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College of Human Medicine

February College News Headlines

February 27, 2026

Student Success

  • In its largest gathering yet, 100 College of Human Medicine students hosted nearly 120 7-11-year-olds at the Secchia Center for Reach Out to Youth. WOOD and WZZM covered the event. WOOD, WZZM, WXMI, and WGVU promoted it in advance.

  • "Medicine is not just about diagnosing and treating disease, it’s about advocacy, compassion, education and building trust." The Grand Valley Lanthorn and Rapid Growth profiled sisters and College of Human Medicine students Awatef (M1) and Ayah (M3) Ayesh about what inspires them throughout their medical school journey. Related: Common Ground

Staff + Faulty Success

  • Charles “Chaz” Hong, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Medicine, has been appointed to the Michigan Health Information Technology Commission in the position of representative of schools of medicine. 

  • Mustafa Mark Hamed, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has been appointed to the Michigan Board of Medicine for a second term. Times Hearld reporting on the announcement.

  • Kenyetta Dotson, DMIN, MSW, received the Award of Excellence at the Genesee District Library's 25th Annual Black History Month Brunch. Flint Courier News reported the honor and WJRT covered the event.

  • Nadia Abuelezam, ScD, 1855 associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has been selected to be a Michigan State University Ethics Institute Research Fellow for the 2026-27 cycle.

Healthy Communities

  • “Scholars on Tap” features academic expertise served up alongside music and good drinks. Flint. Daily. reported reported on the monthly lectures. Vivienne Hazzard, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, and Dick Sadler, PhD, MPH, C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health, are featured in the article. 

Research + Scholarship

  • “People might be surprised, the number of places B vitamins occur,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology & toxicology, in this NBC story examining how much B6 is safe.

  • Jennifer Johnson, PhD, chair of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, convened a town hall with the Genesee County Sheriff focused on suicide prevention among people recently released from pretrial jail detention. MLive provided coverage.

  • Five students at an East Lansing elementary school consumed marijuana edibles at lunch. Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology & toxicology, offered her expertise on the risks children face. WILX, WOWT, WBAY, and WMTV provided coverage.

  • What is TrumpRx? Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology & toxicology, weighed in on the federal website promising low prices on prescription drugs in this Everyday Health article.

  • “Supplements can have significant drug interactions,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology & toxicology, in this Parade article revealing some of the biggest mistakes doctors see.

  • Flintside took a deeper dive into how the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's HERA-funded teams will define the mechanisms and priorities of future health equity research. “We’re allowing community needs and visions to guide what research gets funded in the first place,” said Nadia Abuelezam, ScD, 1855 associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine.

  • "There is evidence that glyphosate, a common herbicide, damages DNA, causes inflammation, and causes oxidative stress, all of which may contribute to cancer formation." Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, offered her expertise in this article in Prevention.

  • Men’s Health reported on muscle pain and weakness associated with taking statins. Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, added that because statins are everywhere in the body, sometimes more muscles end up cramping, causing more pain.

  • Prevention examined magnesium’s link to dementia risk. “More common aspects of health, such as blood sugar and alcohol intake, are much more associated with brain health than magnesium,” offered Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, assistant professor and director of the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine.

  • “Your liver was designed to remove toxins from things that you have ingested, and the liver rarely needs anything additional to do its job.,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, in this Parade article focused on detoxing supplements.