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College of Human Medicine

August College News Headlines

August 31, 2026

College News

  • Karen Bahrman, wife of the late David Bahrman, was featured on WLUC and in The Mining Journal, for her generous gift supporting pioneering heart valve research happening in the lab of Christopher Contag, PhD, inaugural James and Kathleen Cornelius Endowed Chair and founding director of the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering (IQ).
  • First-year students Lauren Dunn, Ryan Endres, and Ellie Schuurman, along with Matt Emery, MD, community assistant dean for the Grand Rapids Campus, discussed the incoming class and the start of their medical school journey in WOOD and WGVU's coverage of the 2026 Matriculation and White Coat Ceremony. 

Student Success

  • “All of my experiences, growth, lessons learned from my faith journey have shaped my desire to serve in the medical field and they complement each other beautifully,” said Shannon Coughlin (M2) in an article announcing the recipients of this year’s Church of the Brethren’s Health Care Education Scholarships.
  • “Look how many people I’ve been able to help, and look how much I’ve been able to grow as a psychotherapist and a med student because MSU provided me with that opportunity,” said Farid Alsabeh (M3). Rapid Growth, WOOD, WLNS, and Yahoo, featured Alsabeh and the mindful detachment sessions he leads at Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.

Staff and Faculty Success

  • Sean A. Valles, PhD, director and professor in the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice, is president-elect of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors. ABPD works to foster the development and success of bioethics programs housed in academic institutions.

Healthy Communities

  • Science Literacy Project picked up the story about the 10th annual Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Family and Professionals Conference featuring Lucas Pozzo-Miller, PhD, the inaugural Mall Family Endowed Professor in Genetic Autism Research, and Barbara Thompson, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development.
  • “We are now in 60 Michigan communities, and two out of state,” said Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health, in these Common Ground and Model D articles about how Rx Kids continues to expand. 
  • Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health, presented on the expansion of the Rx Kids program to Cleveland, the first community outside Michigan, to the City Club of Cleveland carried on WKSU.

Research and Scholarship

  • “So, what they said is that you don’t need to avoid lettuce anymore, but they didn’t change the recommendations on continuing to wash the lettuce.” Rebecca Schein, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, shared guidance with HuffPost as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services dropped its lettuce warning and Detroit News when the department confirmed two deaths may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration. Related: Yahoo Health.
  • “By basically destroying that protein or targeting that protein, now these cancer cells are defenseless, and chemotherapy is more effective,” said Sachi Horibata, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, in this story from WILX about identifying the protein responsible for making ovarian cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy and finding a way to reverse the process.
  • Continuing coverage of research showing excess muscle build up in lung areas that impair breathing in pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension by Ripla Arora, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology is on the Pulmonary Hypertension Association website.
  • “The danger is once you get infected....it sticks around because the drugs we have simply won’t work on some of it,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Alan spoke with WILX about Candida auris, the drug-resistant fungus the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called an urgent threat.
  • “So if you have a cluster of ALS, you can start to ask the questions, what is similar amongst that region or that population? I think it’s very important work,” said Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, assistant professor and director of the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine, in this WILX story examining a registry created in Michigan to track ALS.
  • “Technically, a shellfish allergy is distinct from a fish allergy—although some people have both—but I would be wary of cross-contamination, and I would avoid this product if you have any fish or shellfish allergy,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, in this Women's Health article about a collagen supplement recall.
  • “The heavy, heavy, heavy majority of youth are just trying to make friends, be part of community, and have fun,” said Krista Mehari, PhD, associate professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, on WJR. Mehari pointed to consistency, kindness, and responsiveness as traits that build trust between adults and teenagers when addressing potential crime and violence associated with teen takeovers.
  • “The concentration of THC and cannabinoids, and multiple other substances, is much greater than it used to be—so you’re smoking a much more concentrated product,” said Jed Magen, DO, MS, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, in this WILX story about an increase in emergency department visits related to cannabis hyperemesis syndrome which produces sudden episodes of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
  • Legal News picked up the Ask the Expert piece on hospital ethics consultants by Jennifer McCurdy, PhD, assistant professor in the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice. The information was first written for The Conversation.
  • Leonard Fleck, PhD, University Distinguished Professor in the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice, shared his expertise on the pricey but powerful Galleri blood test that detects cancer at its earliest stages in this Bridge Michigan article.
  • “These platforms are all set up to get eyeballs. They’ve got to have people watching them for long periods of time because then they get advertising revenue. That’s their entire business model,” said Jed Magen, DO, MS, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, in this WILX story examining the changes to social media mandated by the Meta settlement.

Alumni News