Dr. Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist and director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research clinic at Wayne State University, and Stephanie Hartwell, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State, spoke to the Detroit Free Press in the tragic wake of the Oxford High School shooting. Dr. Javanbakht and others stressed It is essential, after a school shooting, that parents and other adults control their emotions around their children to restore a feeling of calm and safety and limit anxiety. "In general, children, especially younger ones, do not have a good ability of threat detection or appraising the level of the danger. The most important thing is to control our own fear or negative emotions around kids — all kids," said Javanbakht. "Parents must show they're in control. For parents to create an atmosphere of safety is very important." Dean Hartwell, who is a medical sociologist, has researched gun violence. On Tuesday, her daughter texted news of the shooting to her. "My kids were 8 and 5 when the Sandy Hook school shooting happened. And that was first graders. I was completely traumatized. It changes your perception of how safe the world is. So you start to question everything."

As the investigation continues and those involved process what happened, most everyone else must grapple with another difficult task: How should we talk to children about school shootings, especially when they take place in our community? Dr. Tehmina Shakir, a clinical child psychiatrist with Wayne State Health, says that parents and caregivers should approach the difficult subject in different ways depending on the child’s age. She says that children respond differently to traumatic events, especially events like the Oxford High School shooting. For instance, Dr. Shakir says that younger, elementary-aged children may respond to traumatic events by becoming clingy and anxious, and/or they may regress and have trouble sleeping or eating properly.

Late Monday night, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that the newly discovered COVID-19 omicron variant has not yet been detected in Michigan, however the department is now actively monitoring for it. Doctors in metro Detroit say when it's here, it will be known. “It is not going to be a huge challenge to discover this variant," said Dr. Teena Chopra, the director of the Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University. "When we see it, we will know it right away.” The center is sending in samples and monitoring for signs of omicron in metro Detroit.

Dr. Teena Chopra, director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at Detroit Medical Center and the director of the Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University, discusses the omicron variant and warns early evidence isn't enough to say the variant isn't as deadly. "We still need to look at real world data on severity, because most of the cases in South Africa were among young people," Chopra said. "We need to wait a few weeks for clinical data. I'm not yet comfortable saying it's less dangerous." Chopra expects better data on the dangers of the variant to emerge from South Africa next week.

The multi-billion-dollar commitments of automakers and their suppliers to an electric vehicle future has spurred a battery-powered gold rush in Southeast Michigan. Vehicles with a battery core as opposed to an internal combustion engine require a new kind of supply base and pose a unique set of challenges, from combustibility and safety issues to longevity and range concerns. The supplier with a solution stands to cash in on the industry's new direction. Many are hoping to seize on the opportunity by expanding their scope of business and placing big bets on products and services. Automakers are poised to spend more than $300 billion to shift production to EVs over the next five years, according to consulting firm AlixPartners LP. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV have said they aim for up to 50 percent of new car sales to be EVs by 2030. "You can always look at any disruption as an opportunity, and now is really a good time for a small supplier startup and also nontraditional companies usually outside the supply chain to enter into the game," said Tingting Yan, professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University. "All the OEMs and big tier ones, they are forced to think about how they need to restructure their existing supply base." 

Fresh Prescription, or Fresh Rx, is a student-run organization at Wayne State University's School of Medicine that provides participants, specifically Detroit residents with chronic health conditions, with a free “prescription” to purchase food at markets or have fruits and vegetables delivered to their homes. The medical students are on a mission to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to the front doors of food-insecure children and adults in Detroit. “I have learned many things running this program,” said Ethan Firestone, medical student and co-founder of Fresh Prescription. “The program has given me invaluable experience working with underserved members of our community and helped teach me how to be more culturally aware in my medical care.”

For a long time, Melissa Chapman didn’t feel the law was a viable career path. How wrong she was. While studying psychology and biology in undergrad at the Florida Institute of Technology, she was shocked to find how much she enjoyed a few introductory law classes. And during her master’s program in higher education at Eastern Michigan University, she worked part time in education — a field she viewed as a long-term career — while also working part time at the Dobrusin Law Firm in Pontiac, first as an intellectual property legal assistant and then as an IP law clerk. “I quickly found myself enjoying the work at the law firm more and more,” she said. “I decided to continue working at the law firm after my master’s program to gain more exposure to the field and make sure I was confident in pursuing a law degree before investing in it.” Now in her final year at Wayne Law with graduation planned for December, Chapman has always had an interest in different sciences and technology.  “As a child I wanted to be a marine biologist and, in high school, I found myself fascinated with how things worked. After years of not being sure what I wanted my career to look like, it all clicked when I realized I could pursue a career in law that also dealt with technology and learning how things worked.” Chapman particularly appreciates the Wayne Law community.  “At every job and externship during law school, at least one attorney was a Wayne alum who went above and beyond to provide experiences and help me network with other professionals in the legal community,” she said. 

When it comes to ensuring there is enough inventory for customers this holiday season, Genuine Toy Co. owner Elle Dare is hoping for the best. Shipping and supply chain issues give her no choice. "Even if I did want to get something the toy companies are so far behind that it'd be next to impossible," she said. Dare, who has owned and operated the downtown Plymouth retailer for 12 years, said that what customers see is what they'll get. Just part of an order placed in January for items coming from China had arrived. Fortunately for Dare, she doesn't incur any costs until her orders are delivered, and she can cancel at any time. Small businesses are at a huge disadvantage compared to larger competitors in terms of access to products and services, according to Hakan Yildiz, associate professor of global supply chain management for the Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business. Because of the shortage of products and logistics capacity, suppliers and logistics service providers will naturally have to offer existing capacity to their largest customers, Yildiz said. "... small businesses are at the mercy of the spot market for access to logistics services, whereas the large shippers would have better rates through contractual agreements," he said. "Despite these disadvantages, small businesses can use their flexibility, creativity, and proximity to customers as advantages." Yildiz said small business owners can use creativity and long-standing, intimate relationships with customers to test alternatives. Existing customers are a small business' biggest advantage as the world battles shipping issues, he said. “Those customers would very much like the small businesses they've been shopping with for a long time to succeed," Yildiz said. "Especially in the context of the holiday season, as consumers will be getting anxious to get their hands on gifts and other holiday items, and close proximity and direct communication from small business owners may go a long way."

The Wayne State University Dean of Students Office in Detroit has partnered with Share Detroit, a community engagement conduit offering simple ways for neighbors, nonprofits, and businesses to come together and strengthen the community. “We’ve had more students than ever coming to the Dean of Students Office seeking these kinds of opportunities,” says Heather Marks, associate director of student life marketing at Wayne State. “We’re excited to have a new way of directly connecting students to the Detroit community.” Share Detroit seeks to connect Detroiters with local nonprofit organizations, volunteer opportunities, and ways to provide financial support. Volunteer opportunities curated by Share Detroit appear on Wayne State’s new Volunteer Hub, which provides students, faculty, and staff a one-stop shop to explore both ongoing and one-time engagement and service opportunities.

Local health systems are getting slammed with two alarming trends right now: Spikes in COVID-19 cases and soaring overdose numbers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 Americans have died of an overdose between May 2020 and April 2021. Rising overdoses are impacting the entire country, with all but four states seeing climbing death tolls. In an effort to combat this growing problem, the Oakland County Jail is one of the first in Michigan to launch a program with the help of Wayne State University. It's a vending machine that provides free Naloxone — brand name Narcan — to inmates who are leaving. Naloxone is lifesaving as it can reverse the effects of opioids, which has proven critical to first responders arriving at overdose calls.  

“Change Continues” not only is the name of the winner of Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, but it also is a fitting description of a country that has held three elections with three different winners in the past seven months. Why the electoral churn, and what happens now? First, an inconclusive election in April resulted in an impasse and a caretaker government assembled by the president. Another inconclusive election in July and another caretaker government then led to elections in November. The winner of the Nov. 14 election, a party founded less than two months ago by two business executives who loudly proclaim their Harvard credentials, is the latest in a string of new parties periodically erupting in Bulgaria over the past 20 years. But will Change Continues manage to form a government and address the serious problems facing Bulgarian society? The track record for new parties isn’t promising. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday approved COVID boosters for all adults, days before millions of Americans are expected to travel for gatherings leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. A CDC expert advisory panel Friday unanimously endorsed broad adult eligibility for either the Pfizer or Moderna boosters once six months have elapsed since recipients finished the two-dose vaccines. Final approval came Friday evening, when CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendations to provide increased protection against the deadly virus. Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease doctor and professor at Wayne State University, said there is mounting anecdotal evidence of waning immunity among those who were fully vaccinated earlier this year. She was among the first doctors in the state to care for the sickest patients, as metro Detroit was overwhelmed in the spring of 2020 in the early days of the pandemic. The first vaccines were first made broadly available to higher-risks groups in January of this year.  “We are now starting to see people who have gone eight months or more since being vaccinated, they’re not boosted, and they are getting hospitalized,” Chopra said. 

By R. Khari Brown, assoicate professor of sociology, and Ronald Brown, associate professor of political science.  On June 5, 2020, it had been just over a week since a white Minnesota police officer, Derek Chauvin, killed George Floyd, an unarmed, African American man. Protests were underway outside Central United Methodist Church, an interracial church in downtown Detroit with a long history of activism on civil rights, peace, immigrant rights and poverty issues. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the church was no longer holding in-person worship services. But anyone walking into its sanctuary that day would have seen long red flags behind the pastor’s lectern, displaying the words “peace” and “love.” A banner reading “Michigan Says No! To War” hung alongside pictures of civil rights icons Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as labor-rights activist Cesar Chavez. In line with her church’s activist tradition, senior pastor Jill Hardt Zundell stood outside the building and preached about her church’s commitment to eradicating anti-Black racism to her congregants and all that passed by.

A jail in southeastern Michigan has a vending machine that dispenses kits designed to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. Naloxone nasal rescue kits are available free of charge to inmates being discharged from the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac. As part of the release process, deputies advise discharged inmates they can take the kits for personal use or for a family member who may be dependent on opioids. The narcan project is through Wayne State University’s School of Social Work and its Center for Behavioral Health and Justice.   

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit partnered with Wayne State University's anthropology department to conduct an excavation on the museum's grounds as part of an ongoing art exhibit entitled "All Monsters" by Chicago native Jan Tichy. Random household items, including pieces of a clay pot and an old medicine bottle, were unearthed by Wayne State students and will be transformed into works of art. The exhibit is located in artist Mike Kelley's "Mobile Homestead," a full-scale replica of Kelley's 1950's ranch-style home in Detroit, which sits on a plot adjacent to the archeological site that was once a women's prison and a place that housed homeless women and children. Wayne State University professor of anthropology Krysta Ryzewski said the team wanted to incorporate the land's history into the exhibit. "He (Tichy) though that archaeology might be a really interesting way to connect with the art that's on display in his part of the homestead," she said. "So we thought it might be a way to dig underground and bring up the stories of this property and the people who used to live here and utilize the space and many of those people are not known to Detroit's history...We are literally excavating other histories that have been rendered inaccessible because of the changes to the landscape and Detroit over time." 

These days, public health crises are common. The Flint water crisis made global news, highlighting how attempts to cut costs on basic services like clean water led to high levels of led in the water. Crisis lead levels in water, breathing unclean air and not having access to safe areas to play are a daily reality for many. And when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, many public officials were caught off guard. According to some recent scholarship, public health programs once focused more on public infrastructure and the health of the most vulnerable in society. Tricia Miranda-Hartsuff, a public health associate professor at Wayne State University, says the public health field is now changing to focus on larger structural issues, including institutional racism and poverty that can help create trauma. “What we saw with COVID was this exaggeration of health disparities that had already been prevalent,” she said. “We already knew that certain populations had less access to care, had poorer quality of care.”

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – and, perhaps, the most stressful. For some reason, the impending holidays may only conjure anticipation of family, fun, and good fun, but for others, it also brings trepidation about staying healthy when routines are upended, treats beckon around every corner, and the pandemic is still around. Local experts shared their best tips on juggling the season’s demands while keeping your mental and physical health intact. “Be thoughtful about how you spend your time and where you put your energy,” said Erika Bocknek, a professor of counseling psychology at Wayne State University. “Meaningful interactions are more important than box-checking…Try not to let your investment in the holidays detract from being a healthy, whole person.”

The Snow Queen opens this weekend at The Hilberry Theatre to bring magic and fun for the holiday season to Detroit. The play runs from Nov. 19 to Dec. 11. "The Snow Queen is a really love adaptation of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. In it, we follow Gerda as she goes on a quest to find her friend Kai, who has been taken by the Snow Queen," said director Michael J. Barnes. "It shows how the innocence of a child is able to overcome hurdles to renew a love and friendship that can last a lifetime after it has been taken by the adults.  

One of Ashley Ramirez's biggest goals in 2016 was to finish her college degree. She'd started college at Wayne State University a decade prior, but had gotten overwhelmed. Not only was she taking classes there, but she was also in barber school and working at the same time. Ramirez ended up on academic probation, and owed the university money. She wasn't sure if she'd ever become eligible to reenroll. Through the Warrior Way Back program, which forgives up to $1,500 in unpaid direct-to-school debt, Ramirez was able to reenroll in classes, and access resources like academic advising and counseling. Ramirez finished her bachelor's degree in May, and is now enrolled in the MBA program. "I would've eventually decided to go back. But would I have been able to go back? I don't know," she said. "What I do know is that the Warrior Way Back program opened up access. And when I say access, I mean the ability to be able to have a dialogue to figure out where I am and what I can do to actually finish this goal." Since launching in 2018, Warrior Way Back has enrolled over 260 students, and inspired similar programs at other schools. The average age of students participating is 39, although students as old as 63 and as young as 23 have participated; 75% have been Black, and over 50% have been identified as high-need.

Dr. Paul Kilgore, associate professor and director of research in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University, joins Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today in a conversation about the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for school-age children. "The availability of the vaccine for children is really, really good news. It's definitely a game-changer...Parents have been patient and now is the time that they can actually go in to get their kids vaccinated...the reactions we see include things like soreness after the injection, systemic signs like headache, malaise, and joint and muscle aches - that resolve relatively quickly. Kids are very resilient. In fact, we see very, very few kids needing to follow up at a pediatrician as a result of any adverse events..." said Dr. Kilgore. "I always weigh the risks and benefits of anything, including vaccinations. One of the things we can tell parents is that overall, over the last several months, we've had a relatively conservative rollout of the vaccines. We started with the older adults, working our way down to younger adults and teenagers. And through that experience, we've been able to learn that the mRNA vaccines and the J&J vaccine have been safe for adults, and now we have a lot of additional real-world experience with hundreds of thousands of older children who have been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. What this is all telling us is that we haven't seen any unusual signals that would make us worry as we start to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11. The risks of not getting vaccinated are substantial."