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College of Human Medicine

September College News Headlines

September 29, 2026

College News

  • “We wanted the kids to dream big and think about what they wanted their future to look like.” Ayah Ayesh (M4) and Keith English, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, lent their voices to this Rapid Growth article about how College of Human Medicine students are helping children see futures in healthcare.
  • Munising Beacon carried continuing coverage of a generous gift from Karen Bahrman, wife of the late David Bahrman. Her gift will support 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).
  • MLive previewed the 9th Annual Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center (HFRCC) Research Symposium which brings together College of Human Medicine students and researchers with partnering institutions and community members.
  • The Rise, Respond and Rebuild: Healing Communities by Ending Gun Violence conference hosted by University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and co-founded by College of Human Medicine was held for the fourth year. WGRZ reported.
  • Mott Community College has partnered with College of Human Medicine and Hurley Medical Center to train medical students and residents in a simulation environment. Flint Courier News carried the announcement.
  • Nara Parameswaran, PhD, senior associate dean for research, has been named executive vice president for research at Rosalind Franklin University. American Bazaar carried the announcement.

Student Success

  • Mia Cassar (M2) and Zakaria Ahmed (M2) received the Glammy Awarda for Best Obstetric Anesthesiology Presentation at the Great Lakes Anesthesia Conference (GLAC) in Chicago.
  • Elizabeth Phelps (M3), Andrea Wendling, MD, senior associate dean for academic affairs and director of rural medicine, and Julie Phillips, MD, MPH, offered up their voices for this Rapid Growth article on College of Human Medicine’s commitment to building the state’s rural physician workforce.
  • Deondra Montgomery (M3) spoke about the financial stresses of being a medical student on Marketplace’s Clocked Out series.
  • Donovan Dennis (M3) was selected to be part of a roundtable discussion on the role of AI in healthcare and clinical education with health and lifestyle influencer Dr. Mike in NYC.

Staff and Faculty Success

  • Samantha Gailey, PhD, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, won the Early Career Award given to one academic person that has made a significant contribution to the city of Flint in the first 10 years or less of their career at the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center (HFRCC) Research Symposium.
  • Nicole Jones, PhD, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, won the Toby Citrin Award given to one academic person who has demonstrated a longstanding history of working with the Flint community at the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center (HFRCC) Research Symposium.
  • Gurbaksh Esch, MD, MPH, director, Leadership in Community and Public Health, is president-elect of Michigan Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics (MIAAP)

Healthy Communities

  • Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, Rx Kids director and associate dean of public health, answers the question “What can I do about poverty?” in her The Conversation piece focused on how medical schools can improve community health. Articles published by The Conversation are available to other media outlets through a Creative Commons license, helping expert perspectives reach broader audiences through widespread republication. Dr. Hanna's article was picked up by Rutland Herald, Evening Report, Big News Network, Chron, ArcaMax, Michigan Sun, Detroit Star, Times Argus, Yahoo News, MENAFN, Caledonian-Record, Medical Xpress, Midland Daily News, Plainview Herald, NewsATW, among other publications.

Research and Scholarship

  • The Lindsay Clancy trial pushed the postpartum healthcare conversation into an international spotlight. Jennifer Johnson, PhD, chair of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, seized the moment by speaking to WOOD and WJR about her work showing how the Reach Out, stay Strong, Essentials (ROSE) program successfully cuts PPD by a staggering 50%.
  • “The emotional valence of the trauma makes the brain register it a lot more than any other,” said Nagy Youssef, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, in this WILX story about how deeply memories of 9/11 can embed because of the strong emotions triggered.
  • Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, president emerita of MSU and an MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor, is the lead investigator on a new $4.6 million award from the NIH. Woodruff and her team will research how hormonal changes in women can impact the effectiveness of medication. WILX, Endocrine News, Patch, WLNS, Newswise, and Pulse 2.0 carried the announcement.
  • Can too much B6 lead to nerve damage? Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, shared her expertise with Verywell Health.
  • Depression, anxiety, trauma, and exhaustion. Crystal L. Cederna, PsyD, associate professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, shared with The Conversation the model she and her team developed that trains school staff to recognize and support students with physical and mental health concerns, while connecting them to additional services when needed.
  • "It worries me because I want to know where that's coming from and who has access to that source," said Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, in this WZZM article on ricin being discovered in a Michigan apartment.
  • “For workers in dusty environments, time is everything,” said Kenneth Rosenman, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine. A team from Michigan State created an AI tool to help doctors detect early signs of severe lung damage in industrial workers. WLNS, MedicalXpress, WILX, and Yahoo carried the story. Ling Wang, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Adam Alessio, PhD, professor in the Department of Radiology, were also quoted in coverage.
  • “You don’t know what’s in there. It could be nitrous oxide, it could be contaminated with something else, and you just don’t know,” said Jamie Alan, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. WILX reported the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is warning against the misuse of the chemical compound after an increase in emergency responses and hospital visits.
  • David Ozog, MD, chair of the Department of Dermatology, shared his experience using red and blue light therapy with Healio.
  • Krista Mehari, PhD, associate professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, shared her expertise on teen takeovers on The Academic Minute.

The Value of Research

  • “Every research endeavor and discovery is part of the economic engine that generates $51.4B in annual economic activity in Michigan, 7.1% of our state GDP.” Kevin M. Guskiewicz, PhD, president of Michigan State University and leaders at Michigan Technological University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University wrote a joint guest commentary for Bridge Michigan.

Alumni News

  • “With each student, I’m trying to find out what are your gifts, what are your strengths, what are your pitfalls, what are the things that make you tick and are going to make you excited and make you stay for the long haul,” said Tammy LaRue, MD (’16) director of pre-health advising in this feature story on her background and work from Calvin University.
  • “What most people want is to know that they felt heard,” said Vince Prusick, MD (’12). Prusick is a pediatric orthopedic specialist at Shriners Children’s Lexington, and featured in this MD-Update story titled The Best Job Ever.
  • Amy Bradfield McIntosh, MD (’01), a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas, implanted the first newly FDA-approved Spring Distraction System into a child in the United States as reported by Daily Press.