What does race mean to the human body? How much variation is there really? Is it medically important – and what does it mean in terms of predicting who will get sick and why?

These questions will be answered at the first session of a provocative, new seminar series on controversial issues in molecular medicine tomorrow, Jan. 27. Hosted by the Wayne State University Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics and open to the public, the “Hot Topics in Molecular Medicine” series will take on a number of issues that apply to everyday living.

John Kamholz, M.D., Ph.D., a WSU professor in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, will openly discuss the concept of race and what it means to doctors, scientists and patients at the Jan. 27 event. Race is a contentious issue that is often based on the physical attributes, cultural ideas and social status of human beings. But in the medical arena, scientists are struggling to understand why certain diseases are more or less prevalent within certain racial and ethnic groups.

Researchers are looking at whether it is scientifically meaningful to measure the differences between racially and geographically distinct groups and to determine the significance of the results.

This seminar series, which will be held on the last Friday of each month, is free and open to the public. Questions and debate are encouraged. A catered reception at which participants can continue discussions with the speaker and other members of the center will follow.

“Genes, Race and Disease: Are We Really That Different?” will be at 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27, in Jaffar Auditorium, Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit . Complimentary valet parking will be provided at the University Health Center Garage, off of St. Antoine, just south of Canfield.

 

Daniel Walz, Ph.D., associate dean for research and graduate programs, recently announced the appointment of Dr. Ambika Mathur, as the School of Medicine's director for programmatic grants.

Dr. Mathur will provide administrative leadership in initiatives involving training grants, program project grants and center grants for submission to federal funding agencies. She will also serve as the School of Medicine's liaison to the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Mathur received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology with Dr. Richard Lynch at the University of Iowa. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Brian Van Ness, she was subsequently appointed assistant professor and then tenured associate professor of tumor immunology at the University of Minnesota , where she developed a strong interest in research training. She mentored post-doctoral fellows, doctoral students, master's students and undergraduate students, as well as medical fellows, medical residents, medical students and dental students.

Dr. Mathur was associated with developing and implementing a number of National Institutes of Health-funded training grants, including the NIH-funded Clinical Scientist Training Program, T32 training grants, summer research training grants and training grants to support minority high-school students.

She served on the University of Minnesota's Medical School admissions committee as well as on the Education Policy Committee of the School of Dentistry and was responsible for overseeing curriculum development. After serving as professor at West Virginia University, for the past two years Dr. Mathur has been on the faculty of The Carman & Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University and the Children's Hospital of Michigan, where she is currently associate director of the Institute of Medical Education, Scientific Faculty Development. Since January 2005, she has also served as director of the newly created combined M.D./Ph.D. degree program.

Dr. Mathur and her husband, Dr. Deepak Kamat, professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Pediatrics, have 15-year-old twins. Dr. Mathur is also a published author of a series of books for children, and her passion is promoting literacy among children.

 

The Michigan State Medical Society has launched a campaign to block new standards implemented by the Certificate of Need Commission to restrict the number of available surgical sites in Michigan.

The Wayne State University Physician Group currently has an application for a CON pending with the commission in relation to its purchase of a proposed ambulatory care center in Troy, Mich.

Previously, Michigan CON regulations only required a minimum number of cases in order to obtain approval for opening an operating room. The recently passed standards require minimum volume and also restrict the number of cases that may be counted to only those procedures that are performed in an operating room. This new requirement essentially limits the ability of physicians and other parties interested in entering the health-care marketplace from obtaining a CON to open a new operating room.

In addition, the commission voted to implement this regulation immediately. In doing so, those who have already submitted CON applications may be subject to the new rules and will likely not be able to meet the new requirements. Planning to build a surgical facility and file a CON application requires significant spending. Those entities that filed their applications in good faith will now be subject to the new rules, potentially jeopardizing their investments.

The actions of the CON commission will stifle innovation and much needed competition in the health-care marketplace; furthermore, the tactics used by the commission to rush through the regulations failed to provide any due process for the physicians with applications already in process.

Current law allows the legislature to overrule recommendations by the commission if those recommendations are deemed to be unreasonable or against the public interest. However, the window of opportunity is very narrow. The legislature must act before Jan. 26 to block these rules. Additionally, the legislature is allowed to periodically review the actions and composition of the CON Commission and make changes to the statute that governs the CON process.

Visit the MSMS Action Center to speak out on this important matter at http://capwiz.com/msms/issues/alert/?alertid=8373126. For more information, please call Colin Ford at (517) 336-5737 or cford@msms.org.

 

The WSU Chapter of the American Medical Student Association hosted a successful kick-off event for the group's national campaign to fight health-care disparities, "Who's Your Doctor?" More than 80 people attended a free health fair organized by the students, who provided blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index screenings. WSU physicians were on hand to answer questions and provide assistance as well. Later, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-Mich., served as the keynote speaker at a summit to discuss the importance of preventive care. Dr. John Flack, interim chairman of the WSU Department of Internal Medicine, also presented on "Why Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Matter."

The American Medical Student Association will host a free health fair and summit on health-care disparities today in Scott Hall as it kicks off a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of preventive medicine. Both events are free and open to the public.

The community health fair will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the Scott Hall Cafeteria. Physicians and medical students will be on hand to provide screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index. A free box lunch will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Afterward, students, faculty and government officials will join together to discuss current strides in addressing health disparities and future endeavors to eliminate them completely. The forum, which begins at 5:30 p.m., in Scott Hall's Blue Auditorium, will feature talks by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Dr. John Flack, WSU chair of internal medicine and a principal investigator for the Center for Urban & African-American Health.

The summit will be followed by a reception in Room 1328, Scott Hall.

“The WSU chapter of AMSA is pleased to host this event and promote the health and well-being of the community,” says Cheryl Macy, MSII, local coordinator. “As medical students, it is disheartening to witness such disparities and we feel honored to be able to take action and participate in the most fundamental mission of public health-bringing preventative medicine to communities, without regard to income, insurance status, religion, race or culture.”

Dr. John B. (Jay) Waller, Jr., one of the nation's first researchers to treat interpersonal violence as a public health issue and a committed member of the WSU faculty for more than 20 years, died Thursday, Jan. 5. He was 69.

Dr. Waller, a former chair of the WSU Department of Community Health, established the WSU Center for Prevention and Control of Interpersonal Violence, the first center of its kind in the United States. He was widely considered a pioneer in the treatment of interpersonal violence as a public-health issue.

“Jay defined the words ‘principal' and ‘humanity' and ‘academic excellence,'” said Dr. Herb Smitherman, associate chairman of the WSU Department of Community Medicine, who had known Dr. Waller since 1986 and worked with him since 1996. “But his loving heart was his truest wisdom.”

During the 1980s, Detroit and other urban centers around the country were experiencing violent crimes in record numbers. Dr. Waller redefined the phenomenon as a true health epidemic, rather than a societal problem intrinsic to poor, inner-city areas. His work had lasting impact within both the medical community and public policy arena.

Dr. Waller filled many other important roles within the WSU School of Medicine and Detroit Medical Center, including senior vice president for urban and community health for the Detroit Medical Center/WSU Community Health Institutes and director of the Wayne State University Institute for Maternal and Child Health.

A former director of the Detroit Health Department, Dr. Waller played a critical role in forming the partnership that created Detroit Receiving Hospital and the University Health Center. Ed Thomas, who served as president of DRH at the time, said in 1991 that the enterprise "to a great extent ... owes its inception and survival to his stewardship."

Dr. Waller earned a master's degree in public health and a doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. From 1999 through 2000, he was vice president of the American Public Health Association. He served as chairman of the Detroit Empowerment Zone Corporation and president of the Council of Graduate Programs in Preventive Medicine. He also held several voluntary board memberships, including chairman of the board of Greater Detroit Area Health Council and chairman of the board of the Detroit Community Health Connection, which operates several community health centers.

Dr. Waller was the recipient of many honors and awards, including the WSU Distinguished Service Award and the Pathfiders in Medicine Award.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 12, in the Stinson Funeral Home, 16540 Meyers Road, in Detroit. The funeral will be at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 13, in Second Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2760 E. Grand Blvd., in Detroit.

Condolence cards may be sent to Mrs. Micki Waller, 19530 Canterbury Road, Detroit, Mich. 48221. Donations may also be forwarded to Dr. John B. Waller, Jr., Student Award for Academic Excellence in Public Health Practice, Department of Community Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 4201 St. Antoine – 9D UHC, Detroit, Michigan 48201.

The WSU Department of Internal Medicine recently opened a Lipid Clinic and Preventive Cardiovacular Program. The programs seek to assist patients in understanding and modifying the risks for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by working with a dedicated team of staff physicians, nurses and dieticians.

The team will work with patients to formulate individualized intervention plans featuring lifestyle modification and appropriate pharmacological interventions. The Lipid Clinic will offer comprehensive lipid management services, including state-of-the-art extended lipid and lipoprotein sub-fraction analyses as well as the determination of other markers of vascular inflammation associated with coronary atherosclerosis.

In collaboration with the Detroit Medical Center, coronary CT angiography and Electronic Beam CT scanning of the coronary arteries will be available to determine calcification as a marker of early coronary disease for further classification and management of vascular disease risk.

The programs were developed by Paulos Berhanu, M.D., WSU professor of medicine and director of the Comprehensive Diabetes and Metabolic Center, and Nicholas Kerin, M.D., WSU professor of medicine and interim chief of the Division of Preventive Cardiology.

For referrals, including adolescent patients who may be suffering from lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities, please call the University Internal Medicine Specialists appointment desk at (313) 745-4525.

The American Medical Student Association, the nation's largest, independent medical student organization with nearly 60,000 members, will kick off a nationwide campaign at the WSU School of Medicine Wednesday, Jan. 11, to fight health disparities. The campaign asks Who's Your Doctor? as it attacks the issue of health disparities at its root—lack of preventive medicine.

A community health fair will be held in conjunction with the campaign kick-off in the Scott Hall cafeteria from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., on Wednesday. Afterward, students, faculty and government officials will join together to discuss current strides in addressing health disparities and future endeavors to eliminate them completely. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.) will keynote the evening health summit.

“Health care in America faces a serious crisis,” says Leana S. Wen, AMSA national president. “Research shows that racial and ethnic inequalities in medical treatment persist in significant measure for many diseases. As a result, many minorities are more likely to have poor health and die prematurely. The goal of the Who's Your Doctor? campaign is to encourage minority groups to establish a relationship with a primary care physician before they become ill.”

It is estimated that the average office visit costs only $55, as opposed to the $360 average emergency room visit (American Institute for Preventive Medicine). This statistic reinforces the fact that prevention is not only important but also cost efficient.

As future physicians, AMSA believes that the medical community must take a proactive role in eliminating health disparities. Through self and peer education, innovative curriculum development and local and national policy changes, Who's Your Doctor? will provide opportunities for medical students to make a significant impact to achieve this goal.

“Primary care is the first step to preventing and controlling disease,” said WSU School of Medicine Interim Dean Dr. Robert Frank. “This is an issue that is of the utmost importance here in Detroit . We are proud to be working together with our own students and AMSA nationally to raise awareness about health disparities and encourage people to seek out a family doctor.”

“The WSU chapter of AMSA is pleased to host this event and promote the health and well-being of the community,” says Cheryl Macy, MSII, local coordinator. “As medical students, it is disheartening to witness such disparities and we feel honored to be able to take action and participate in the most fundamental mission of public health-bringing preventative medicine to communities, without regard to income, insurance status, religion, race or culture.”

The health fair will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in WSU's Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield, Detroit . The summit will follow at 5:30 p.m., in Scott Hall's Blue Auditorium. Both events are free and open to the public.

 

The Wayne State University Department of Internal Medicine is pleased to announce that Alan Baptist, M.D., has been appointed to lead the department's new allergy/asthma program.

An experienced basic and clinical researcher, Dr. Baptist will work closely with pulmonary medicine, medicine-pediatrics and pediatrics faculty to develop an interdisciplinary allergy/asthma program within the department.

Dr. Baptist, an assistant professor of internal medicine, is the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Research Institute and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. His research interests include developing novel ways to decrease asthma hospitalizations in severe asthmatics. Dr. Baptist has published in journals including Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology as well as Allergy and Asthma Proceedings.

Dr. Baptist received his bachelor's of science in honors biology from the University of Illinois and his medical degree from Loyola University , in Chicago . He completed his internship in internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center, where he also served his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in allergy/immunology. He is currently pursuing a master's of public health degree at Wayne State University .

Dr. Baptist is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.

Dr. Baptist holds memberships in several professional and scientific societies, including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, for which he serves as a member of the Committee on the Underserved.

Dr. Baptist resides with his wife and child in Ann Arbor , Mich.

To make an appointment with Dr. Baptist, please call (313) 745-4525.