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Volume 2 Issue 1 Dec. 8, 2023 Core Values and Opening Statement:Welcome to the fourth edition of our faculty newsletter, Connect.* This quarterly newsletter (and soon, a website) disseminates content for the faculty, from the faculty. Our goal is to update, inform and enrich our faculty community. Connect strives to contain links to resources, upcoming events and more. As we engage each day in the School of Medicine’s mission, we bring with us our core values 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. *Did you miss a previous issue of Connect? Find previous issues here: https://www.med.wayne.edu/faculty/newsletter-archive
Meet – PhysiologyThe Department of Physiology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine is more than 100 years old. Beginning as the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in 1913 before Pharmacology became an independent department in 1974, the Department of Physiology has been a stalwart of our school. Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., is the department chair. He brings decades of training and service to the department, the school and the university.
New Faculty HiresWelcome to our School of Medicine community! According to the Office of Faculty Affairs, these faculty members have joined the Wayne State University School of Medicine since August: Clinical:
Research:
If you see them in the hallway, we hope you have a chance to say hello!
Teaching and MentoringLet’s celebrate our mentors! Noreen Rossi, M.D., received the inaugural Jerry Yee Mentorship Award from the American College of Physicians Michigan chapter! Congratulations! Read more at Today@Wayne.
Honors and Awards
Have you heard ...?
Morhaf Al Achkar, M.D., Ph.D., MS, FAAFP, is the new associate center director of Education for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University. An M.D. graduate from Aleppo University, Syria, and a Family Medicine physician with a doctoral degree in Education from Indiana University, Dr. Al Achkar will direct the Office of Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination to fast forward training and advancement in cancer research for professional development of diverse trainees all the way from high school students to senior faculty and health care professionals and fellows. As a renowned researcher in medical education and cancer research, Dr. Al Achkar also brings a unique perspective to our School of Medicine, not only as an ALK lung cancer survivor, but also as a committed leader in health disparities directly addressing the factors leading to disparities in lung cancer diagnosis among Black/African American and other marginalized communities. Attracted by the mission to serve the community, Dr. Al Achkar is enthusiastic about joining WSU and KCI. He is particularly committed to improving the health of diverse communities, including the Arabic-speaking community, to which he feels a deep sense of belonging. Developing and coordinating training opportunities for the next generation of research scholars, supporting faculty, especially junior ones, in skill development through mentorship and expanding opportunities for evidence-based education for community health care providers are the key aspects of his leadership. Promoting spaces where people’s talents and other aspects can shine, and enabling everyone to feel whole and truly seen for who they are at the core of Dr. Al Achkar’s philosophy. Welcome Dr. Al Achkar! Did you see the faculty who were awarded promotion and tenure in 2023? Check out the list at https://facaffairs.med.wayne.edu/ptawards Also check out the faculty recognition awards at https://facaffairs.med.wayne.edu/awards
Wellness CornerAre you a Wellness Warrior? You can earn rewards for keeping a healthy lifestyle! Learn more at: https://wellness.wayne.edu/
News from our Labs
The School of Medicine is an integral part of the new Barber Integrative Metabolic Research Program. James Granneman, Ph.D.; Hyeong-Reh Kim, Ph.D.; Jian Wang, Ph.D.; and Emilio Motillo, Ph.D., join Christopher Kelly, Ph.D., and Y. Mindy Huang, Ph.D., of the Department of Physics in this new endeavor to better understand lipid metabolism. Hilary Marusak, Ph.D. of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, is the lead principal investigator on a collaborative grant studying the impact of exercise on anxiety in adolescents. The study brings together Leslie Lundahl, Ph.D.; David Ledgerwood, Ph.D.; Tanja Jovanovic, Ph.D.; Nicholas Mischel, M.D., Ph.D.; Krishna Rao Maddipati, Ph.D., and investigators in the College of Education and the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
EventsMark your calendars for these campus events and important dates!
Do you know of other events? Email the Connect team for events in the upcoming issue (next publication expected in April 2024) at SOMfacultyconnect@wayne.edu.
Coffee HourReady to connect with faculty? Our final coffee hour for 2023 was Dec. 6 Look forward to more coffee hours the last Wednesday of the month in 2024. Grab a coffee, meet colleagues, engage in casual conversation and just Connect!
Funding OpportunitiesNEW! Office of Vice President of Research Grant Leap Program for Mid-Career Faculty. Read the announcement. The Johns Hopkins University Research Office has publicly available Excel/Google Docs lists of hundreds of fellowship opportunities for undergraduate, predoctoral, postdoctoral and underrepresented trainees at https://research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-opportunities/ Looking for more internal and external funding opportunities? Check out this list on the School of Medicine webpage: https://somresearch.med.wayne.edu/research-opps
ResourcesCollaborations are challenging, especially when you don’t know your colleagues’ expertise. The Research Development Committee of the School of Medicine Faculty Senate has put together a resource for us. Access the shared spreadsheet here (requires AccessID login). Add or update your area of research and techniques to the list so School of Medicine faculty can find techniques or skills that can build collaborations and advance each other’s research.
Publications
Read the full article at Today@Wayne Do you have a publication that should be highlighted? Perhaps you wrote or received an editorial on a study? Let us know at SOMfacultyconnect@wayne.edu.
Meet – Physiology
Photo: Joseph Dunbar, PhD, Chair of Physiology, with Maryam Sadfar, MD/PhD Candidate, who won The Marion I. Barnhart Graduate Student Award in Physiology and Robert J Wessells, PhD, Physiology Graduate Director. Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D., chairs the department, and brings decades of training and service to the department, the school and the university. What are the major research areas of your department? Previously, our department was a world leader in blood coagulation and endocrinology. We’ve more recently been leaders in neural control of physiology and of cardiovascular physiology. Drs. Komnenov, Mannozzi, Mateika, Mueller, O’Leary and Rossi study how physiological signals impact control of blood pressure, sleep and other cardiovascular mechanisms. Drs. Chung and Wessells focus on cardiac and muscle function. But our department reaches beyond our primary faculty, with a longstanding integration with the Hypertension and Vascular Research Group of Henry Ford Hospital. Led by Dr. Pablo Ortiz, the group has been essential collaborators and mentors in renal, cardiac and endocrine physiology, including Drs. Ares-Sarmiento, Caceres Puzzella, Harding, Mendez, Monu, Mottillo, Palaniyandi, Pavlov and Rhaleb. Our department also retains a substantial research footprint in endocrinology and reproductive physiology, including work by Drs. Chen, Jena and Zhang. This extends the department to hosting the graduate training of the Reproductive Sciences Graduate Program in collaboration with faculty at the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development. With the integrative nature of the discipline of physiology, many of our researchers can be part of multiple fields. One recent hire, Mariana Angoa-Perez, Ph.D., studies the interaction between the gut microbiome and neurological function, expanding our neurophysiology research with Dr. DeGracia. Our faculty has also led in environmental studies, with Dr. Ram directing waste-water studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. What collaborations occur within your department? The interactive nature of our work has enhanced collaborations within our department, many of which have led to co-author publications. For example, in cardiovascular research, Drs. Mueller and Rossi have both led projects with Dr. Chung as a co-author. In endocrinology/reproductive science, Drs. Chen, Chung and Zhang recently co-authored a publication. Drs. Mateika and Wessells published works linking research in exercise with studies performed on human patients. These highlight just a few of our internal collaborations that have led to collaborative extramural grant funding. What collaborations occur with other departments/divisions/universities? Keeping up with world class research has led to numerous collaborations outside of our department. Dr. Mueller has developed collaborations with Michigan State University and international collaborators. Dr. Mannozzi has similarly been engaged with investigators across North America. Dr. Wessells has published manuscripts with collaborators at the University of Michigan and University of Texas Austin. Dr. Chung has developed collaborations at the Biological Collaborative Access Team beamline of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Jena has collaborated at Wayne with Dr. Arslanturk and internationally with investigators at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. What should other faculty know about your department’s expertise to collaborate more? Supporting our interactive and integrative research, the department has expertise in multiple foci to enable more collaboration. For example, we have expertise in rapid assessment (Dr. Wessells with drosophila studies, Dr. Chung with ultrasound), surgical expertise (Dr. Rossi with nerve recordings and implants) and human studies (Dr. Mateika with studies in sleep apnea) to name just a few. Dr. Ram’s efforts to monitor the spread of COVID-19 has also led to the development of regular sampling and monitoring of Detroit area waste water, which could possibly expand environmental studies. With studies from the bench to small and large animals, and cells to computation, the Department of Physiology has many avenues to help potential collaborators find the best physiologic assay to help them test their hypotheses. What is unique about your department’s teaching? Physiology is a study of body and organ functions that integrates from genomic to organ and body-level data. Thus, Physiology teaching provides an essential component of a future physician’s education. Our department trains graduate students, including doctoral and master’s trainees. An essential component lies in enabling our trainees to enter any environment in the next step with fundamental knowledge of physiology, to plan and solve research questions, and to rigorously analyze data. This is supported by teaching efforts that include laboratory training (PSL7020, PSL7040) and enhanced training in experimental design (PSL7420). The department also is highly involved in medical school teaching, lecturing to developing Problem-Based Learning and Case-Based Learning experiences to helping lead First Patient groups. Of course, the department also works as a pipeline through outreach and mentoring. Physiology faculty and trainees regularly participate in Brain Day at the Michigan Science Center along with Physiology Understand (PhUn) Week programs at K-12 schools and community sites. The department also hosts a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to introduce students to laboratory research. The program culminates in a university-wide Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium each August, hosted by the Department of Physiology and organized by our great departmental staff. What makes your department great? The Department of Physiology has been a cornerstone of the School of Medicine since 1913. We have graduated a talented set of trainees that has gone on to jobs as diverse as faculty to founding a pickle company! Our current graduate trainees range from first-generation college students to international students, and from students just out of college to students who’ve served in the medical field for many years. Our expanding faculty has varied backgrounds, with degrees that range from physiology and biology to physics and training in the United States to international training. What makes your staff great? Our academic service officer, Christine Cupps, has served the department for more than 30 years! Chris has been an integral part of our graduate students’ experiences at Wayne, helping make sure they don’t fall through the cracks. She has also been essential in continued support of the Detroit Cardiovascular Training Program (T32) and running the Wayne State University Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium. This year, we’ve also been joined by Jowana Moore, our new department manager. She comes to us from WDET and has served Wayne State for years beforehand. We’re also joined by Dionna Johnson, an assistant who, with Jowana Moore, continues to manage our department and student assistants. These people, along with all of our technical staff, continue to help the Department of Physiology grow! For more information about the Department of Physiology, visit http://physiology.med.wayne.edu/
Have an idea for our newsletter? Contact us at SOMfacultyconnect@wayne.edu. |
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Jing Li, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Oncology, has won the 2023 Drs. Anthony and Joyce Danielski Kales Endowed Faculty Award for Innovative Cancer Research for her innovative mechanistic modeling approach to compare central nervous system pharmacokinetics and target engagement of different small-molecule HER2 inhibitors in breast cancer patients. 
Wanqing Liu, Ph.D., of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine and of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer grant to develop gene therapy for alcohol-associated liver disease. Read more at 
Arash Javanbakht, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, published a book related to his research. “Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety” has been highlighted in national news media, including 
The Department of Physiology of the Wayne State University School of Medicine is 110 years old. Beginning as the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in 1913, before Pharmacology became an independent department in 1974, the Department of Physiology has been a stalwart of our school for many years.