Dean's Update
January 17, 2025 - Aron Sousa, MD
(Above L-R) Aron, William Sanders, DO, chief medical officer of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, president of Michigan State University, and Mark Eastburg, PhD, president and CEO of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services.
Friends,
This week, I had the chance to visit and tour parts of Pine Rest, which is a great partner of the college. I was there to attend an excellent Grand Rounds, “The Changing Landscape of Sport-Related Concussions,” given by our own Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD. You’ve probably heard of him. For those of you who heard him speak about this topic before, you should catch the new version, which has some interesting new data. The man is president and has new data – wunderbar.
Pine Rest is a key partner of the college. They train more than 80 third-year students annually in our psychiatry clerkship, and they are home to more than 40 college-affiliated psychiatry residents and fellows. The residency has been very successful and grown quickly over the last decade to include four psychiatry fellowships. And 90% of their residents enter practice in Michigan. They also host college MIDOCs residents who complete their training in rural psychiatry with our partners in Traverse City.
Beyond our education partnership, they are a leading clinical partner. Pine Rest is more than 100 years old and is the third largest non-profit mental health hospital in the country. They provide a full spectrum of mental health care and have one of the few mother-baby units in the country for maternal depression where mothers can stay with their babies. It is a remarkable place. It has always been remarkable, but their new Pediatric Behavioral Center of Excellence in collaboration with Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital will provide a remarkable and sorely needed service to the children of the state.
The college also has a series of successful research collaborations with Pine Rest across neurodegenerative disorders, autism, and psychiatry. The college is interested in recruiting faculty who focus on research with Pine Rest through our Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine.
Last week, I had the chance to announce some key changes in the college’s advancement and communications offices. This week, I am delighted that our new associate dean for faculty affairs (ADFA) will be Ade Olomu, MD, MS, FMCP, FACP. She has been our interim ADFA since Dr. Parameswaran moved from faculty affairs to be senior associate dean for research last year. Dr. Olomu is an elum [sic] of the prestigious ELAM development program and has long been one of our two faculty excellence advocates (FEAs). Dr. Olomu is the Blanch B. & Frederick C Swartz Endowed Professor of Medicine and is the chair of Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine (ACLGIM) Unified Leadership Training in Diversity (UNLTD). In addition to being a general internist (so you know she is awesome!), Dr. Olomu is a health services researcher with an NIH R01 designed to decrease cardiovascular risk of minority and low-income populations. In the small world category, she has a PNAS paper with Chris Contag from when they were both at Stanford. I am delighted Dr. Olomu is taking on this work, and please welcome her to the role.
Serving the people with you,
Aron
Aron Sousa, MD, FACP
Dean, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine