A $2 million federal grant originally aimed at studying how a Detroit light rail project could be extended to Birmingham has been expanded in scope to cover transit options for the entire 27 miles of Woodward Avenue. The money now will pay for an examination of the Woodward corridor from the Detroit River to downtown Pontiac, the nonprofit Woodward Avenue Action Association said in a statement today. The steering committee is working on the study with the Michigan Suburbs Alliance; Wayne State University, which plans to contribute researchers to the project; and the Woodward association. The corridor analysis is expected to begin in the spring. Public opinions will be sought, the association said.

An article notes that Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour is one of four community leaders to be recognized next month during the Urban League of Detroit's 33rd annual Salute to Distinguished Warriors dinner. The honorees are people who have made significant contributions to human and civil rights advancement within the community. A photo of President Gilmour is included.

Wayne State University's new admissions guidelines will create 45 jobs over the next three years. On Wednesday, the Wayne State board of governors unanimously approved a measure to revamp its admissions policy away from traditional grade point average or test score requirements and toward a holistic evaluation of each student's academic and personal history. The new policy, which will go into effect in 2013, is expected to cut WSU's student population 5 percent, according to The Associated Press. A Crain's brief also discusses the admissions changes.

Recruiting students from China is becoming big business. A number of Michigan universities are aiming to diversify their campuses -- and their revenue -- by marketing themselves to Chinese students. Wayne State University's base of Chinese students grew from 271 in 2005 to 335 in 2011. The growth trend is consistent among many universities in Michigan and across the country. Business, engineering and science are the leading fields of study.

A profile piece highlights Dr. Tamam Mohamad, who began doing research at Wayne State University and his internship and residency at Wayne State University's and the Detroit Medical Center. In 2008, he received his first position with the research department at Wayne State University. Then in 2009, he was awarded "Fellow of the Year" by the Detroit Medical Center. Mohamad is a fellowship-trained interventional cardiologist from Wayne State. A photo of Mohamad is included.

Wayne State University professor Steven Stack comments in a story about suicide, particularly among teenagers using social media. Because of an increased sense of anonymity online, teens are more likely to act differently - more bold, aggressive about their opinions and, often, authentic - than they would be in person, according to a study on teen usage of social media conducted by The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Stack, who has conducted extensive research on suicide and media, said there is the added danger of associating with a crowd that shares similar depressive thinking. "You can enforce your own depression by associating with other people who are depressed," Stack said.

Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour joined Craig Fahle to discuss recent changes to the University's admissions policy. The WSU Board of Governors approved revisions to their admissions policy Wednesday.

Jose Fernandez, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, opines about entrepreneurship in the United States. He cites the success of the North African Partnership for Economic Opportunity (Napeo), launched several weeks ago bringing together over 300 entrepreneurs from Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. Napeo initiative is local control, through advisory boards in each country. While supported by an international advisory board of prominent business and diaspora leaders, the local partners themselves determine priorities and resources for their respective countries. He writes: "Our partnership is already beginning to show results. In October 2011, a delegation of 15 American investors, including potential angel investors from the Maghreb diaspora community, visited Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to mentor and train over 70 promising start-ups in the Maghreb. Three were selected for training and scholarships at Wayne State University and in TechTown.

Speakers from Wayne State University and a Detroit nonprofit that serves the Hispanic community will talk to more than 400 students at the Hispanic Youth Leadership Conference on Feb. 14. The fourth annual conference is organized by Latin Americans United for Progress and will be at Hope College. Afternoon keynote speaker Ethriam Cash Brammer who is a Chicano writer, artist and scholar focused on helping minority students earn college degrees. He is the associate director of the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies at Wayne State University. During the conference, students will also participate in workshops on college preparation and career exploration, as well as time and money management. Representatives from colleges and universities will be on hand to speak with students, too.

The ability to think and act like a top-level private sector executive is a quality growing in demand for upper echelon leaders in higher education, according to a recent study. And that is translating into a new kind of leader for a number of top posts at Southeast Michigan institutions. This year, funding to Michigan's 15 public universities was cut by 15 percent, in exchange for keeping tuition increases under 7 percent. Wayne State University, for instance, received $32 million less in state funding for the 2011-2012 academic year. The university cut up to 200 jobs, including 80 jobs in July, blaming the funding cuts. Margaret Williams, interim dean of Wayne State's School of Business Administration, said the new master's business student is "for a little bit more of a just-in-time delivery, not a long, full-time plan of study." Williams, who has a doctorate in organizational behavior, helped spearhead a new program set to roll out in the fall -- a 13-hour graduate certificate for non-business graduates looking for a jump-start in business. The new certificate transfers toward WSU's part-time MBA program. "There's more importance (for business school deans) to focus on environmental scanning," she said. "We can't just put courses on the books and expect students to take them. That may have been the higher-ed model of the past, but we need to work hard to make sure the training is relevant to employers more than ever."

The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers (PMI) Index made a sharp rebound in January, alleviating concerns about a slowdown for the Michigan economy. The index, which measures activity such as production, new orders, inventories, and employment, rose to 65.9 in January after falling below 50 in December for the first time in more than a year. The PMI is an early indicator of economic activity, often forecasting where the overall economy is heading. "Almost every component of the index improved in this month's survey," said Nitin Paranjpe, an economist and supply chain faculty member at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration, who conducted the analysis. "This bodes extremely well for the future of Michigan's economy."

A grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administered by the Michigan Department of Community Health, is helping a Wayne State University researcher's effort to promote HIV testing among African-Americans. Dana Rice, adjunct assistant professor of family medicine and public health sciences, has received $166,000 to expand HIV testing in the Wayne County jails to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. "We have a huge disparity in racial and ethnic HIV rates in the United States," she said, noting that black men and women make up only 14 percent of the general population in Michigan, but 58 percent of people living with HIV or AIDS. "This project helps to at least tackle the primary issue of HIV prevention, which is that most people don't know their status," said Rice. "We are helping to support making individuals more knowledgeable about their HIV status by providing this service in a place where there is a high-risk population."

Everyone knows that it can feel really good to get a massage. Now scientists may have figured out why, by identifying how massage switches genes on and off, thus reducing inflammation and coaxing muscle adaptation to exercise. Thomas Birk, associate professor of physical therapy at Wayne State University, who has studied the physiological effects of massage in patients with HIV, said that a study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, was the first he had seen that drilled down to cellular basics. "We knew there was something going on, but we couldn't get to it a decade ago," he said, because the technology to probe the smallest structures of the body didn't yet exist. Birk said that more research would be needed for practitioners to figure out the right massage methods, pressures and depths to treat particular conditions.

Dr. Joel Young, clinical assistant professor at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, wrote a letter to the editor regarding the continuing debate on categorizing diseases of the brain in psychiatry. He writes: "Psychiatry readily concedes that categorizing diseases of the brain is a work in progress. Every decade or so, the profession inspects recent research and heartily debates what diagnoses warrant inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Rarely is there unanimity - sometimes scientific findings are inconclusive and contradictory. He adds: "By blending an understanding of neuroscience, psychology and pharmacology, a working psychiatrist can expect to improve most patients' quality of life. Psychiatry has seen a fabulous decade characterized by continued destigmatization of mental illness and improved access to care."

Wayne State is particularly renowned for its contributions to chemical technology, and, earlier this month, the university hired Harl Tolbert - a former pharmaceutical executive with an extensive business development, licensing, and IP management background - as its associate vice president of technology commercialization tasked with building relationships with startups. Tolbert says he plans to increase the school's efforts to commercialize its technology by pitching both fresh technology and older technology to startups, particularly those in the realm of life science applications that involve human cells or tissue. He is also seeking ways to develop technology despite the relative lack of funding that university research typically receives, such that the technology is "one or two steps" beyond the earliest stages. A photo of Tolbert is included.

Three tenants at TechTown, the Wayne State University-affiliated incubator, have received funding from state programs administered by Ann Arbor Spark. Angott Medical Products LLC got an equity investment of $250,000 from the Pre-Seed Capital Fund to match $250,000 that Angott raised previously, and Clean Emission Fluids Inc. got a matching investment of $210,000. ENRG Power Systems LLC got a loan of $50,000 from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund microloan program. Angott Medical hopes to market a low-cost, radiation-free device to screen for breast cancer. Its founder and president, Paul Angott, was named entrepreneur of the year last October at the 11th annual Automation Alley gala.

The Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology has named Lisa Rapport, professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, associate editor. Rapport, a member of Wayne State's faculty since 1993, focuses her research on the value of neuropsychological assessment in predicting clinically relevant outcomes such as risk for accident, community integration and the quality of interpersonal relationships.

Anne Duggan, a Women's Studies professor at Wayne State University, is quoted in a feature highlighting numerous big and small screen adaptations of the classic fairytale Snow White slated for TV and theaters this and next year. Apart from the classic being romantic, there is a popular theme represented in Snow White, which, like all fairytales, has to do with beauty. "The step-mother is always competing with Snow White and Snow White is this younger woman who is threatening to this older woman, who happens to be the wife of her father," Duggan said.

Wayne State University officials will unveil today a proposed tougher new admissions policy that is expected to reduce the student population by about 5 percent. Under the proposal to be presented to the Board of Governors, incoming freshmen in 2013 would be evaluated on their entire academic record, along with an essay, instead of the current policy of using a student's grade point average and ACT score for determining admissions. The university, meanwhile, said it plans to subsidize on-campus housing for students who face academic challenges so they can learn math, English and study skills for eight weeks in the summer and be prepared when the academic year begins. Officials said they plan to step up their recruitment of minority students from Detroit and surrounding communities to address concerns. "We've been here since 1868 and we will continue to do our best to offer to the broadest spectrum of students we can," said Patrick Lindsey, WSU vice president for government and community affairs. "Our goal will be to make sure that students who are in our programs are able to be successful. It's not successful when a student spends any time here, leaves saddled with debt and is unable to obtain a degree or skills that are going to give them a career that will provide a family-sustaining or prevailing wage. We just want to ensure that students are successful." Rob Kohrman, WSU associate vice president of budget, planning and analysis, also comments in the story. Other area media outlets ran an Associated Press brief.

Three companies in TechTown's Thrive business accelerator program have secured startup capital from the State of Michigan. The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund Investment Program matched $250,000 in startup capital raised by Angott Medical Products, and matched $210,000 in startup capital raised by Clean Emission Fluids. Similarly, TechTown clean-tech company ENRG Power Systems LLC secured a $50,000 loan from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund Micro Loan Program. Paul Angott founded Angott Medical Products in 2008, his fifth successful launch of a new company. The company owns patents for a new breast cancer detection device designed to screen patients in the physician's office. Angott developed a prototype for the device by working in cooperation with the Smart Sensors Lab of Wayne State University's College of Engineering.