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Alum Notes

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Spring/Summer 1999

Match Day, or the National Residency Match Program, occurred in March when medical students across the country simultaneously learned of the computer-matched results which were the culmination of a competitive interviewing and selection process between students and hospitals, who ranked their top choices.

Scribe Spring/Summer 1999

Match Day was a very happy time for medical students at Wayne State University. Ninety-one percent of participating WSU students were accepted to one of their top three choice programs and 66 percent were accepted to their first-choice institution. This year’s Match Day program also revealed that 42 percent of Wayne State’s graduating medical students will complete residency training programs outside the state of Michigan.

"Any cell can be reprogrammed, and this process is reversible. You do not need to start with the stem cell." These remarks and the research behind them, which could have a profound impact on gene therapy, come from Stephen Krawetz, PhD, who reported his findings in the December 1998 issue of Development.

In a recently released study, Dr. Omer Kucuk and his colleagues found that lycopene, the substance that makes tomatoes red, may help prevent cancer and may also be useful in treating men who are already diagnosed with prostate cancer.

With $1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Jacob Aranda is establishing the Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center Pediatric and Newborn Center for Clinical Pharmacology, where he will serve as principal investigator for a series of clinical trials that will help determine which adult-approved drugs are safe and effective for children and at what dosage.

Dr. Dennis Drescher is investigating the molecular workings of hair cells which affect deafness, vertigo and other maladies of the inner ear. He and his research team are supported with a $1.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

With a $900,000, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Robert Skoff, professor of anatomy and cell biology, and his co-investigator Dr. Leon Carlock, associate professor in the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, are investigating the mechanisms underlying the role of PLPs in oligodendrocyte death.

Wayne State researchers--Drs. Anders Sima and Robert N. Frank--were contributors to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) project "Conquering Diabetes: A Strategic Plan for the 21st Century."

Diane Chugani, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics, has been awarded two National Institutes of Health grants to measure serotonin synthesis in autistic and epileptic patients, particularly during periods of early childhood when the developing brain makes large amounts of serotonin.

Environmental chemicals that are considered safe may cause cancer, says Dr. Maryjean Schenk. DDT, a chemical which has been used extensively for pest control in the United States, and is used in many countries for malaria control, may be linked to the development of prostate cancer, according to a new WSU pilot study.

In the first initiative of its kind in the United States, doctors at the Wayne State University School of Medicine are working with Detroit Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Medical Sections to provide free and confidential Hepatitis C testing, which can lead to lifesaving early treatment before irreversible liver damage sets in.

The Wayne State University (WSU) department of obstetrics and gynecology took center stage at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 1999 annual meeting. Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center (DMC) faculty members presented 63 abstracts--more than double the number of presentations from any other institution.

A newly established journal, called Synopsis: A Current Survey of World Literature in Pediatrics, provides pediatricians and pediatric specialists with an edited compilation of recently published articles. Tej Mattoo, MD, is editor-in-chief and creator of Synopsis, and he’s also an associate professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University/Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

To study the role of other neurotransmitters in the abuse liability of psychomotor stimulants in humans, Dr. Manuel Tancer recently received a five-year $750,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the interaction between dopamine and serotonin systems.

As principal investigator on a $1.5 million grant, Dr. Bruce Deschere is leading a three-year educational program to teach health care professionals to handle managed care and Medicaid populations.

Mark Upfal, MD, associate professor and director of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) at Wayne State University and The Detroit Medical Center, chaired the ACOEM panel which established an inventory to define competencies in 12 categories and 14 subcategories of occupational medicine.

Nearly 25 percent of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are severely underweight and suffer from nutritional deficiencies, said Dr. Dana Kissner. With a three-year grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Dr. Kissner is testing the drug megestrol acetate--or Megace--as an appetite stimulant for CF patients.

Wayne State University (WSU) is one of the top-five centers in the country recruiting patients for the Glioma Outcomes (GO) Project, a prospective study of patients undergoing treatment for malignant brain tumors.

See where the Class of 1999 matched for their residency training programs.

Alum Notes Spring/Summer 1999

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Amy DiCresce
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