The WSU Department of Community Medicine recently established Detroit's only Master in Public Health Program. Beginning in the fall of 2005, the program, which has been approved by the Graduate School and the university's Board of Governors, will admit new students interested in receiving this 42 credit degree. It replaces the department's current Master of Science in Community Health Services, which is no longer accepting students.

 

OB/GYN one of 4 departments to advance in rankings

The Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology recently was ranked first in research awards by the National Institutes of Health with more than $16 million in total grants.

The rankings, which had previously listed WSU’s OB/GYN program third, are a reflection of the department’s continuing commitment to innovation in medicine, particularly in the areas of women’s and infant health. During the past 15 years, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in conjunction with its clinical partner, Hutzel Women’s Hospital, have made medical history in several areas.

“The School of Medicine is proud of the contributions its OB/GYN department has made to research in its field. Its work continues this institution’s long-standing tradition of working to improve quality of life through education and research,” Dean John D. Crissman said.

In 1995, the department was the first to successfully perform an in-utero bone-marrow transplant on a fetus. WSU also has been a leader in developing the latest prenatal diagnostic techniques, including gold standards for using 4D ultrasound and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a technique that allows physicians to determine whether a child will have potentially devastating diseases before an embryo is implanted in the mother’s womb.

Most recently, the department published groundbreaking research demonstrating that sperm plays a larger role than simple fertilization. Dr. Stephen Krawetz, a WSU professor, showed that sperm actually carries RNA critically important to early embryo development, a function scientists previously thought was solely performed by the embryo.

In 2002, the department demonstrated its unique capabilities to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to win a 10-year contract to house its Perinatology Research Branch (PRB), an intramural branch of NIH that conducts studies into maternal and infant health and disease .

“We are proud of this new ranking; it is a manifestation of years of hard work, creativity and discipline,” said Dr. John Malone, chair of the WSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “We are also grateful to be able to collaborate with so many talented scientists and physicians who are a part of the Perinatology Research Branch. Through this unique collaboration, we look forward to learning more and translating that newly acquired knowledge into better lives for our patients.”

The PRB is one of only a few NIH intramural branches located outside of its main campus in Maryland, representing a unique partnership between the NIH and an academic medical center. The contract, with a potential estimated value of $125 million over its duration, is expected to have profound and far-reaching social and economic impact in Detroit and the surrounding community.

Although the PRB was created to address the causes of high infant mortality in the United States, with a particular emphasis on premature birth and congenital anomalies, scientists are now learning that prenatal life is the most important determinant of adult health and disease. Problems developing as early as the fetal stage of life can predispose people to coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and renal failure.

In addition to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, three other WSU School of Medicine departments moved up in NIH rankings. The Department of Emergency Medicine made its debut in the rankings at No. 4, with $717,000; the Department of Family Medicine advanced from No. 35 to No. 21 with $826,000; and the Department of Pathology advanced from No. 43 to No. 29 with almost $7 million.

 

 

University Psychiatric Centers, an affiliate of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, is now offering hope to those who have just recently begun to suffer the symptoms of schizophrenia.

The staff of the Services for the Treatment in Early Psychoses (STEP) Program is working diligently to create a well-rounded, all-inclusive treatment program for persons experiencing psychotic symptoms – unusual experiences and/or beliefs – for the first time or within the last few years.

The program, led by Drs. R.P. Rajarethinam and Matcheri Keshavan, was designed to provide needed early intervention to those living in metro Detroit.

“What led us to create this program was the realization that recent advances in the understanding of the rationale and approaches of the early intervention in psychotic disorders and their tremendous potential to help patients in a timely manner need to be applied to develop innovative care for needy population such as in Detroit,” Dr. Keshavan said.

Dr. Keshavan is an internationally renowned expert in research and clinical services for early psychosis. He is moving from University of Pittsburgh to take up a position as associate chairman for research in the WSU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences.

University Psychiatric Centers is planning to offer this comprehensive treatment program that provides a full continuum of care delivered by an experienced team of psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and other allied health professionals.

Rajarethinam said that if Schizophrenia can be treated in its early stages that it might overall reduce severe and long-term suffering and disability usually associated with this debilitating mental illness.

“We make efforts to identify these illnesses early and treat intensively for at least two years or more with a hope that we can prevent lasting damage.  We would also make efforts to identify individuals at increased risk for this illness such as individuals with a family history of psychoses so that early diagnosis can be ensured,” he said.

For more information on the Services for the Treatment in Early Psychoses (STEP) Program, or any of UPCs clinical services, please call (888) 362-7792. Clinicians are available for comments on this subject and other related issues. This program will take persons with recent history of psychotic symptoms (less than one year) with or with out any health insurance.

 

More than 250 WSU students will graduate June 8 at School of Medicine's commencement June 8 in the Detroit Opera House. In addition, Howard C. Birndorf, CEO and co-founder of Nanogen Inc., will receive an honorary Doctor of Science, and two WSU faculty members will be honored with Distinguished Service Awards.

Mr. Birndorf, a Michigan native who received his master's degree in biochemistry from Wayne State University, has been called "Biotech's Johnny Appleseed" by The New York Times. His first-rate intellect has earned him international respect for his trailblazing abilities in the diagnostics field, and his business acumen has allowed him to become a master of the start-up phase of innovative, biotechnology companies.

His firm, Nanogen, his seventh start-up company since 1978, has developed ways to process quick, inexpensive DNA analyses. The company's latest tool, NanoChip, is setting new standards in DNA-based analysis and is expected to build bridges between bench and clinical research.

Mr. Birndorf has served as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Department of Commerce Biotechnology Advisory Committee and as a director of the Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.

In addition to honoring Mr. Birndorf, this year's commencement ceremony will recognize the dedication of two WSU School of Medicine faculty members with Distinguished Service Awards. Drs. Robert Sokol and George Dambach both have made substantial contributions both to the School of Medicine and the overall university.

Dr. Sokol is distinguished professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director of the WSU C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development and former dean of the WSU School of Medicine. An internationally recognized expert on fetal-alcohol syndrome, Dr. Sokol helped build WSU into one of the top-ranked academic OB/GYN programs in the country and also shaped the service into the premier regional center for high-risk pregnancy, infertility treatment and gynecology.

Dr. Sokol was appointed dean of the medical school in 1988 and served for 11 years, during which time he fueled WSU's rise as a nationally prominent research university. During his tenure, the School progressed from 70th to 22nd in the country in research expenditures, placing WSU among the top fifth of medical schools nationally. At the same time, Dr. Sokol remained focused on the medical students and providing superior medical education, always keeping an "open door policy."

More recently, Dr. Sokol has been charged with leading the Mott Center, which was key in securing the 2002 contract to establish the National Institutes of Health's Perinatology Research Branch at WSU. Valued at $125 million in contracts, the PRB is one of few intramural branches of the National Institutes of Health located outside the Bethesda, Md., headquarters and firmly re-establishes WSU as the leader in obstetrics an perinatology research and services.

Dr. Dambach has also made major contributions to the university's research portfolio. Most recently, he served as vice president for research and dean of the graduate school for Wayne State University. Previously, he served as associate dean for research and graduate programs at the School of Medicine.

During his tenure at the School, Dr. Dambach oversaw the dramatic growth from a respected center for clinical training to an esteemed research-intensive institution. The School's research portfolio grew from $16 million to $100 million, and its ranking rose from 56th to 22nd among the nation's 125 medical colleges.

On main campus, he was a member of the concept and development team for the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor and was instrumental in the creation of the MLSC's Core Technology Alliance. He also was key in bringing the PRB to WSU's campus.

In 2003, Dr. Dambach returned to the School of Medicine to lead its INPHAASE initiative, a multidisciplinary program in population and environmental studies. Earlier this year, he was appointed vice president for research of Florida International University.

Commencement will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday, June 8, in the Detroit Opera House. For more information, please contact Student Affairs at (313) 577-1459.