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College of Human Medicine

October College News Headlines

October 29, 2026

College News

  • The Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health received the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award, one of four national awards, at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium conference in Knoxville.
  • "We like them (medical students) having a chance to work with kids at a community event like this 'cause we think it's better for them and for the kids if they meet each other outside of the doctor's office when somebody's sick," said Keith English, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. English promoted the fourth annual Grand Rapids Teddy Bear Health Fair on WZZM, WGVU, and WXMI. Spectrum News provided event coverage.
  • Stuart Johnson, DO, community assistant dean for the Upper Peninsula Region Campus, was interviewed by WLUC for coverage of the second Rural Health Showcase at UPHS-Marquette. College of Human Medicine was among the event sponsors.

Student Success

  • Taylor Murphy (M3) and Laura Lyons (M3) are co-first authors on the study “Determinants of Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction,” which was published in the Journal of Athletic Training and was the subject of a JAT research spotlight video. The study was also featured in reports by NPR and SiriusXM Doctor Radio.
  • Megan Mattichak, (M2) was awarded first place for student research and Nathan Merem (M4) was awarded second place for clinical vignette, at the Michigan Chapter of American College Physicians (ACP) meeting.
  • Cindy Carvajal (M4) has been named a 2026-2027 NIH Medical Research Scholar. The program’s mission is to cultivate the next generation of biomedical research leaders by bringing exceptionally talented medical, dental, and veterinary students together to the NIH for a year of immersive research, mentorship, and collaboration.
  • Arianna Paa (M3) was mentioned in City Pulse’s article titled Greater Lansing’s quirkiest kiosks. Paa worked with Tim Spedoske, MD (’99), medical director of Campus Health Services, to bring Narcan to vending machines across campus.
  • Noah Lubben (M2) is featured in this Van Andel Institute article about his research on Parkinson’s disease, and tracking the sequence of molecular and cellular changes that occur as Lewy bodies develop.

Staff and Faculty Success

  • Michael Brown, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, was awarded the James D. Mills Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medicine Award by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Healthy Communities

  • “It was a reminder that public policies can cut child poverty … These things that are fixable, and we’ve done it very recently,” said Mona Hanna, MD, MPH,Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health, in this Crain’s Detroit article about Rx Kids.

Research and Scholarship

  • "Sometimes there are no symptoms…But there are some red flags," said Allison Kuipers, PhD, vice chair of basic and translational research in the Department of Medicine. Kuipers led a lecture at Calvin University in Grand Rapids on the rare phospholamban (PLN) gene carried at higher rates among people with Dutch ancestry. WXMI reported on the lecture. WOOD promoted the event.
  • “Drinking a lot of caffeine, even during the beginning of the day, over time, can interrupt sleep because we are in a constant stimulated state and never really ‘come down’ from the effects of caffeine,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. This Prevention article examines how coffee affects our sleep. Related: AOL.
  • "It's a big task to ask schools to do behavioral threat assessment and management. It's a heavy lift," said Alyse Ley, DO, associate professor and associate chair of education and research in the Department of Psychiatry, in this Detroit Free Press article. Ley is the director of Prevent 2 Protect, which offers free behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) basic training for K-12 educators, administrators, mental health professionals, and law enforcement.
  • “Like learning to ride a bike, it can take some guided practice and some practice outside of a clinic environment before you really start to achieve a full effect," said Natoshia Cunningham, PhD, Red Cedar Distinguished Professor and associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine. Cunningham offered her expertise for this VeryWell Health article focused on ways to reduce cortisol and relieve stress.
  • Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, was tapped for her take on the increasing popularity of "mood drinks" in this EveryDay Health article. Alan also commented in this article by the same publication examining the difference between GLP-1 shots and pills.
  • Kenneth Rosenman, MD, Distinguished Professor and chief of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, discussed research tracking cases of "wasping," an emerging form of prison drug use involving paper sprayed with wasp insecticide, in this MLive article.

Alumni News

  • Ryan Reece, MD (’15), assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, has been named in Flint and Genesee’s 40 Under 40.