In the wake of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, several student groups, colleges and departments at Wayne State University have partnered to raise funds and moral support for victims and others affected by the disaster.

Eishi Asano, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and neurology in Wayne State's School of Medicine, is available to discuss his experience growing up near Sendai, the epicenter of the quake, and the scope of the need for support for the people of Japan.

Dr. Asano, who has family in Minamisanriku, a village once home to approximately 19,000, addressed WSU students, staff and faculty members last week during the Campus Ceremony for the People of Japan, which launched the university's fund drive to support the American Red Cross's Japan disaster relief effort. Dr. Asano commented that the village was destroyed and most of its residents are in need of medicine, food and water.

Dr. Asano has been medical director of the Department of Electroneurodiagnostics at Children's Hospital of Michigan since 2004. He earned a Ph.D. and M.D. from Tohoku University in Japan. His areas of expertise include epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology and human brain mapping. Dr. Asano also serves as an editorial board member for Brain and Development - the official journal of the Japanese Society of Child Neurology.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Asano or other WSU experts, call Rasheda Williams at (313) 577-8094.

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.