M. Roy Wilson, Wayne State University's 12th president, will be inaugurated during a celebration April 3-4. Several events - including a concert, student research poster session and faculty research symposium - will precede the inauguration ceremony, to be held at 3 p.m. April 4. The event is open to the public but a limited number of tickets are available. The formal inauguration ceremony will be held in Wayne State's Community Arts Auditorium and will include an academic procession, formal installation and presidential address. Keynote remarks will be made by Ohio State University's incoming president, Michael Drake, who is the chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. The Wayne State Board of Governors unanimously elected Wilson as the university's president on June 5, 2013. "President Wilson is the visionary leader Wayne State University sought," said Debbie Dingell, chairwoman of the WSU Board of Governors. "Roy's experience as an administrator at urban institutions and his background as a physician and researcher have made him an ideal fit for this university. We look forward to the continued transformation of the university under his leadership."

Joan Claybrook, who issued the first standards requiring airbags in automobiles, will talk about General Motors Co.'s current safety problems with ignition switches Wednesday, April 2, at Wayne State University Law School. Claybrook's presentation - "GM and NHTSA: Who is Covering for Whom?" - also will address the failure of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to demand a recall against the historic backdrop of the role of politics in auto safety. The lecture, free and open to the public, is scheduled from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the law school. Claybrook's presentation serves as the second installment of the annual Dean A. Robb Public Interest Lecture Series, which is presented by Wayne Law's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.

The former S.S. Kresge World Headquarters in the Cass Corridor is being rebranded to take advantage of its adjacency to the proposed Ilitch entertainment district. Starting next week the block-long building at 2727 Second Ave. will be known as the Block at Cass Park, as its owners launch a new marketing campaign at a time when the neighborhood is seeing a string of sales and investments in properties that had gone unwanted for decades. That surge in interest is due to last month's announcement that Cass Corridor, just north of a rebounding downtown, is the site of a planned 45-block entertainment district, which will be anchored by the new home ice for the Detroit Red Wings. Beyond the new arena, another $200 million of other development - restaurants and other retail, residential, offices, parking garages - is expected. The Block at Cass Park isn't changing ownership. It's been owned for years by a partnership of private owners and Wayne State University, who also manage the facility. That arrangement remains the same. "We had been planning this for a while but when the arena was announced, of course, that was really good news," said Ian Studders, a WSU associate director of leasing and retail services. "We realize it makes us even more attractive."

We're about a year and a half into construction at Wayne State's $93 million Multipurpose Biomedical Research Building (MBRB), the university's largest construction project ever. The new building uses the structure of a much older building - the former Dalgleish Cadillac dealership, an Albert Kahn design dating back to 1927. When construction finishes up in about a year, the MBRB will have the DNA of two separate buildings - Albert Kahn's Dalgleish Cadillac and a brand new structure designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux. The Detroit Curbed article includes an extensive photo gallery of the construction site progress. Architectural Record ran the March 16, 2014 Detroit Free Press story by David Jesse.

Wayne State University Physics and Astronomy Professor Claude Pruneau will present "Perils from Space! How the dinosaurs disappeared and so could we...and what we can do about it," on Thursday, March 20 at Traffic Jam and Snug, as part of WSU's "Knowledge on Tap" series. Pruneau talked with WDET's Craig Fahle about last year's Chelyabinsk meteor impact and the universe's inflation. The Metro Times also featured a preview of the event.

A Wayne State University researcher has been awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award, the agency's most prestigious award for up-and-coming researchers in science and engineering. The five-year, $550,000 grant was awarded to Ed Cackett, assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for the project "Reflection and reverberation in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries." According to Cackett, neutron stars are extreme stars - about the mass of the sun, but only the size of a city - containing ultra-dense material, many times the density of an atomic nucleus. "These stars are so dense that the velocity needed to escape a neutron star's gravity is about 30 percent of the speed of light," said Cackett.

Dingell, chairwoman of the Wayne State University Board of Governors, said Monday she is planning to serve out her term as she campaigns for the congressional seat being vacated by her husband. She kicked off her campaign Feb. 28 to succeed U.S. Rep. John Dingell Jr., a Democrat who is the longest-serving member in congressional history. John Dingell, 87, is not seeking re-election. Debbie Dingell has been serving an eight-year term on the WSU Board of Governors. Since last year, she has been chairwoman of the board. Her term expires in December. "I am most definitely going nowhere," said Dingell, 60. "I will be there. I am staying very focused."

Crimea conducted a vote Sunday on whether to join Russia. Reportedly 96 percent voted in favor of joining, but the international community is skeptical of the vote's validity. In fact, Brad Roth of Wayne State University, an expert in international law and state sovereignty, says, "[The vote in Crimea] has no international credibility whatsoever." Aaron Retish, Wayne State associate professor of History, joins WSU associate professor of political science Kevin Deegan-Krause to break down the meaning and implications of this vote. Deegan-Krause says that, due to losing international respect for its actions in Crimea, "Russia may win this battle, but may lose the broader war."

A feature story examines Wayne State University's Multipurpose Biomedical Research Building under construction on the edge of Wayne State University's campus. The building is designed to be open in an effort to help scientists collaborate. Three sides of the building are windows, and there aren't very many interior walls. "The emphasis here is bringing in as much natural light as possible," said Daniel Walz, associate dean of research at Wayne State's School of Medicine, during a recent tour with the Free Press. "We want it to be as open as possible. With all the light flowing in, it will really feel that way. Being very open - that's a key feature of science today." The building - the largest building project ever at WSU - is about a year from opening. About 250 scientists will move in when it opens, with another 250 to come. The $93-million project features nearly 200,000 square feet of space. About half of that is new construction. The other half is renovation. "We're changing the face of Woodward," Walz said. "I really think that once this is up and running, there's going to be all sorts of development around here. It really can spur some change here."

Fox 2 health reporter Deena Centofanti was on site at the Michigan Science Center for "Brain Day" preparations on Saturday, March 15. The annual "Brain Day" event is presented by Wayne State University School of Medicine neuroscientists. The event is free with paid general admission to the center, and coincides with the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives' Brain Awareness Week March 10-16, a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. Centofanti interviewed Thomas Fischer, Wayne State University associate professor in the Department of Psychology and expert in behavioral and cognitive science. The segment aired Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Wayne State women's basketball is bound for the Division II Sweet Sixteen after beating Lewis 87-80 Sunday in Springfield, Mo. The No. 6 seeded Warriors improve to 23-7 and will play No. 1 seeded Drury at 8 p.m. Monday. Shareta Brown led WSU with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six steals. Destiny Lavita-Stephens added 16 points.

A professor at a local cancer center and university has won a $50,000 grant for research on how pancreatic cancer cells respond to a protein that can interfere with the effectiveness of chemotherapy. "Our research identifies a potential new target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer that holds the promise to improve diagnosis and treatment," said Rafael Fridman, a professor in the Pathology Department at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine. "We want to contribute to the expansion of the arsenal of drugs against pancreatic cancer." Fridman won the research grant from the nonprofit Sky Foundation, which raises funds to advance research and increase awareness for early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

A "Live in the D" segment featured the relief efforts of Wayne State University students following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The students, Sarah Draugelis, a graduate of Wayne State's pre-med program, Erik Brown, an MD/PhD student, and computer science student Kevin Zurek, established an electronic medical record system that they used in mobile clinics throughout Haiti. They arrived in Port-au-Prince and travelled in a small boat to an island where they built a little hut to host their clinic. It wasn't long before hundreds of people lined up for medical services. Andrian Marcus, associate professor of computer science, also commented in the story.

A high percentage of "transmen" - transgender individuals whose biological sex at birth was female but who now gender identify as male - have experienced discrimination in healthcare settings, according to new research from the Wayne State University School of Social Work. Ph.D. student Deirdre Shires and Associate Professor Kim Jaffee examined data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, a 2008-09 survey conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, and found that 41 percent of 1,711 transmen reported being denied or refused care, verbally harassed, or physically assaulted in a doctor's office or hospital. The findings, they say, suggest the need for greater focus on the unique health care needs of transgender individuals in public policy as well as health care education and practice.

Michigan Chronicle Senior Editor Bankole Thompson agrees with Detroit native Thomas Sugrue when he urged business and political leaders at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Detroit Policy Conference to focus on areas where the city has strength. Sugrue, author of "The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit,' urged conference attendees not to chase an empty shadow with the hope that creating more enclaves of hipsters in the city will ultimately save Detroit. Sugrue said we should be looking at Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Public Schools and other institutions because of their decades of commitment to the city during challenging times. Thompson writes: "Wayne State University has a new leader, Dr. M. Roy Wilson, who is now expanding the university's engagement and redefining its urban mission with a clear-cut vision, which will be critical to bringing Detroit back."

The Wayne State University men's team set a national record in the 200-yard medley relay during preliminaries at the NCAA championships in Geneva, Ohio. The team of Juan David Molina Perez, Piotr Jachowicz, Soren Holm and Till Barthel completed the event in 1:27.12. The record was 1:27.21.

Wayne State University Law School and the Michigan State University College of Law are tied in the latest rankings among law schools nationwide, according to the 2015 Best Law Schools list by U.S. News & World Report. Wayne State, in particular, worked its way much higher on the list. The two schools are part of a six-way tie at No. 87, out of 145 ranked schools and 194 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association that the report evaluates. The MSU school falls from a No. 80 rank in the 2014 law school list published last year and No. 82 the preceding year, but is still well ahead of its No. 95 rank three years ago, the first time MSU and Wayne both received a competitive ranking by U.S. News. Wayne State, meanwhile, surges from a rank of No. 105 rank last year, No. 110 the previous year and No. 121 three years ago. Law school Dean Jocelyn Benson of Wayne State said in a statement that the new rank is a validation of the school's education quality, and noted that the school's graduates have "one of the highest employment rates" in Michigan.

Detroit Lions General manager Martin Mayhew made it clear how important running back Joique Bell was to the offense moving forward into the Jim Caldwell era. On Tuesday, about three hours before the free agent signing period was to begin, he proved it. Bell, the Wayne State University product, agreed to a deal that will keep him in Detroit the next three years and pay him $9.17 million, with $4.3 million guaranteed. "I don't think this could have played out any better in a movie," Bell said. "I'm speechless." Bell, sharing the running back position with Reggie Bush, amassed 650 yards rushing and 547 yards receiving last season. He also established himself as a reliable chain-mover. He picked 43 first downs rushing and another 22 receiving. He also scored eight rushing touchdowns. In two seasons with the Lions he has rushed for 1,064 yards.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first medical device for preventing migraines. It's called Cefaly and works by stimulating nerves beneath the forehead. Shaped like a tiara, the battery-powered device's electrode is positioned just above the patients' eyes. It delivers an electric current, creating a tingling sensation. In a 67-person randomized controlled trial published in the journal Neurology last month, Cefaly reduced chronic migraine attacks on average by two per month, and 38 percent of users had at least a 50 percent reduction in their number of migraine episodes. The device was not shown to reduce the severity of attacks in the study. "New therapies are needed in migraine, and further studies of neurostimulation using innovative study designs are warranted to explore the optimum way to create an acceptable evidence base for widespread use of this potentially valuable treatment," writes Dr. Eishi Asano, associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at Wayne State University.

A study with a 25-year follow-up from Canada was published in the British Medical Journal that compared women who received an annual mammogram with women who had been instructed in breast self-exams, and showed that women who underwent the mammograms were no more likely to survive a breast cancer diagnosis. Studies also have proved unsettling in part because they raise the possibility that the cause of illness was a false positive diagnosis and the treatment that followed. "Doctors are just as prone to those (errors) as well," said Dr. David Gorski, chief of the division of breast surgery at Wayne State University and managing editor of Science-Based Medicine, a blog covering medical issues and controversies. "We feel good (if) we find the tumor early; we think we saved a life. Maybe we did, but we don't know for sure."