As eastern Kentuckians continue to search for missing loved ones, muck out their homes and prepare for more rain, they are beginning to ask who could be at fault for this past week’s deadly flooding and whether it was a natural disaster or one caused by the coal mines that have drastically reshaped and scarred the landscape. Compacted dirt, destroyed mountaintops and deforestation in eastern Kentucky have often been left ignored by the coal companies that mined there, despite legal requirements that they attempt to return the land to its natural state when mining concludes. In recent decades, that spurned responsibility has, at times, turned heavy rains into floods and caused local residents who once counted on mining for jobs and prosperity to bring litigation against their former employers in Appalachian courtrooms. About 408,000 Kentuckians live within one mile of abandoned mine land. Kentucky spent a little more than $1.5 million from its reclamation fund. The state is expected to receive an additional $75 million this year as part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law, which dedicated $11.3 billion toward abandoned mine reclamation over the next 15 years. The new sum is huge, but “it’s just a drop in the bucket” to address the need for communities across Appalachia, said Sarah Surber, a public health professor at Wayne State University who studied environmental justice issues in the region and practiced law there for more than a decade. “How do you prioritize [the funding]?” she said. “You have so many that have been left abandoned or sitting in limbo, you have more coal mine company bankruptcies anticipated, so how do you decide what mines get reclaimed and what does that mean for communities and their protection in terms of pollution and flooding issues?” 

Dr. Leslie Lundahl, associate professor in the department of psychiatry and neurosciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and her team are launching a new study to find out whether CBD and THC can help with PTSD. The study is looking to enlist the help of 350 veterans. The study will test cognitive function and monitor vitals while also testing blood, urine, and saliva samples. When studying regular cannabis users, they’re hoping to find lower levels of THC that can produce effective results. “Public opinion has really outpaced science in terms of cannabinoid therapeutics,” said Lundahl. “There are animal data that suggest it might be helpful, there are anecdotal reports that it might be helpful for pain or for PTSD or mood or anxiety, but we don’t really have any hard scientific data to really support that…Specifically, we’re looking at PTSD symptoms severity and then frequency and severity of suicidal thoughts and behavior.  

By Ameera David  Black adults in the United States are more likely than any other group to see race as central to their identity. For many of those Americans, descended from enslaved Africans, the roots of their identity through ancestry remains a mystery. Some are now using DNA testing to trace roots back hundreds of years to a specific country and ethnic group. African Ancestry, which provides such testing, noted a 35% boost in test takers between 2019 and 2021. Kefentse Chike, Wayne State University assistant professor of African American studies, said the desire to learn more about one’s roots and origin has always been there, but also believes the upward trends are tied to current events. “That’s like the missing link in our heritage and it directly impacts our identity,” said Chike. “Of course, the killings of African American men and I think this kind of came to a height or a pinnacle with the death of George Floyd.”  

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson announced Monday that he will step down from his role when his contract expires at the end of the next school year in July 2023. Paul W. Smith speaks to President Wilson about his accomplishments in student success, fundraising and diversity, and what might be next. “After next year, I will have served as dean of a medical school or chancellor or president of a university for 30 years – 10 of those years at Wayne State. That’s a long time,” said Wilson. “There are a number of things that I want to get completed before next year. A couple of them are really big projects, so stay tuned because I’m really looking forward to this next year.” Wilson spoke about his plans for a sabbatical and continued work with faculty and students. reflected on some of his notable accomplishments. “The high point was certainly the improvement in the graduation rates. When I first came, the graduate rate overall was 26% - about 7 or 8% for Black students. Now, it’s about 60% overall and 40%...it’s something I’m particularly proud of…” 

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said he will not extend or renew his contract, which is set to end July 31, 2023. Wilson said the time was right for a leadership transition and that the school was well-positioned to reach its goal of becoming a top research university for social mobility in the U.S.  

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said Monday he will be stepping down as leader of the Detroit institution in about a year. The nine-year president said that Wayne State is well-positioned to continue providing access to the public urban, research university and reach its goal of becoming the top research university for social mobility in the nation. Wilson became WSU’s 12th president in August 2013. He said he will be stepping down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, completing a 10-year tenure at the helm of Michigan’s third largest public university. His contract expires July 31, 2023.  "Ten years is long enough to get most things done," Wilson said. "A year is still a long time. A year from now Wayne State will be in an even stronger position. I've got some big things in mind that I think we can accomplish in a year." Wilson said he will branch out beyond university administration and plans to "leverage my relationships at the national level." Wilson, an ophthalmologist, will take a one-year sabbatical during which he will leave Detroit to "retool in ophthalmology" before returning to Wayne State as a faculty member in 2024. "The impact of President Wilson's transformational leadership will be felt for years to come," said Board of Governors chair Mark Gaffney. "He has led our campus in putting students and their success above all else, furthering the university's role in providing life-changing opportunities for all students to earn a college degree. We are grateful for his years of service and commitment."

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said Monday he will be stepping down as leader of the Detroit institution in about a year. The nine-year president said that Wayne State is well-positioned to continue providing access to the public urban, research university and reach its goal of becoming the top research university for social mobility in the nation. Wilson became WSU’s 12th president in August 2013. He said he will be stepping down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, completing a 10-year tenure at the helm of Michigan’s third largest public university. His contract expires July 31, 2023.  "Ten years is long enough to get most things done," Wilson said. "A year is still a long time. A year from now Wayne State will be in an even stronger position. I've got some big things in mind that I think we can accomplish in a year." Wilson said he will branch out beyond university administration and plans to "leverage my relationships at the national level." Wilson, an ophthalmologist, will take a one-year sabbatical during which he will leave Detroit to "retool in ophthalmology" before returning to Wayne State as a faculty member in 2024. "The impact of President Wilson's transformational leadership will be felt for years to come," said Board of Governors chair Mark Gaffney. "He has led our campus in putting students and their success above all else, furthering the university's role in providing life-changing opportunities for all students to earn a college degree. We are grateful for his years of service and commitment."

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said Monday he will be stepping down as leader of the Detroit institution in about a year. The nine-year president said that Wayne State is well-positioned to continue providing access to the public urban, research university and reach its goal of becoming the top research university for social mobility in the nation. Wilson became WSU’s 12th president in August 2013. He said he will be stepping down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, completing a 10-year tenure at the helm of Michigan’s third largest public university. His contract expires July 31, 2023.  "Ten years is long enough to get most things done," Wilson said. "A year is still a long time. A year from now Wayne State will be in an even stronger position. I've got some big things in mind that I think we can accomplish in a year." Wilson said he will branch out beyond university administration and plans to "leverage my relationships at the national level." Wilson, an ophthalmologist, will take a one-year sabbatical during which he will leave Detroit to "retool in ophthalmology" before returning to Wayne State as a faculty member in 2024. "The impact of President Wilson's transformational leadership will be felt for years to come," said Board of Governors chair Mark Gaffney. "He has led our campus in putting students and their success above all else, furthering the university's role in providing life-changing opportunities for all students to earn a college degree. We are grateful for his years of service and commitment."

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said Monday he will be stepping down as leader of the Detroit institution in about a year. The nine-year president said that Wayne State is well-positioned to continue providing access to the public urban, research university and reach its goal of becoming the top research university for social mobility in the nation. Wilson became WSU’s 12th president in August 2013. He said he will be stepping down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, completing a 10-year tenure at the helm of Michigan’s third largest public university. His contract expires July 31, 2023.  "Ten years is long enough to get most things done," Wilson said. "A year is still a long time. A year from now Wayne State will be in an even stronger position. I've got some big things in mind that I think we can accomplish in a year." Wilson said he will branch out beyond university administration and plans to "leverage my relationships at the national level." Wilson, an ophthalmologist, will take a one-year sabbatical during which he will leave Detroit to "retool in ophthalmology" before returning to Wayne State as a faculty member in 2024. "The impact of President Wilson's transformational leadership will be felt for years to come," said Board of Governors chair Mark Gaffney. "He has led our campus in putting students and their success above all else, furthering the university's role in providing life-changing opportunities for all students to earn a college degree. We are grateful for his years of service and commitment."

By Dan Papscun  The Federal Trade Commission’s challenge of Meta Platform Inc.’s acquisition of a virtual reality gaming company revives a little-used argument against Big Tech’s classic acquisition playbook. The agency, in a July 27 lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited would likely create a monopoly by eliminating competition for virtual reality fitness applications. Within is the developer of the popular fitness app Supernatural. But rather than only challenging the acquisition as harmful to competition now, the FTC is primarily alleging that Meta is seeking to eliminate a future competitor. Potential competition cases are rare and difficult to win, said Stephen Calkins, a professor at Wayne State University Law School. The argument depends on the idea that customers differentiate between apps that incidentally provide a workout versus ones entirely focused on exercise, Calkins said. Because the virtual reality market is so early in its development, making any strong judgments about its market characteristics is tenuous because of how little data is available, Calkins said.  

As of July 16, people have only to press three digits – 988 – to reach the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline when they need help during a mental health crisis. Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression were a leading cause of global health problems even before the spread of COVID-19; however, they’ve gotten worse. Since the first year of the pandemic, anxiety and depression rates worldwide have increased by an overwhelming 25%. The Conversation gathered four essential reads that explore some daily habits and practices that have been shown to improve mental health. Arash Javanbakht, associate professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University, shares the science behind the connection between exercise and mental well-being as well as his personal experience with the positive impacts of physical activity. “Working out regularly really does change the brain biology, and it is not just ‘go walk and you will just feel better,’” he said. “Regular exercise, especially cardio, does change the brain. Do not see it as all or none. It does not have to be a one-hour drive to and from the gym or biking trail for a one-hour workout vs. staying on the couch. I always say to my patients: ‘One more step is better than none, and three squats are better than no squats. When less motivated, or in the beginning, just be nice to yourself. Do as much as possible. Three minutes of dancing with your favorite music still counts.”  

By Tom Bartlett  In its proposed rules for enforcing Title IX, issued last month, the U.S. Department of Education promised that it would “restore crucial protections for students that were eliminated or weakened by the Trump administration.” The 700-page document addresses broad philosophical issues, like the definition of sexual harassment, along with a host of nitty-gritty procedural matters, like whether complaints require signatures. Among the slated changes in the rules is a return to what’s known as the “single investigator” method of conducting inquiries, in which, a complaint is often handled by one administration. In 2020, Betsy DeVos put an end to that approach, announcing that those accused of wrongdoing must be allowed to challenge the evidence at a live hearing in order to “ensure a fair and transparent process.” Removing the requirement for a hearing might be the most significant of the Biden administration’s proposed reforms of how the federal gender-equity law is enforced, and the one with the greatest potential to alter how colleges carry out Title IX investigations. It’s also troubling to some Title IX experts, while others defend it. Nancy Chi Cantalupo, an assistant professor of law at Wayne State University who was a consultant for President Barack Obama’s task force on campus sexual assault, thinks “single investigators” is a misnomer. In many cases, she says, more than one administrator is involved in an investigation, even if there is no formal hearing. She prefers the phrase “civil-rights investigator.” Cantalupo has written that hearings can be needlessly adversarial, can “compel the parties to attack each other’s credibility and evidence,” and are “less likely to create openness to restorative justice.”  

By Robin Erb  The fight to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease faces yet another setback following allegations that a foundational study into the cause of the illness – the basis of years of research and billions of dollars in investment – may have been fraudulent. The revelations, published last week in Science magazine, are a gut punch to the scientific community, which fears that if the allegations are true they will erode trust in medical research while having the effect of discouraging robust funding for other avenues of research for more than a decade. The report will surely prove devastating as well to more than 190,000 Michigan residents now living with Alzheimer’s. “For the scientific community – and even for the non-science person – this is more than outrageous,” if fraud is proven, said Peter Lichtenberg, director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University. “It’s not that fraud or any scientific conduct wipes out the good work that’s been done,” he said. “But it’s heartbreaking.” Lichtenberg and others say that there’s more research now than ever that could lead to the eventual big win over this disease.  

The latest COVID-19 surge has health leaders urging the public to get booster shots. That leaves people with a choice: Get boosted now or wait for an omicron-specific booster that is expected to roll out this fall or winter? BA.5 is better at evading immunity from previous infection and vaccinations, and it’s now responsible for roughly 80% of new COVID-19 cases. Dr. Teena Chopra, the co-director at the Center for Emerging Infections at Wayne State University said don’t wait for omicron-specific vaccines to get boosted. “We don’t want to get a severe disease from COVID. We don’t want to be hospitalized. We don’t want to be in the ICU from COVID. So do not wait to get your boosters,” she said.  

By Elizabeth Yun  Psoriasis scales, the gray or silvery flakes of dead skin that collect on the surface of the plaques that characterize the condition, can be itchy, uncomfortable, and embarrassing – so much so that you may be tempted to pick, peel, or scrape them off. However, while there are some good reasons to remove scales, taking your fingernails to them isn’t one of them, as you risk damaging the skin they’re attached to. This “can trigger flares of more patches of psoriasis, a reaction known as the Koebner phenomenon,” said Steven Daveluy, assistant professor and program director at the Wayne State University department of dermatology.  

The Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute announced plans Monday to build a pair of towers in Midtown Detroit for medical education and research. The project, estimated to cost between $350 million to $450 million, would replace aging Wayne State medical school facilities and be an expansion of research space for the cancer institute. A joint committee is working to determine a precise location for the two adjacent and connected towers. The decision could come in the next three to four months, said Dr. Mark Schweitzer, vice president of health affairs for Wayne State. “The goal is to provide state-of-the-art medical education facilities and state-of-the-art research facilities,” Schweitzer said.