The meeting will take place Dec. 10-13 at the University of Hyderabad in India.

“I am honored to be invited to present the keynote lecture at this important international meeting,” said Dr. Jena, who will speak on "Cell Secretion and Membrane Fusion: A Billion Year History."

“We are aware of your outstanding contributions to the broad field of Cell Biology … . I am confident that your presence would provide an opportunity for thought-provoking interactions with the participants,” wrote Dr. Seyed E. Hasnain, vice chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, in his invitation to Dr. Jena.

Recently, Dr. Jena won the prestigious Ranbaxy Research Award. The annual awards are presented by the Ranbaxy Science Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited to encourage and honor Indian scientists working around the world in the endeavors of medical and pharmaceutical research.

The foundation honored Dr. Jena for his discovery of a new cellular structure -- the porosome -- as well as his elucidation of the general molecular mechanism underlying cell secretion and membrane fusion.

The porosome, discovered by Dr. Jena 14 years ago, is the universal secretory machinery in cells. Secretion is a fundamental cellular process that occurs in all living organisms. Cell secretion is responsible for numerous activities, including neurotransmission, and the release of hormones and digestive enzymes. Secretory defects are responsible for a number of debilitating conditions, including growth defects, diabetes and neurological disorders. Dr. Jena’s discoveries have opened a gateway for the possible development of future treatments for such disorders at the very basic level of life.

Dr. Jena seeks to expand his research and work in cross-disciplinary partnerships in his position as founder and director of the Wayne State University NanoBioScience Institute. The institute’s overall objective is to prepare U.S.-trained scientists who can assume the “next generation of leadership roles in the U.S. academic and industrial environment.”

Nano technologies, Dr. Jena explained, are powerful emerging fields that facilitate research and understanding of the smallest molecular structures. The understanding of how cells and biomolecules function will lead to the development of nanoscale devices that assist biological processes and assist in developing “smart drugs” and drug delivery systems. The merging of medical science and engineering science is crucial to the field.

“A resident of the MOM’s homeless shelter spoke and cited a need for glucose testing equipment. We then saw a need and created a project,” said Gary Rajah, a first-year medical student and MPAC member.

While the students are working for a great cause, the process is not without complications.

“It is difficult to convince people to donate because most pharmacies have regulations and it takes time to figure out how to do it. A lot of the times, I have to talk to the distributing headquarters to work out arrangements,” Rajah said.

Upon receiving the glucose strips, Rajah and other students delivered them to Dr. Heather Dickson, a physician and medical director at the MOM’s homeless shelter.

Thanks to MPAC, the partnership between local homeless shelters and pharmacies will continue to develop and meet the needs of those less fortunate in the Detroit area.

“The best thing about the partnership is its ability to grow. We have started small, but in time we will have more pharmacies on board, and hopefully monthly contributions,” said Rajah.

The luncheon, held June 26 in the Scott Hall cafeteria, recognized 162 employees with a cumulative 2,955 years of service to the School of Medicine.

“This type of recognition is incredibly important,” said Valerie Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., acting dean of the school. “Just two or three weeks ago we opened the new Mazurek building, however, at the end of the day a facility doesn’t make a great workplace, it’s the people. The most important asset to the school, the university or any organization is its people. We are properly recognizing your incredible dedication of spirit and all the talents you bring to the school every day.”

Dean Parisi and Zirka Clark, manager of Human Resources for the school, called the employees forward to present them with certificates for their milestones. The employees who were recognized include:

10 Years Service
Gyula Acsadi, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics
Andre Alexander, Medical Software Systems
Linda Anderson, Psychiatry
Melody Andrews, Surgery
Eishi Asano, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics
Vivian Badalamenti, Research and Graduate Programs
Ann Bankowski, Cancer Institute
Kertia Black, M.D., Medical Academic and Student Programs
Boycho Boychev, Perinatology Research
George Brush, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Jacob Burmeister, Ph.D., Radiation Oncology
Nedim Cakan, M.D., Pediatrics
Kimberly Campbell-Voytal, Ph.D., Family Medicine
Christina Caon, Neurology
Anita Chalasani, Pharmacology
Michele Cote, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Valerie Davis, Cancer Institute
Deanna Dona, Research and Graduate Programs
Debra Driscoll, Obstetrics/Gynecology
Rana El-Jaroudi, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Lulu Farhana, Ph.D., Internal Medicine
Gerald Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Paul Finlayson, Ph.D., Otolaryngology
Shawn Fite, Orthopedic Surgery
Yubin Ge, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Martha Hayward, Surgery
Hong-Qiang Heng, Ph.D., Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
James Janisse, Ph.D., Family Medicine
Latonia Jointer, Anatomy
Brian Kilburn, Obstetrics/Gynecology
Richard Krugel, Ph.D., Orthopedic Surgery
Xiaohua Li, Ph.D., Pathology
LynnMarie Mango, Emergency Medicine
Saroj Mathupala, Ph.D., Neurosurgery
Brian McClatchey, Internal Medicine
Jennifer Mendez, Ph.D., Medical Academic and Student Programs
Angela Moore, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Steven J. Ondersma, Ph.D., Psychiatry
Zhuo-Hua Pan, Ph.D., Anatomy
Graham Parker, Ph.D., Pediatrics
Charles Pelshaw, M.D., Pediatrics
K.M. Rahman, Ph.D., Pathology
Arun Rishi, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Sureyya Savasan, M.D., Pediatrics
Ann Schwartz, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Firdous Siddiqui, M.D., Internal Medicine
Ayman Soubani, M.D., Internal Medicine
Michael Tainsky, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Thomas Theeck, Psychiatry
Dina Verbeem, Psychiatry
John Webber, M.D., Surgery
Elaine Weber, Pharmacology
Hong-Guang Wei, M.D., Pathology
Minghuan Yu, M.D., Ph.D., Surgery
Huamei Zhang, Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics

15 Years Service
Kathleen Abramczyk, Pediatrics
Gary Abrams, M.D., Ophthalmology
George Alangaden, M.D., Internal Medicine
Eric Ayers, M.D., Internal Medicine
Lisa Blackwell, Family Medicine
Diane Chugani, Ph.D., Pediatrics
Nicholas Davis, Ph.D., Pharmacology
Lorraine Demchak, Anatomy
Elaine Douglas, Psychiatry
Wei Du, Ph.D., Pediatrics
Juanita Fanto, Internal Medicine
Yvonne Friday, M.D., Pediatrics
Randall Gill, Ph.D., Immunology & Microbiology
Bernard Gonik, M.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
John A. Kamholz, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology
Donald Kuhn, Ph.D., Psychiatry
Gloria Kuhn, D.O., Ph.D., Emergency Medicine
Jawana Lawhorn-Crews, Cancer Institute
Mei-Li Lee, Pediatrics
Tovonne Lucas, Pediatrics
Kenneth Maiese, M.D., Neurology
Bharati Mitra, Ph.D., Biochemistry
Silas Norman, M.D., Medical Academic and Student Programs
Karoline Suzanne Puder, M.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
Graciela Rojas, M.D., Internal Medicine
Amy Roth, Pharmacology
Ann Santiago, Pharmacology
Tadeusz Scislo, M.D., Ph.D., Physiology
Michael Shy, M.D., Neurology
Rosemary Shy, M.D., Pediatrics
Dusanka Skundric, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology
Susan Smolinske, Pediatrics
Diane Snell, Internal Medicine
Jasloveleen Sohi, Neurology
Manuel Tancer, M.D., Psychiatry
Jeffrey Taub, M.D., Pediatrics
Alex Tselis, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology
James Tyburski, M.D., Surgery
Mary Vigelius-Slagh, Internal Medicine
Craig Watson, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology
Zhengxian Zhu, M.D., Psychiatry

20 Years Service
David Armant, Ph.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
James Blessman, M.D., Family Medicine
Audrey Brown, Otolaryngology
Brenda Cannon, Research and Graduate Programs
Josephine Crawford, Pediatrics
Craig Giroux, Ph.D., Cancer Institute
Eti Gursel, M.D., Surgery
Matthew Jackson, Ph.D., Medical Academic and Student Programs
Chaesik Kim, Ophthalmology
Stephen Krawetz, Ph.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
Patricia Lorusso, D.O., Internal Medicine
Mark McDermott, M.D., Ophthalmology
Kathleen Meert, M.D., Pediatrics
Lori Monia-Allen, Emergency Medicine
Donal O’Leary, Ph.D., Physiology
James Puklin, M.D., Ophthalmology
Dwanja Ray, Medicine Human Resources
Loretta Robichaud, Medical Academic and Student Programs
Michael Simon, M.D., Internal Medicine
Larry Stephenson, M.D., Surgery
Kerry Vistisen, Anatomy
Rona Wang, Perinatology Research
Robert Welch, M.D., Emergency Medicine
Rasheeda Zafar, Ph.D., Physiology

25 Years Service
Elizabeth Arnold, M.D., Internal Medicine
Ronald Barrett, Anatomy
Kathleen Borlas, Medical Software Systems
Pranatharthi Chandrasekar, M.D., Internal Medicine
Ben Chen, Ph.D., Internal Medicine
Zirka Clark, Medicine Human Resources
Gunter Deppe, M.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
John Gordon, Medical Academic and Student Programs
Thomas Holland, Ph.D., Immunology & Microbiology
Mark Marunick, D.D.S., Otolaryngology
Milton Mutchnick, M.D., Internal Medicine
Anne Neale, Ph.D., Family Medicine
Karen Pilarski, Pediatrics
James Sondheimer, M.D., Internal Medicine
Frank Stasa, Medical Software Systems
Janet Watycha, Pathology

30 Years Service
Josephine Beaudette, Medicine Human Resources
Robert Burack, M.D., Internal Medicine
Lavoisier Cardozo, M.D., Internal Medicine
Marian Drescher, Ph.D., Otolaryngology
Jeri Gleichauf, Emergency Medicine
Linda McCraw, Physiology

35 Years Service
Pravit Cadnapaphornchai, M.D., Internal Medicine
Melvin Clay, Immunology & Microbiology
Lawrence Crane, M.D., Internal Medicine
David Evans, Ph.D., Biochemistry
Kenneth Honn, Ph.D., Pathology
Ja Esta Jones, Medical Academic & Student Programs
David Kessel, Ph.D., Pharmacology
Jeanne Lusher, M.D., Pediatrics
David Neumann, Medical Communications
John Rainey, M.D., Ph.D., Psychiatry
Anthony Sacco, Ph.D., Obstetrics/Gynecology
David Schneider, Ph.D., Pharmacology
Eugene Schoener, Ph.D., Pharmacology
Marappa Subramanian, Ph.D., D.V.M. Obstetrics/Gynecology
Roy Sundick, Ph.D., Immunology & Microbiology

40 Years Service
Richard E. Gallagher, Ph.D., Family Medicine
Margarita Palutke, M.D., Pathology
Jose Rafols, Ph.D., Anatomy
Choichi Sugawa, M.D., Surgery

45 Years Service
Rosemarie Kalajian, Anatomy

The American Board of Addiction Medicine is a new and independent medical specialty board that trains physicians to properly determine and diagnose when a patient may be suffering from an addiction.

Created in 2007 with the help of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the ABAM certification program requires an extensive certifying examination as well as a re-examination to ensure maintained expertise. The board has created a governing body consisting of 15 physicians from a wide range of medical specialties.

In addition to his certification from ABAM, Dr. Sokol is also a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He serves as a specialty director on the American Board of Addiction Medicine Board of Directors and is the head of its Finance Committee.

Dr. Sokol was recruited to join ABAM because of his extensive research involving alcohol and various other drugs and their effects on pregnancy.

ABAM is in the process of obtaining recognition from the American Board of Medical Specialties, and Dr. Sokol is working with the board to secure such formal certification.

“Addiction is a major issue within health care,” he said. “Lots of new problems are starting to be labeled as addictions, and we don’t have enough people who are trained to spot these types of problems. Our goal is to show people how to spot those issues and treat them accordingly.”

The team categorized half of the patients as having poor health literacy and the other half were categorized as having adequate health literacy.

“Being of white race, having an education of some college or more and having a household income of $20,000 or greater was associated with a lower likelihood of having poor health literacy,” the article states.

Members of the poor literacy group had less understanding of their glaucoma. They also missed more appointments per year and reported that they missed taking eye drops more frequently than those in the adequate literacy group, Dr. Juzych said. Sixty-five patients reported that they missed administering eye drops two or more times per month; only 34 patients in the adequate literacy group reported the same.

Patients with poor health literacy also showed greater visual field loss at the beginning of the study and significantly worse visual field parameters when comparing recent and initial visual fields, Dr. Juzych said.

“Closing the gap in health literacy is one essential component in reducing disparities in glaucoma care. Screening patients for poor literacy is a first step,” the authors concluded. “However, the real challenge is in shaping effective public health communication that is culturally and linguistically appropriate for patients and promotes compliance with medications and follow-up treatment with their physicians. … In addition, there is a need to improve physician communication, which should consider the needs and competencies of patients with poor health literacy.”

Dr. Juzych said it is incumbent upon physicians to ensure patients understand their condition and treatment regimen, and to ascertain their level of health literacy.

“It has to be something more than ‘here’s your prescription’ and out the door. We have to determine their literacy level and make sure they understand,” he said. “Some groups are doing it with pictures if there is a literacy or language barrier. Physicians need to be able to get a pretty good sense of the patient’s abilities.”

The results of the study, Dr. Juzych said, hold “important implications” for all levels of the health care delivery system, beginning with the patient and his or her physician.

Since symptoms appear only in advanced stages, people with glaucoma are often not aware they have the condition. In developed countries, only 50 percent of glaucoma cases have been identified.

“Because early detection of glaucoma is the key to preventing its progression, the need to enhance health literacy of glaucoma awareness, particularly among high-risk groups, is crucial,” the article states. “The patient who walks through the examination room door may have gained access to a medical facility, but access to effective health care will remain elusive if communication barriers have not been fully addressed.”

The study calls for further research to focus on effective health education techniques to combat chronic disease outcomes, as well as improving physician communication to consider the competency patients with poor health literacy.

Other members of the research team include Sandeep Randhawa, M.D.; Aman Shukairy, M.D.; Padmini Kaushal, M.D.; Anju Gupta, M.D.; and Nadia Shalautoa, Sc.D., M.S., of the Michigan Public Health Institute.

Originally beginning his studies at Michigan State University, Atchison was first an economics major. However, he had an affinity for the medical field and spent his time volunteering at the Cristo Rey Clinic in Lansing, Mich. In addition to his time at the clinic, he also spent time performing research at his father’s pharmacology lab and Dr. Gregory Fink’s lab at Michigan State University.

Working in a research laboratory quickly became a passion for Atchison.

“Working in a research environment has helped me develop attributes that would benefit me as a physician. It has forced me to develop higher-level critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills,” Atchison said.

In 2006, he came to Wayne State University School of Medicine and enrolled in the M.D./Ph.D. program. The third-year student from Mason, Mich., is completing his first year of graduate training with William Beierwaltes, Ph.D., at Henry Ford Hospital.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Beierwaltes, he has focused his research on studying a specific hormone known as renin, which is secreted by the kidneys.

“The hormone renin has a profound effect on a person’s blood pressure. By studying this hormone, we will be able to find new ways to combat cardiovascular diseases,” said Atchison.

In accordance with the requirements of the M.D./Ph.D. program, Atchison had to apply for external funding. Based upon his outstanding work, he ultimately received a fellowship.

The fellowship, which covers tuition expenses and other fees, is specifically with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“The fellowship assists students who have an interest in kidney studies. It provides me with opportunities to develop my skills as both a physician and researcher for my future career,” said Atchison.

“My selection to fellowship status in the American Academy of Neurology is a distinct honor that recognizes my longstanding interests both in understanding how the nervous system works and in helping people with neurologic diseases,” said Dr. Garbern, who has been a member of the AAN since 1983.

In addition to longstanding work on the hereditary brain white matter disorder Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease, Dr. Garbern also researches and evaluates patients with other white matter diseases or leukodystrophies. As director of the Neurogenetics Center at the Detroit Medical Center, he evaluates and counsels patients with hereditary disorders of the nervous system. His work has helped to identify and characterize several new clinical syndromes, including forms of dementia, spastic paraparesis and autism, as well as leukodystrophies.

Dr. Garbern evaluates patients with hereditary neuromuscular diseases through the Muscular Dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth clinics directed by Michael Shy, M.D., where he has identified a new form of hereditary motor neuron disease.

“Along with an excellent group of genetic counselors, we have recently opened a clinic for patients with lysosomal storage diseases,” Dr. Garbern said. “We provide both evaluations and genetic counseling for people with these diseases, and can now offer specialized infusion therapy for a growing number of these diseases, such as Fabry Disease, Gaucher Disease and mucopolysaccharidoses.”

The event will begin at the Detroit Marriot in the Renaissance Center at 6 p.m.

The evening of entertainment for the entire family includes a dinner buffet, clowns, magic, face painting, balloons, prizes, and games and contests.

If you are interested in attending, please sign up as soon as possible. Space is limited. For more information, call Lisa Link at (313) 577-3587 or (877) WSU-MED1.

Dr. Burns is a faculty member of the University of Sydney, Australia, and a National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Clinical Research Fellow at the Institute for Neuromuscular Research (Children's Hospital Westmead). He will work with Michael Shy, M.D., and other researchers in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics to undertake research on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

CMT is the most common genetic nerve disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, painful foot deformities and walking difficulty. He will use his Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship to initiate long-term collaboration between a unique group of experts who are world leaders in many aspects of clinical and laboratory CMT research.

"Between the Institute for Neuromuscular Research and the Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics at Wayne State University, we care for thousands of children and adults with CMT,” Dr. Burns said. “We are dedicated to improving diagnosis, evaluating state-of-the-art therapies and establishing an internationally recognized research program to achieve coordinated excellence of care throughout Australia and the U.S."

The ultimate goal of this international collaboration is to dedicate clinical research focus on alleviating the burden of CMT, for both patients and society.

“We are extremely happy to have Dr. Burns working with us this summer and fall,” Dr. Shy said. “One of the major challenges in developing treatments for patients with inherited neuropathies is that many of these diseases significantly affect children and young adults. There are few methods in place to evaluate disease progression in these patients and how impairment from the neuropathies alters their quality of life. Dr. Burns, in his young career, has already achieved an international reputation in these areas and his working with our group will accelerate research in these areas throughout the world. We are proud that he sought out our program at WSU to conduct his Fulbright fellowship and look forward to continued international collaborations between our two universities.”

Dr. Burns has a bachelor’s degree of Applied Science (Podiatry) with First Class Honors from the University of Western Sydney and a doctorate degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Sydney. He has won several awards, including the University Medal for the Highest Honors Research Result, the Young Tall Poppy Science Award for outstanding achievement in Podiatry and Pediatric Neurology, an NHMRC Australian Clinical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Novel Award for excellence in biomechanical foot pressure research.

Set for June 19, the day-long scientific meeting involves Department of Pharmacology faculty, post-doctoral students and graduate students from WSU, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and the University of Toledo. The colloquium rotates annually among the four participating universities.

The colloquium, said Nicholas Davis, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, shines the light on graduate students, who will present their research in poster format or in 15-minute oral presentations. The venue is often the students’ first true scientific presentation. Students will also moderate and organize the presentation sessions.

“The meeting also is fun for the faculty, providing a rare opportunity for interaction with our colleagues from neighboring institutions,” Dr. Davis said. “Many fruitful collaborations have been conceived at this meeting.”

This year’s keynote speaker, Heidi E. Hamm, Ph.D., is the Earl W. Sutherland Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and professor of Ophthalmology at Vanderbilt University. The world-renown G protein expert will speak on “Structural Basis of G Protein Signaling” from 11 a.m. to noon.

Bonnie Sloane, Ph.D., chairwoman of the School of Medicine Department of Pharmacology, will give opening remarks at 8:50 a.m. in the Jaffar Auditorium in Scott Hall.

James Bernstein, director of Government and Public Affairs for the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, will speak on “Developing Effective Science Advocates: Making the Case for Increased Funding for Biomedical Research,” at noon.

Poster sessions will take place in the Scott Hall cafeteria and Room 1358. An accompanying product show will take place in the cafeteria from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m.

Participants will cap the day with dinner at the Majestic Café.

“When we examined the literature, we found plenty of information on the good that exercise can do for those with hypertension, but we found almost nothing on the mechanisms mediating the cardiovascular responses to exercise in hypertension,” Dr. O’Leary said.

Dr. O’Leary theorizes that the skeletal muscles of the body, the bigger, load-bearing muscles that contain sensors that send signals to the brain during exercise, may become over-excited in hypertensive patients. Those signals, in turn, lead the brain to regulate the cardiovascular system. For some hypertension suffers, that causes constriction of the arteries and even of the heart, impeding blood flow. This can lead to myocardial ischemia, infarction and other cardiac events such as irregular heart beat.

Using an animal model, Dr. O’Leary’s research team will induce hypertension during exercise in an attempt to discover the cause and signal that over-drive the cardiovascular system, causing arterial constriction. Such a discovery could lead, he explained, to identifying patients who may be susceptible to cardiovascular events during exercise, future drug treatments for such patients and tailored exercise programs to allow these patients to exercise with minimal risk.

While Dr. O’Leary serves as principal investigator, his co-investigators are Javier A. Sala Mercado, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Physiology and the Cardiovascular Research Institute; Tadeusz Scislo, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Physiology; and Noreen Rossi, M.D., professor of Internal Medicine and staff physician at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center.

A crew from ABC’s “20/20” was on campus June 10 to interview and tape David Rosenberg, M.D., who leads a team of researchers that recently discovered that the chemical glutamate plays a major role in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Dr. Rosenberg, the Miriam L. Hamburger Endowed Chair of Child Psychiatry and professor of Psychiatry with the School of Medicine, was interviewed by ABC’s David Muir. The news anchor also interviewed one of Dr. Rosenberg’s OCD patients who recently turned 18. Dr. Rosenberg has been treating the patient since she was 11. He said that her condition has “dramatically changed” and the young lady no longer requires medication for her OCD.

The interviews took place at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

The program, a one-hour special on childhood OCD, is scheduled to air in mid-July, followed by segments on “ABC World News Tonight” and “Primetime.”

Dr. Rosenberg, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Michigan, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and University of Toronto/ Hospital for Sick Kids, recently discovered that the chemical glutamate plays a key role in children with OCD. That finding could open the gates to additional research into new treatments for OCD.

A debilitating neuropsychiatric condition, OCD affects approximately 1 percent to 3 percent of the population worldwide. As many as 80 percent of all OCD cases begin in childhood and adolescence.

“What we are doing is beginning to elevate child psychiatry to a level comparable to traditional pediatric medicine and neurology in that we now have a firm basis in the brain anatomy, chemistry and physiology, and, therefore, a better scientific underpinning for what we do, just like for other chronic medical illnesses like diabetes,” Dr. Rosenberg said. “The brain's a lot more complicated in many ways, but the principles are same. So we now know that childhood OCD is a brain disease and this knowledge may help defeat some of the stigma and prejudice children with psychiatric illness face, like more difficulty getting insurance to pay for their treatment, having people say, ‘It's all in your head,’ when, in fact, these are brain illnesses that can be helped with proper treatment.

“Even the most imaginative science fiction writer could not have dreamed of the powerful tools we use routinely to look at the child's brain,” he added. “With magnetic resonance imaging, we can take a completely noninvasive biopsy of the child brain's anatomy, chemistry and physiology with great power and precision -- but with no shots, needles or radiation. We take this brain biopsy without doing surgery.”

Dr. Rosenberg’s study found that children with OCD had abnormal glutamate levels in key brain regions that were reversible with effective treatment.

“Since our initial findings at Wayne State University, basic neuroscience, genetic, brain imaging and novel treatment development studies all converged to show that glutamate has a key role in OCD,” Dr. Rosenberg said. “If we think of serotonin as analogous to light that lets us see in the dark, glutamate is the brain's light switch or brain modulator which helps turn serotonin and other chemicals off and on.”

School of Medicine researchers, along with Gregory Hanna, M.D., of the University of Michigan and researchers at the University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto, Ontario, have a longstanding collaboration and recently published the first OCD study combining brain imaging and genetics studies in the same children with OCD in the March 2009 issue of the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior. All brain images and blood samples were collected at Wayne State with blood samples genetically analyzed in Drs. James Kennedy and Paul Arnold’s laboratory at the University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Kids.

The studies found significant associations between glutamate receptor and transporter genes and abnormal brain volumes in brain regions implicated in OCD such as the thalamus (“grand central station” in the brain), caudate nucleus (the brain's “secretary”), anterior cingulate cortex (the brain's arousal center) and orbital prefrontal cortex (the brain's “executive decision maker”).

Based in part on initial findings at the School of Medicine showing glutamate abnormalities in OCD, new treatment approaches using glutamate modulator drugs such as riluzole, which is used for treating Lou Gehring’s disease, and others have been used in adults and children with OCD. Initial studies have shown great promise, and studies using riluzole are being conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health in children with OCD. The trial is ongoing and results are unavailable.

“This study at NIMH demonstrates how work first done at Wayne State University not only has scientific implications but has key translational relevance in bringing work from the bench to the bedside with potential clinical ramifications,” Dr. Rosenberg said. Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto have recently submitted a Collaborative R01 grant to NIMH that is being considered for funding. Wayne State University is the lead site and coordinating center on this application.

Collaborators on the project include Frank P. MacMaster, Ph.D., Yousha Mirza, M.D., Phillip Easter, research assistant, and Michelle Rose, research assistant, of Wayne State University and The Children’s Hospital of Michigan; Gregory Hanna, M.D., University of Michigan; Paul Daniel Arnold, M.D., Hospital of Sick Kids and the University of Toronto; and Margaret A. Richter, M.D.,Tricia Sicard, research assistant, Eliza Burroughs, research assistant, and James Kennedy, M.D., University of Toronto.

Alexander Gow, Ph.D., associate professor of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, the Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Neurology, has secured an additional $760,000 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The funding, part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus initiative, brings the additional funding to his original $1.9 million NIH grant.

The research involves inserting a gene (called a transgene) into a mouse that will serve as a model for two neurodegenerative disorders, multiple sclerosis and Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. The mouse model may also mimic some pathological aspects of affective disorders such as schizophrenia.

Pelizaeus-Merzbacher is a rare neurodegenerative disease that usually affects children younger than 1 year. The disorder belongs to a group of diseases called leukodystrophies. They stem from different causes but are similar in that the white matter in the brain fails to develop. Because PMD is caused by a genetic mutation in the PLP1 gene, located on the X chromosome, the disorder mainly affects boys. Girls carry the mutation from generation to generation but generally have very mild or no symptoms.

PMD can be relatively mild, with patients living into their 50 or 60s, or so severe that patients may die in their teens or 20s. There is no treatment, only palliative care. Mild forms are characterized by lower limb spasticity with gradual deterioration and eventual need for a wheelchair. The patient’s awareness is not dramatically impaired and they can attend school. Severe forms include uncontrollable eye movements, difficulty breathing, swallowing and communicating, seizures and paralysis.

The mouse model will enable study into how oligodendrocytes (the cells that synthesize the insulating myelin sheath around axons in the central nervous system) are overcome by acute metabolic stress and die, leaving the brain vulnerable to neuron degeneration. The model will also enable study of the acute remyelination process, which occurs in MS patients during early stages of the disease after an attack episode.

In the longer term, Dr. Gow said, the model will “enable us to simulate the decades-long pathology of demyelination-remyelination cycles that occur in MS patients and may cause the affective disorder.

“With regard to MS, we hope to mimic pathology that begins the disease process in the central nervous system, which a growing number of scientists suspect may not be immune mediated,” he added. “If we are successful, we may then be able to overlay immune-mediated responses that prolong or exacerbate the degenerative process.”

As a model for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, the mouse will allow Dr. Gow to explore the precise temporal gene expression changes, in individual cells, that occur during the metabolic stress that kills oligodendrocytes. “This model will be unparalleled in the detail about the disease mechanism that it will provide. Moreover, the technology used to develop this model is broadly applicable to other degenerative diseases such as Parkinson and Huntington diseases.”

Eugene P. Schoener, Ph.D., professor of the departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, received a $250,000 grant from the Flinn Foundation to determine the effectiveness of combined Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and substance abuse treatment on the recovery of patients with severe mental illness and substance abuse problems. The study will take place at Kadima, a non-profit mental health services agency with Jewish roots based in Southfield, Mich.

“MI and CBT are complementary approaches based on the notion that patients have to own and resolve their own problems,” Dr. Schoener said. “MI helps the individual appreciate the nature of their problem and develop the motivation to change their behavior, and CBT provides a comprehensive set of tools to do it. We’re hoping that these two elements, along with the knowledge and skills of treating substance abuse, will help to promote not just clinician skill levels, but actually change the way Kadima delivers services.”

Previous studies strongly suggest that both MI and CBT are highly effective for a wide range of mental illnesses, including substance abuse. However, most studies were conducted in laboratory settings and addressed the problems separately. Dr. Schoener’s study offers the opportunity to observe the influence of MI and CBT when treating mental illness and substance abuse concurrently in a real-life setting.

“About 60 percent of patients with severe mental illness have a co-occurring substance abuse problem,” he said. “If you don’t deal with both problems concurrently, one disorder can sabotage progress made with the other. Our combined therapy approach is designed to address the reality of all these problems together, the way they occur in the real world.”

MI is a non-judgmental, non-confrontational method of engaging patient motivation to change thoughts and behavior. Past studies have shown that MI builds a greater sense of trust and a stronger overall alliance between therapist and client and redefines the patient as having a more active role in their recovery.

“This isn’t the clinician giving the patient a pep talk; in fact it’s just the opposite,” Dr. Schoener said. “It’s eliciting the motivation within that person. The therapist is no longer there to ‘fix’ somebody, but rather to facilitate and assist the client in achieving their best.”

CBT is a goal-oriented, systematic approach in which patients work to identify the underlying causes for dysfunctional thoughts, feelings or behaviors and then restructure their thoughts to be healthier and more productive. Shown to be effective in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse disorders and psychotic disorders, CBT requires focused and deliberate participation of the patient. “It’s not simply meeting every week to chat. There is homework involved, and patients really have to work at it. The reward for all their hard work, however, is being far better equipped to maintain wellness, undertake new challenges and achieve more in their lives.”

The study will be based around clinicians and their patients at Kadima, a prominent mental health provider for more than 25 years with a heavily empirical, best practice approach to therapy. Dr. Schoener will study whether the clinicians’ MI, CBT and substance abuse training significantly enhances their patients’ recovery. Evaluation techniques will include patient and clinician assessments, session monitoring and standardized measures of program performance, such as number of patient hospital visits and patient retention.

The Wayne State University School of Medicine graduated 243 students during commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2009 this week.

The annual ceremony took place June 2 at the Fox Theater in Detroit.

The graduating researchers and physicians now enter residencies and research programs across the nation and – in some cases – around the world.

Dean Robert M. Mentzer Jr., M.D., advised the students to continue their education and to hold fast to their principles in doing what is best for their patients.

“Remember that those who would change the world for the better don’t do so through concession and capitulation,” said Dean Mentzer, who also serves as senior advisor to the president for Medical Affairs. “As soon-to-be graduates of one of the finest medical schools in the country, your dean asks you to be the ones who ask the hard questions, draw narrow conclusions, maintain a healthy skepticism and avoid easy answers. When in doubt, follow your moral compass and remember the ethical behaviors you have affirmed to uphold.

“As physicians, I encourage you to accept the leadership responsibilities that are inherent to our profession,” he added. “If you do so, you will regularly be called upon to examine the world around you, to separate the noise from the signal and be challenged to do the right thing. Do not assume that because of our education and life’s experiences that we will automatically do so. We need to consciously remember to act morally and with compassion.”

The Keynote Commencement Address was delivered by Jocelyn Elders, M.D., former U.S. surgeon general under the Clinton administration.

“You will now be put into a position of leadership that you will have to develop for the rest of your life,” Dr. Elders told the graduates. “Despite all of our new technologies and developments, we have left a lot of work for you to do. Our current health system is not a health care system, but a very sick care system. You will have many opportunities to meet challenges such as our current health care system, and the problems associated with alcohol, drugs and obesity.”

Dr. Elders noted that the nation’s health care system -- and the graduating physicians -- face three crises: a crisis of vision, a crisis of anticipation and a crisis of creativity.

“We need to visualize a great health care system that is accessible, affordable, universal and purpose driven,” she said. Physicians must also use available resources to anticipate and act upon future problems. “Think outside the box and create a system that you are proud of. We need you to get involved and be advocates for our patients. We need you to create a new health care system.

“You have to be successful. You can’t afford to fail. The health of the nation depends on you,” said the 15th U.S. surgeon general, and the first black woman to hold the post, who now serves as a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of Arkansas School of Public Health and a Distinguished Professor at the Clinton School of Public Policy.

Also attending the ceremonies was Nick Labedz, whose significant financial gift provided the catalyst for the construction of the new Richard J. Mazurek, M.D., Medical Education Commons.

For more information about the 2009 Commencement Ceremony, select from
the information below:

Commencement Video
List of Students
2008-09 Ph.D. Program Graduates
View Photo Gallery

Dr. Paul Ruble was a dynamic and skillful Physician-Educator and Faculty Member of Wayne State School of Medicine who played an integral role in teaching Wayne's students, residents and fellows.

Paul touched and shaped the lives of many Michigan's best cardiologists and he remains a role model for the scholarly and ethical care of patients.

This year's lecture will be held on Friday, June 19, 2009 at 8:00am at the Richard J. Mazurek, M.D. Medical Education Commons in the Margherio Conference Center.

Our speaker is Dr. W. Douglas Weaver who is the Division Head of Cardiovascular Medicine, the Darin Chair of Cardiology, Director of the Henry Ford Cardiovascular Institute at the Henry Ford Health System.

The topic is Physician Challenges in Healthcare Reform.

The research appears at www.ASCO.org and http://www.jco.org and is titled “Enhancer of Zeste Homologue 2 (EZH-2) expression in breast cancer: a novel marker and potential target.”

Karmanos scientists tested 84 cases of hormone receptor negative human breast carcinomas and discovered that the protein EZH-2 was expressed in 74 percent of those cases. Hormone receptor negative breast carcinoma is considered an aggressive cancer and difficult o treat. The finding suggests that EZH-2 could be an important therapeutic target in this patient population.

“We were interested in looking at a new target,” said Zeina Nahleh, M.D., co-director of the Breast Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos Cancer Institute and assistant professor of Medicine in hematology and oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. “We wanted to see how much expression of the protein was present. We were surprised that 74 percent of tumors expressed that EZH-2 protein.”

Sixty-one samples that researchers used were triple negative breast cancer cases and 23 cases were HER-2/neu positive. Scientists found that the increased expression of EZH-2 meant an increase in tumor size and an increase in lymph node metastasis.

Dr. Nahleh said that increased identification of proteins in these aggressive forms of breast cancer is needed to develop better treatments. The discovery of the high rate of EZH-2 protein expression in breast cancer cases opens a new avenue in doing just that.

“We are extremely excited about this discovery,” she said. “This is amazing work. In the future, this could be a target for therapy.”

The identification of EZH-2 represents just the first step in the mission to find more proteins that cause deadly breast cancer tumors and assess them for possible therapeutic targets. There is much work ahead, Dr. Nahleh said.

“The ground-breaking work will come if we can identify a specific method to target this EZH-2 protein and show that this approach would lead to meaningful clinical results,” she said. “We have to go back and look at survival rates. We have to consider years of follow-up work and we have to look at other associated factors.

“This will hopefully lead to new targeted therapy strategies based on our new understanding of the biology of cancer.”

Fellow investigators include Sudeshna Bandyopadhyay, M.D., assistant professor of the Department of Pathology for the School of Medicine; Rouba Ali-Fehmi, M.D., associate professor of the Department of Pathology for the School of Medicine and the Karmanos Cancer Institute; Haitham Arabi, M.D., resident of the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology; Wael Sakr, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pathology for the School of Medicine and the Karmanos Cancer Institute; Adnan Munkarah, M.D., of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit; and Michael Kruger, statistical analyst with Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The Meadow Brook Lecture featured Peter Libby, M.D., from Harvard Medical School, who presented his noted research on inflammation and atherosclerosis.

The Research Forum involved more than 30 residents from the SEMCME member hospitals presenting research projects in the form of oral or poster presentations.  More than $4,000 in cash prizes and awards were handed out, including the coveted Donald Dawson Medallion named in honor of Dr. Dawson, a gifted medical researcher and educator from southeast Michigan.

This year’s winners were:

Farzan Siddiqui M.D., Ph.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital: first place, oral competition, $1,500 and the Donald Dawson Medallion.

Jason L. Picconi, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine-Detroit Medical Center, second place, oral competition, $500.

Christopher W. Seder, M.D., Department of General Surgery, William Beaumont Hospital, first place, poster competition, $750 and engraved plaque.

Heinric Williams, M.D., Department of Urology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute, second place, poster competition, $500.

Rachel McLaughlin, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Ann Arbor, winner, translation research competition, $250.

Those serving as judges from the School of Medicine faculty included Gloria Kuhn, D.O., Ph.D., and Brian O’Neil, M.D., from the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Rosalie Young, Ph.D., and Jinping Xu, M.D., from the Department of Family Medicine.