Patients, the ultimate stakeholders in clinical and translational research, haven’t always had a seat at the table for conducting research studies. Research teams and funding agencies are increasingly recognizing that patients with lived experience bring a unique and valuable point of view for every stage of a research study - starting with study creation. MICHR’s Patient Partners Program was founded to advance the integration of patient partners into study teams and research leadership with the goal of accelerating innovation and translational science, increasing the relevance of research findings, and improving health outcomes and patient empowerment.

Leesi believes that mental health plays a vital role in shaping one’s identity and is a topic that is often overlooked, especially in minority populations. However, physical activity is a fun and potentially effective way to positively impact physical and mental health issues, particularly in children.

Driven by a profound concern for individuals with allergies and a keen interest in anaphylaxis, Charles (Chase) F. Schuler IV, MD was drawn toward clinical and translational research.

Reflecting on personal experience, Schuler shared, “My dad had a tree nut allergy, so I found myself treating anaphylaxis (a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction) at home from a young age,” said Schuler.

Now a father himself, Dr. Schuler serves as an assistant professor in the division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology within the Department of Internal Medicine, as well as the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center at the University of Michigan.

MICHR to tackle goal of diversifying and improving research to speed therapies for benefit of all patients

PaTH’s Discovery-to-Implementation forums brought together various stakeholder groups from multiple health communities to share key learnings through research from affiliated health systems and to explore the potential for forming learning communities.

Once at work, her curious nature has her asking questions the way anthropologists ask – open ended, wondering how everything is intertwined with everything else in society, and taking that richness and complexity as a starting point for her ethnographic research.

Hendy, a MICHR Postdoctoral Translational Scholars Program (PTSP) scholar and winner of this year’s three-minute-thesis (3MT) competition between U-M and the University of Minnesota, understands the importance of clear, concise communication when it comes to research. “The 3MT process forces you to strip out jargon, tell a good story, and get to the punchline quickly,” Hendy explained.

Volunteering in community programs with older adults in North Minneapolis, studying geography and gerontology, and experiencing the devastating effects of dementia in her own family drove Jessica Finlay, PhD toward novel public health research on environmental factors affecting dementia risk.

”The STEP.up people did a fantastic job of matching our interests, so we had things outside of work we could talk about too. I got to learn a lot about clinical trials, an area where my knowledge was lacking. And, you know the old adage: do as I say, not as I do," said Kathleen Ignatoski, STEP.up Mentor. “I put into practice some of the things that I was counseling Blake to do (most of the time before we talked about it), and it helped me tremendously.” 

When medical school student Shriya Tanti first came to the U.S. with her family from India when she was in sixth grade, she didn’t speak any English. Overcoming that and other challenges helped shape the adventurous, and somewhat fearless person she is today.

Kozik designed the logo on her KoziMicrobe website, where she introduces herself as a U-M microbiologist and research investigator. She co-founded the Black Microbiologists Association and is interested in the human microbiome, systems biology, and inflammatory disease.

A new groundbreaking study from the University of Michigan’s Center for Drug Repurposing (CDR) reveals several drug contenders already in use for other purposes—including one dietary supplement—that have been shown to block or reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells.

The study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses artificial intelligence-powered image analysis of human cell lines during infection with the novel coronavirus.

Dr. Byrd is part of a multi-site study that is evaluating whether continuing medication versus discontinuing common blood pressure medications (ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers) at time of hospitalization for COVID-19 makes a difference in how people recover and respond to treatment, focusing on two of the most common blood pressure treatments in the U.S.

Traditional clinical research study registries require researchers to seek out participants and find suitable matches to enroll in their studies. At the University of Michigan, the UMHealthResearch.org registry takes its capabilities one important step further by empowering potential research participants to do the same.

To aid accessibility to crucial COVID-19 patient data, MICHR launched a COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Registry to offer a centralized clinical characterization and management resource of what the scientific and health care community has learned through this public health pandemic.

The Center for Drug Repurposing (UM-CDR) is already taking on the challenge of finding a drug previously approved by the FDA – or more likely a cocktail of several drugs – to battle COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

A patient’s journey from Arizona to the U-M Rogel Cancer Center to participate in clinical research led to the successful removal of her cancerous tumor. The trial involved adding an oral agent known as AZD 1775 to chemotherapy and radiation. In laboratory studies, it did a better job killing pancreatic cancer cells.

A splint to support a baby’s collapsing airway. New ears for children born without them. A customized CPAP mask for patients with sleep apnea. These personalized devices and models are all possible because of the 3D-printing advances made at Michigan Medicine, and this is just the beginning. 

A $4.3 million grant will help establish a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at U-M and Michigan Medicine. MICHR consulted with Dr. Meade earlier this year, providing guidance on the RRTC site visit and funder queries.

Between 50 to 60 percent of patients who receive donated bone marrow or stem cells develop a major complication called graft-versus-host disease, with a mortality rate of 75 to 100 percent among those with the most severe cases of the disease.

That’s why Sung Won Choi, MD, MS has devoted the past decade of her career to research intended not only to better treat GVHD but also to prevent it from occurring in the first place.

In a clinical trial, researchers did what might seem like a recipe for disaster: administer tiny daily doses of peanut protein powder to patients with peanut allergies. Far from a catastrophe, the results could give new hope to the millions who are highly allergic to peanuts.