The opioid crisis is at its worst in rural areas. Can telemedicine help?

As a researcher of opioid treatment in Michigan, I’m excited to see the call for greater availability of telemedicine as a way to help rural communities. However, telemedicine has important limitations that need to be considered.

November 9, 2017

Taxpayers are subsidizing hush money for sexual harassment and assault

Many of the recent stories about sexual abuse claims against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and other powerful actors, journalists and executives mention settlements either they or their employers made to silence women who accused them of misconduct. These settlements often require alleged victims to sign a nondisclosure agreement – essentially a pledge of secrecy – in exchange for a cash payment. They are designed to keep the reputations of allegedly abusive high-flyers intact, an arrangement that can allow repeated wrongdoing. As a law professor who focuses on white-collar crime, what I find striking about these contracts is how they can be treated as tax-deductible business expenses. That means American taxpayers are helping foot the bill for keeping despicable behavior in the shadows.

November 6, 2017

15K Mich. 'dreamers' wary of Trump changes

“Since its founding, Wayne State University has welcomed all who dream of a better life and supported all who study, work and live on our campus to achieve their potential,” Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said in a letter to the campus community sent the day after Trump ended the program. “We join hundreds of universities, as well as government, business and community leaders across the nation, in expressing our disappointment in this decision and urging Congress to work together and quickly find a solution to this important issue,” Wilson wrote.

November 1, 2017

Wayne State to open innovation hub to boost entrepreneurship, partnerships

Wayne State University is gearing up to expand TechTown Detroit and boost the school's technology commercialization and business partnerships under its new innovation initiative.

November 1, 2017

From the Philanthropy 400: Who Got the Most Million-Dollar Gifts

Among the more than 290 organizations that completed a survey for The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 ranking, these nonprofits received at least one gift of $1 million or more. Contributions came in the form of cash, stock, and donated goods and services. Wayne State is listed as receiving 25 gifts of $1 million or more totaling $60,708,068.

November 1, 2017

Want to prevent sexual harassment and assault? Start by teaching kids

In the wake of sexual assault and harassment allegations involving Harvey Weinstein and Bill O'Reilly, Americans may be learning just how prevalent sexual violence is in our society. So, what can be done to prevent it? Other media mentionshttps://theconversation.com/want-to-prevent-sexual-harassment-and-assault-start-by-teaching-kids-85879

October 27, 2017

The science of fright: Why we love to be scared

Whether we love or hate to experience fear, it’s hard to deny that we certainly revere it – devoting an entire holiday to the celebration of fear..All fun aside, abnormal levels of fear and anxiety can lead to significant distress and dysfunction and limit a person’s ability for success and joy of life. Nearly one in four people experiences a form of anxiety disorder during their lives, and nearly 8 percent experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

October 26, 2017

Wayne State researchers win NIH grant to uncover new antibiotic targets

A research team from Wayne State University has received a $1.85 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health for the project "Mechanisms of Non-Shine-Dalgarno Translation Initiation." The project will be led by Jared Schrader, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

October 26, 2017

Wayne State University launches Innovation Hub to maximize student success

As one of the nation’s preeminent urban research universities, Wayne State consistently generates important innovations and ground-breaking research. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Student Center Ballroom, the university will launch the Wayne Innovation Hub to coordinate and enhance its programs for entrepreneurship education, technology commercialization, and community partnerships, and to enhance the university’s overall culture of innovation.

October 25, 2017

Wayne State receives $2 million NIH grant for new study on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Wayne State University $2,063,188 for a new study that will analyze longitudinal data spanning 20 years collected from five U.S. cohorts, including 480 African-American mothers and children in the Detroit Longitudinal Cohort Study, to take a closer look at the key developmental outcomes and prenatal alcohol exposure levels that characterize FASD.

October 5, 2017

Movie about early activism of Rosa Parks will be based on Detroit historian's book

A book by a Detroit historian is inspiring a movie about the early activism of Rosa Parks and her quest for justice for a rape survivor. The upcoming film will focus on a real-life event that occurred long before Parks made history in 1955 by refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. Parks helped spark the landmark Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama and became an icon of the civil rights movement. But a decade before that, she was one of many African-American women fighting for the right to live and travel without fear of racial and sexual violence. The early activism of Parks is detailed in "At the Dark End of the Street," an award-winning 2010 book written by Wayne State University adjunct associate history professor Danielle McGuire.

September 30, 2017

Fall theater mixes Broadway hits, old faves and more

Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University has “The Underpants” by Steve Martin running Sept. 29-Oct. 15 at the Hillberry Theatre. The actor/comedian/novelist/playwright adapted the play from a 1915 German farce, “Die Hose,” by Carl Sternheim, involving a wardrobe malfunction that leads to a bored wife attracting a fleet of suitors. The company also has Shakespeare (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) and Tennessee Williams (“A Streetcar Named Desire”) on tap.

September 27, 2017

New methods make genetic testing simpler and faster

September is Tay-Sachs Awareness Month, highlighting a genetic disorder much more prevalent in the Jewish community than in the population at large. Concern about Tay-Sachs led to interest in screening for Jewish genetic diseases in the 1970s. Since then, the incidence of Tay-Sachs disease, which is invariably fatal, has fallen by more than 90 percent because of genetic screening. Jerry Feldman, M.D., a professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine and director of its Clinical Genetic Services, says the number of identified disorders more common in the Ashkenazi Jewish community has grown to more than 80, but he notes that beyond that, different labs may test for additional mutations that are found in many ethnic groups. 

September 27, 2017

$3.2M NIH Award To Wayne State To Improve Asthma Care/Outcomes In African American Youth

DETROIT – A research team led by Deborah Ellis, Ph.D., professor of family medicine and public health sciences in Wayne State University's School of Medicine, received a $3.2 million award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The grant will fund a study that will develop interventions to reduce barriers to optimal asthma management and reduce the risk for asthma-related deaths of minority children, with a focus on African American adolescents.

August 30, 2017

Brain imaging studies seek signs of autism before birth

Brain scans of people with autism reveal many things — structures that are unusually large or small, or atypical patterns of activity. But increasing evidence suggests that autism begins well before birth. By the time a person is diagnosed, her brain may have already adjusted to compensate for the condition.

August 17, 2017

Detroit seeks volunteers to help curb infant mortality

Detroit — The city of Detroit is seeking volunteers for a new program that links pregnant Detroit mothers with female mentors to guide them through their baby’s first birthday. Mayor Mike Duggan unveiled plans in February for SisterFriends Detroit, a community-based support program aimed at helping reduce premature births and infant mortality. Since then, SisterFriends has operated as a pilot program, matching volunteer mentors with 42 pregnant women in the city.

August 16, 2017

2017 Detroit Knight Arts Challenge finalists announced

Musicians, poets, even a video game maker are among the 63 finalists for the 2017 Detroit Knight Arts Challenge sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.       Wayne State University, Department of Art and Art History: To explore the connection of politics and printing by publishing a book on the Detroit Print Co-op, which produced noteworthy and beautifully designed publications on leftist politics in the city.

August 14, 2017

Infant mortality rates improve in Detroit, Michigan

Fewer babies overall are dying before their first birthday in Detroit and across the state, though infant mortality has increased for Hispanics and black infants still die at a rate double that of white babies, according to a report released Wednesday.

August 9, 2017

CuriosiD: That Waterway in Detroit, Is it a Strait or a River?

Anne Duggan, professor of French and chair of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Wayne State University, discusses linguistic origins of the Detroit River’s name.

July 31, 2017

New Billy Joel biography documents songs and culture

Wayne State University associate professor Josh Duchan joined Fox 2’s “The Nine” in a segment highlighting his biography of Billy Joel titled, "Billy Joel, America's Piano Man."

July 24, 2017