Connect
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Faculty Newsletter
Issue 1 - Dec. 22, 2022
Core Values and Opening Statement
Welcome to the inaugural edition of our faculty newsletter, Connect. Our quarterly newsletter (and soon, a website), launched for the School of Medicine in December 2022, will disseminate content for the faculty, from the faculty. Connect will contain links to resources, upcoming events and more. Our goal is to update, inform, engage and hopefully enrich our faculty community. As we engage each day in the School of Medicine mission, we bring with us our core values. Connect aims to contribute to our ability to create and maintain a culture of mutual respect with a genuine awareness of belonging for all faculty. Send questions, comments, content ideas and faculty news to SOMfacultyconnect@wayne.edu.
Meet – Pharmacology
Established in 1974, the Department of Pharmacology is an integral component of medical and graduate education, postdoctoral training, and basic science and translational research. Sokol Todi, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology and Neurology, was appointed chair of the department in October. Dr. Todi is widely published with international recognition. His research focuses on mechanisms of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection in age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolded proteins, with particular focus on polyglutamine disease proteins. To learn how Dr. Todi views the department's research strengths, faculty expertise and collaborations, click here to read his interview.
New Faculty Hires
Welcome to our School of Medicine community! These are the faculty who have joined the School of Medicine since September. If you see them in the hallway, hope you have a chance to say hello.
Clinical Educator:
- Mahmoud Al-Saadi, M.D., Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases)
- Eliza Beal, M.D., M.S., Surgery
- Meghann Schenk, M.D., Oncology
- Taofik Nasrat, M.D., Neurology
- John Cochrane, M.D., Urology
- Kevin Ginsburg, M.D., Urology
- Alfred Roy, M.D., Pathology
Research:
Teaching and Mentoring
Would you like to host an undergraduate student for a research experience in your laboratory? The school offers multiple research opportunities to WSU undergraduate students. The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program is a 10- to 12-week experience with a flexible starting date. It provides a $2,500 stipend and is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors for research in 10 School of Medicine departments. Other undergraduate research opportunities administered by different departments are: SURF by Physiology, SURP by the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Cancer Biology Undergraduate Summer Fellowships and the Discovery to Cure program at the Mott Center (Reproductive Sciences). Encourage your students to apply and contact your program’s chair if you want to mentor an undergraduate student in summer 2023.
Honors and Awards
Rodrigo Fernandez-Valdivia, Ph.D., has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Hispanic Leaders changing the course of the future medicine by the prestigious Newsweek en Espanol Magazine. Research focused on novel ultra-precision diagnostic technology based on superiority criteria over conventional assays has been developed in Dr. Fernandez-Valdivia laboratory for nucleic acids sensing applications in human pathogens and biomarkers. The technology has been selected among the best innovations worldwide in the TechConnect’s Covid-19 Sprint and has been highlighted for its disruptive, superior diagnostic attributes. Congratulations, Rodrigo!
Have You Heard?
Is your graduate application pool smaller this year? The WSU Graduate School implemented a new Centralized Application System last year. The system had several glitches that have resulted in difficulties for School of Medicine Biomedical Graduate Program officers. Many could not gain access to applications in order to encourage prospective students to complete their submissions. Fortunately, the WSU Graduate School switched back to the original software. Hopefully the switch was made early enough to not disrupt our average number of applicants for 2023. Stay tuned to this space for updates.
Are you aware that the Wayne State University School of Medicine is conducting critical HVAC work in Scott Hall to improve air quality in laboratories and offices? The work was initiated in December on the ninth floor. The goal is to complete cleaning of the air ducts throughout the entire building.
Did you know that you are a member of the Faculty Senate? The Faculty Senate was chartered as a mechanism for faculty to advise the dean. It comprises all department chairs and all full-time affiliated professors, associate professors, assistant professors and instructors. The Faculty Senate delegates its authority to the Faculty Executive Committee to expedite actions for the Senate. The FEC is comprised of 17 faculty-elected members. The FEC reviews selective salary packets, evaluates and recommends promotion and tenure packets, approves hiring of faculty and represents faculty interests by advising the dean on policies concerning education, research programs and service. The FEC meets every two weeks for committee updates and to discuss faculty concerns. Learn more about the Faculty Senate, the FEC and the nine subcommittees at https://facultysenate.med.wayne.edu/ or contact the EC at somexecutivecommittee@wayne.edu.
Wellness Corner
Got the sniffles? The trifecta of respiratory diseases, COVID-19, flu and RSV, has risen across the nation. For immunizations, contact your health care provider or the Campus Health Center.
Need an exercise break during work? All School of Medicine faculty, staff and students have access to the Scott Hall Fitness Room (Room 208). The fitness room is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week with your OneCard. Locker rooms and showers are available. If you’ve used the facility, we’d love to hear your experiences.
News from the Lab
Jian Wang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Pathology, secured a Department of Defense grant, “A Novel Strategy Targeting the Metabolic Vulnerability of CRPC,” recommended for funding. The Wang lab focuses on identifying and characterizing novel and aberrant metabolic activities critical to human pathophysiology and unraveling the metabolic basis for complex human diseases such as metabolic syndromes and cancer. This project will determine the mechanism for the metabolic vulnerability of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells and investigate its translational potential for developing new therapeutic strategy for treatment-resistant cancers. Co-investigators James Granneman, Ph.D. (CMMG), Wael Sakr, M.D., (Pathology) and Dr. Seongho Kim, Ph.D., (Oncology) expand this interdisciplinary team.
Professor Isaac Powell, M.D., is an American Urological Association Presidential Citation recipient. His research program is focused on biological, genetic and environmental factors that impact prostate cancer in African American men. African American men have a 60 percent higher incidence of prostate cancer and two to three times higher death rate compared to other ethnicities. Dr. Powell, is a member of the Genitourinary Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at the Barbara Ann Karmanas Cancer Institute.
Events
Help us get to know your trainees!
The 26th annual C.P. Lee Graduate Student Research Presentation Day is right around the corner. The event will be in person in Scott Hall on Jan. 24. The student-organized event shares ongoing biomedical research among the Wayne State University community. Click here to register for the event.
The Wayne State University Graduate School’s 2023 Graduate Research Symposium will be held March 6-8. Graduate students and postdoctoral trainees are encouraged to submit an abstract or sign up for the 3-Minute Thesis competition by Dec. 23. Sign up or get more information here: https://gradschool.wayne.edu/students/professional-development/research-symposium
Don’t Forget: The Office of the Vice President will host two research workshops in January, NIH Renewals and Resubmissions on Jan. 19, and Planning and Writing NSF grant proposals Jan. 23 through Jan. 26.
Coffee Hour
Coming soon! A regular coffee/tea hour for faculty. Grab a coffee, meet colleagues, engage in conversation and Connect!
Funding Opportunities
Linda Hazlett, Ph.D., vice dean of Research and Graduate Programs, and Daniel Walz, Ph.D., associate dean of Research and Graduate Programs, are seeking faculty members interested in applying for the Dr. Jack Ryan Award Endowed by the Dr. Morris S. Brent Fund (due March 3).
Looking for more internal and external funding opportunities? View current research opportunities here.
Resources
Have you activated your membership in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)? The site has a mix of webinars and “on-demand” content. The curriculum consists of Every semester needs a plan, How to align your time with your priorities, How to develop a daily writing practice, Mastering academic time management, and Academic publishing contracts and negotiation basics. In addition, there are forums to join, resources for grant writing, writing accountability groups and wellness information.
Publications
Did you know: School of Medicine faculty greatly contributed to the more than 2,500 National Center for Biotechnology Information identifiable journal articles published by WSU investigators during 2022! Great work, faculty and staff. You can find those articles on PubMed by following this link.
