Dean Rayamajhi’s Weekly Rundown

November 26, 2025

Thanksgiving greetings to you and yours during this week of gratitude!

An Afternoon with the Provost

We were thankful to host Provost Laura Lee McIntyre, PhD, in Grand Rapids two Fridays ago. During that afternoon we gave her a greater sense of the College of Human Medicine’s commitment to Grand Rapids and shared with her the special relationships we've built in West Michigan.

In addition to holding a question-and-answer session with faculty and staff and chatting with students, we introduced Provost McIntyre to several leaders from Corewell Health. Her time on the Medical Mile would not have been complete without tours of the Secchia Center, Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building, and Grand Rapids Research Center (photo above).

In her travels, Provost McIntyre explored the SEND Lab, an interactive play castle on the fifth floor of the GRRC where Barbara Thompson, PhD, (above left) studies social motivation differences in children with autism. Next door, she toured The Bridge where MSU Research Foundation is supporting health innovation (above right).
 

Chamber of Commerce

Speaking of Grand Rapids, I was pleased to spend some time with business leaders during a reception at the GR Chamber of Commerce. Never absent from a gathering of Spartans in West Michigan is MSU alum and Chairman Emeritus David Porteous. The College of Human Medicine’s presence on the Medical Mile is not only good for health care in West Michigan; it’s also an economic boon for the area. MSU contributes $300 million annually to the local economy. Additionally, there are more than 800 Spartan MDs living and serving in the West Michigan area. I felt proud to share in my remarks that the College of Human Medicine has a truly statewide footprint as part of a land-grant institution, in line with how President Guskiewicz prefers for us to be Michigan’s state university.

Partners in Research

We have much to be thankful for when it comes to our partnerships. One of our longtime and closest partners, both in proximity and purpose, is the Van Andel Institute, located across Michigan Street from the Secchia Center. During a tour of the institute last week, I saw the state-of-the-art research happening within their labs and the graduate school, which is cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders. Our joint MD-PhD program continues to open doors for groundbreaking discoveries and exceptional training for future physician-scientists.

On that note, I’d also like to congratulate third-year MD-PhD candidate Jessica Ding, who was recently elected to serve as president of the American Physician Scientists Association. She is the first APSA president to pursue a PhD in the social sciences.

University Distinguished Professor

Speaking of firsts, I’d like to offer a hearty congratulations to another woman blazing a trail of excellence on behalf of our college. Jennifer Johnson, PhD, founding chair of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, is among ten newly designated University Distinguished Professors. She is the first from her department to achieve that title. I felt grateful to celebrate with Jennifer at a reception in East Lansing last week.

I hope you get a chance to slow down and be present with family, chosen family, and friends this week. This Thanksgiving, I'm so grateful to every member of our faculty and staff and all of our students for the support given during this interim dean transition. Our mission is community-centered, and I’m pleased to be leading the way alongside all of you.

In Spartan Spirit,

Supratik Rayamajhi, MD, FACP
Interim Dean, MSU College of Human Medicine