing a small medication delivery device to be used in the emergency room.

“I am looking at a possible addition to the treatment protocol of stroke. Of course, this is pending vast amounts of further research and testing of clinical viability. But this project encourages creativity without restriction,” Sy said. “We need work as much as play, science as much as art, facts as well as philosophical abstract musings. What Translational Medicine is offering allows us to utilize different faculties of our mind. It is refreshing. Above everything, it is an additional experience that is not normally offered and can only bolster an already amazing medical curriculum.”

Like Dr. Prasad, Sy, an undergraduate Neuroscience major and member of the Class of 2015, is a strong proponent of both academic and non-academic opportunities that enrich the conventional medical school curriculum. “As technology plays an increasing role in health care, use of medical devices and medical equipment also increases. It could only help doctors to have some cognizance of the process involved in the development and marketing of medical equipment,” he said.

For more information about Translational Medicine, including videos and any upcoming events, visit www.translationalmedicine.weebly.com

Seemant Chaturvedi, M.D., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N., of the Wayne State University Physician Group and professor of Neurology for the School of Medicine, has been elected vice chair of the American Academy of Neurology’s Vascular Neurology Section.

Dr. Chaturvedi, who will serve a two-year term, won election from a field of four candidates.

"With the aging of the population, it is important that the American Academy of Neurology play an active role in stroke prevention and treatment,” Dr. Chaturvedi said. “It is an honor to play a leading role in this effort."

Dr. Chaturvedi, who also serves as director of the Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center Stroke Program, also was reappointed to the editorial board of STROKE, the official journal of the American Stroke Association. He has served on the editorial board since 2007.

A New Faculty Orientation for the School of Medicine is scheduled for June 7, from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The orientation will be immediately followed by a reception for all faculty to meet the newest members.

The event, which will take place in the Margherio Family Conference Center in the Mazurek Education Commons, will provide information on the school and the services available to faculty members.

The agenda includes:

7:30 to 8 a.m.: Registration and breakfast

8 to 8:15 a.m.: Welcome and introduction, presented by Roberta E. Sonnino, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P., vice dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development and associate provost for Medical Affairs.

8:15 to 8:30 a.m.: Welcome by Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

8:30 to 9:45 a.m.: Career Development, presented by Dr. Sonnino.

9:45 to 10:15 a.m.: Educational Environment, presented by Maryjean Schenk, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., vice dean for Medical Education.

10:15 to 10:45 a.m.: Faculty Resources and Information Fair, and break.

10:45 to 11 a.m.: Clinical Environment, presented by Robert A. Frank, M.D., vice dean for Clinical Affairs and chief medical officer of the Wayne State University Physician Group.

11 to 11:15 a.m.: Financial Facts You Need to Know, presented by Kenneth Lee, CPA, vice dean for Business Affairs.

11:15 a.m. to noon: Research Environment, presented by Bonita Stanton, M.D., vice dean for Research.

Noon: lunch and reception.

The Faculty and Resources Fair will include representation by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Medical School Information Systems, BioMedical Communications, Medical Education Support Group, Computing & Information Technology, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Continuing Medical Education, Office for Teaching and Learning, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, School of Medicine Human Resources Office, Detroit Orientation Institute, Shiffman Medical Library, Institutional Review Boards and the Division of Research Biotechnology Development.

To attend, please notify Rebecca Stecko at FAEmail@med.wayne.edu or (313) 577-9877. For detailed information, visit http://facaffairs.med.wayne.edu/fac_orientation.php.

Established faculty who would like to attend the reception to meet new faculty members should RSVP to FAemail@med.wayne.edu.

Sometimes, it’s what you do off duty that makes the greatest difference.

The topic of cancer is nothing new to Wayne Lancaster, Ph.D., professor of Molecular Medicine and Genetics and of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. “Many members of my family have had to cope with cancer, and I have done research on cervical and ovarian cancer for more than 30 years,” Dr. Lancaster said.

He was volunteering at The Lake House, a relatively new nonprofit support center opened a year ago in St. Clair Shores, when a man walked in with his wife. She had just been diagnosed with a gynecological cancer, and was seeking support and information about her diagnosis.

In addition to regular support groups for adults and children living with, surviving or touched by a variety of cancers, the nonprofit provides activities including stress management such as tai chi, yoga and guided mediation; educational seminars, monthly education lectures workshops, book clubs, arts and crafts, crocheting and knitting circles; and access to professional support staff, in a residential, homelike setting.

“The Lake House provides a safe harbor for those touched by cancer and provides a variety of programs for those coping with the disease,” Dr. Lancaster said.

That safe harbor welcomes spouses, siblings and children affected by their family member’s diagnosis. The woman’s husband was planning to run errands, but Dr. Lancaster and The Lake House founder Ted Huebner invited him in to talk instead.

“I will tell you, within five minutes this guy just unburdened himself to us,” said Huebner, the nonprofit’s president.

Dr. Lancaster had studied gynecological cancers for 30 years. He told the man his wife had a very treatable form of the disease, and that the prognosis was good based on her doctor’s diagnosis. “You could just see the relief come off this man’s shoulders as he heard this news from a professional in the medical field,” Huebner said. “We got him to relax. It’s a great example of how The Lake House is supposed to work.”

Dr. Lancaster is one of three people with ties to WSU who have served The Lake House as volunteers. He has been on the executive board for two years. He also serves on the development committee, which is charged with generating revenue through grants, donations and fundraising events. That includes a food and wine pairing fundraiser from 6 to 9:30 p.m. May 22 at Lakeland Banquet & Event Center in St. Clair Shores. For event information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.milakehouse.org/uploads/Wine-Food-Event.pdf

Daniel Walz, Ph.D., associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the School of Medicine, serves on the charity’s honorary board, a separate group set up to facilitate introductions to people who may want to support The Lake House professionally or financially. He learned of the organization through Dr. Lancaster, and joined two years ago.

“The Lake House is noteworthy in that it is an organization created to fulfill a need that extends beyond the type of care and support provided at the clinical site,” Dr. Walz said. “Members and volunteers are readily available for everything from providing a sympathetic ear to the cancer family, to dispensing educational information to small community-based groups, to helping individuals with some of the routine daily decisions that might become overwhelming in the face of their cancer.”

School of Medicine alumnus Jayson Field, M.D., Class of 1998, serves on the professional advisory board, which recommends The Lake House to oncology patients and promotes the organization to peers and colleagues.

“We view ourselves as a complement to the hospitals,” said Huebner, who started the nonprofit in 2007 with his wife Mary to fill a void they saw in the eastside suburbs of Detroit. “We provide the psychosocial support that not only patients but their family members, co-workers and caregivers are all in need of. Our services are available to anyone impacted by cancer any way in their life.”

Support groups and activities are free to all, and are supported by donations from the community. The Lake House is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, noon to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, or to donate, visit http://www.milakehouse.org/

Theodore Jones, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been named program director of Obstetric and Gynecology Education at Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center.

His selection was completed by a search committee composed of medical staff, system leaders, peers and residents, led by Mark Hannis, M.D., director of Medical Education for Oakwood Healthcare System.

Dr. Jones, also has been appointed academic chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Oakwood Physician Practices. He remains on the WSU School of Medicine faculty, where he is now vice chair for Oakwood WSU Programs in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“I am excited to join the Oakwood Healthcare System in this leadership role,” Dr. Jones said. “There is genuine interest in collaborating with Wayne State University School of Medicine to enhance the quality of our educational efforts for medical students and residents while increasing the opportunities for Wayne State University Physicians Group to make its outstanding care providers available to patients in the Oakwood system. In addition, we will look for new opportunities to create research initiatives in women's health between the two institutions.”

Dr. Jones will direct Oakwood’s Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training program for the teaching of graduate physicians. He also will oversee the administration of Oakwood’s Obstetric and Gynecology employed physician clinical practices, and will participate in planning and implementing medical student and Continuing Medical Education programs. He will work closely with the Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Oakwood Health System’s Women’s Services leadership and provide leadership in research.

“Dr. Jones is eminently qualified to direct the education and residency programs for obstetrics and gynecology,” said Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., dean of the WSU School of Medicine. “There is no better physician and faculty member to take on this charge, and to further strengthen our ongoing relationship with one of our key health care partners.”

Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty also oversee residency programs in Dermatology, Urology, Orthopaedics, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Otolaryngology at Oakwood Healthcare Systems hospitals.

Dr. Jones, a graduate of Morehouse College, received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine. He completed his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Baylor University Medical Center. He was a National Health Service Corp scholar and served three years in rural Arkansas to satisfy his commitment. He completed his fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Wayne State University/Hutzel Hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for which he is also a subspecialty board examiner. He has served as a member of the full-time faculty at the School of Medicine since 1991. He has served as program director, associate chair for Education and, most recently, interim chair of the WSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has been division chief for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and chief of Obstetrics for Hutzel Women’s Hospital.

The founding medical director of the Perinatal Infectious Disease Clinic at the University Health Clinic, Dr. Jones has served as the primary obstetric investigator for perinatal trials sponsored by the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group sponsored by the Eunice Shriver National Institute for Childhood Diseases and Human Development for the past two decades. In addition to serving as a subspecialty board examiner for ABOG, he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Michigan State Medical Society and an active member of the Wayne County Medical Society. He also is on the board of directors for Gospel Against AIDS, a faith-based organization working to educate about and eliminate HIV infection from southeast Michigan.

The path to personalized medicine in a clinical setting is closer to completion at Wayne State University, thanks to a renewed contract that the Department of Clinical and Translational Sciences spearheaded with the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, the Office of the Vice President of Research and the WSU School of Medicine. That contract will provide solutions for data mining, genome sequencing and advanced analysis to scientists across the campus.

Genomatix, a Munich, Germany-based company with a sales and support office in Ann Arbor, will provide the university’s faculty and students with advanced technology to analyze and interpret genomic data.

Personalized medicine utilizes DNA sequencing and other technology to tailor patient treatment for disease on a molecular level. For example, an understanding of a patient's drug metabolism will help avoid severe drug-related side effects, said Stephen Krawetz, Ph.D., the Charlotte B. Failing professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

Such techniques “can be used to determine how well a person will respond to treatment of a disease. It allows us to provide the optimum path toward treatment. That’s why we are bringing this resource to the community,” said Dr. Krawetz, associate director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development.

The software was initially brought to the School of Medicine three years ago, specifically by the university’s Department of Clinical and Translational Sciences, or DCaTS, with leadership from Dr. Krawetz and Robert Sokol, M.D., the John M. Malone Jr., M.D., Endowed Chair and director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development. Now, it can be used by other schools and colleges at WSU, such as scientists in the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Anthropology and Psychology, for free.

The cross-departmental use is a real-world application of DCaTS in action. The department was created in 2010 to promote a team approach to science and accelerate the rate at which research can be translated into enhanced patient care. DCaTS, the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, the Office of the Vice President of Research and the School of Medicine pooled funds to provide the service through the Applied Genomics Technology Center, “so we could go across campus,” Dr. Krawetz said. “It’s a way to handle next generation sequencing data and complex bio-informatic analysis to provide everyone with what I call ‘a common language.’ This common set of tools can now be distributed across the university.”

To speed the effort to spread software use across campus, Genomatix will host four free training sessions on campus. The dates are to be determined based on interest, Dr. Krawetz said. WSU scientists may bring their own data and start analyzing on site.

“By bringing in the complete solution represented by the Genomatix Mining Station and the Genomatix Genome Analyzer, Drs. Sokol and Krawetz provided a great advantage to Wayne State scientists, which inevitably translates into higher scientific productivity and thus a competitive advantage for Wayne State,” said Thomas Werner, Genomatix founder.

Genomatix also supports a Genomatix user group at WSU, which, in turn, provides the company with qualified feedback from users. About half of the software’s most popular features were inspired by feedback from users like WSU, Werner said. He credited Drs. Krawetz and Sokol for their strategic foresight in bringing the software to the other schools and colleges of WSU.

“Wayne State is generating huge amounts of next generation sequencing and other high-throughput data and has many excellent scientists to turn such data into scientific progress. However, the raw data are not suitable for scientific interpretation. They need to be mapped, annotated and put into the context of known data such as gene ontologies, pathways and literature,” Werner said.

That work is tedious for scientists and represents the biggest bottleneck in scientific analysis of such data, Werner said. It costs scientists valuable time and drains productivity. “Moreover, many of these steps are repetitive and of preparatory nature; they need to be done, but scientific discovery comes later,” he added.

“They do help us in terms of analyzing or giving us a first pass at the data so we can work toward this deeper level of understanding,” Dr. Krawetz said. “I’m pleased that the university has chosen to try to bring something common, a common platform, across the institution. And I’m looking forward to increasing the user group that will foster active cross-disciplinary active discussion. This opportunity through DCaTS and the consortium provides a wonderful opportunity for our students to be a part of the genomic revolution.”