Michigan Medicine

The maize and blue flowers blooming at the North Campus Research Complex mark the 17th June since this massive former Pfizer facility became part of the University of Michigan. Thousands of people involved in biomedical and healthcare research, and clinical pathology for our patients, now call NCRC home. The Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation , Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation , University of Michigan Biointerfaces Institute and University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center are here, as well as research facilities focused on cancer, cardiovascular disease and connected vehicles. Shared research "cores" available to scientists from across U-M and beyond are based here, offering everything from rapid genetic sequencing to advanced microscopy. So are services that ensure that clinical research thrives at U-M. Thousands of U-M faculty, staff and learners, and community members, come to events in NCRC's meeting spaces each year. And several generations of U-M startup companies have gotten off the ground in its incubator space through Innovation Partnerships. The decision to buy the campus, and the strategic process of filling it, set a precedent for a new U-M effort now taking shape just a few miles to the southeast. Read more about what we've done with NCRC, and what the new opportunity is, here: https://michmed.org/wdPqy More about NCRC today: https://lnkd.in/dmhadDm9

On this anniversary of #DDay in 1944, here are some of the University of Michigan physicians, nurses and dietitians who helped care for the wounded in Normandy, France starting just weeks after that key #WorldWarII battle. They were part of the Army's 298th General Hospital Unit, which served from 1942 to 1945. A University of Michigan Medical School team actually began preparing for potential deployment in 1940, even before the U.S. entered the war. They left Ann Arbor by train in June 1942, setting off for training in Arkansas before sailing for England in October. By the time they returned to U-M in summer 1945, they'd cared for more than 30,000 wounded, seen Bob Hope & other USO performers, met Queen Mary of England, and waded ashore at Utah Beach a few weeks after D-Day to set up a hospital in Cherbourg. In Liège, Belgium, they cared for patients even as V-1 "buzz bombs" exploded nearby. You can see an original logbook from the 298th as part of our free medical history exhibit, at the Museum on Main Street through the end of August. It's open every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 12-4 p.m., and you can arrange private weekday tours. Details at https://michmed.org/museum A commendation for the 298th's service was printed in the U-M Hospital Bulletin at the end of the war. Addressed to Colonel Walter G. Maddock, M.D., who led the 298th, and signed by the Army's top medical officer in Europe, it reads in part: “The decision to establish a General Hospital on the Continent as close to combat troops as possible was a bold one. Success of the plan depended entirely upon the calibre of the units selected to implement it. The selection of your unit for such a mission was a wise and fortunate choice because your unit has performed its mission in an outstanding manner. Despite the many obstacles encountered, your hospital was set up, and our sick and wounded military personnel received a type of medical care that many believed impossible to furnish. Few General Hospitals found themselves under enemy fire equal to that experienced by your unit during the siege of Liege by robot bombs... You and your officers and enlisted men, by their devotion to duty, accomplished great things...I ask you to convey to each officer, including nurses and enlisted man of your unit, my warm appreciation and unbounded admiration for the fine work he or she has performed.” Learn more about the 298th: https://lnkd.in/dA5-CFa Harry Towsley, M.D., a 1931 U-M medical graduate who joined the pediatrics faculty in 1934 and later became chair of what is now the Department of Learning Health Sciences, served as the 298th's official recordkeeper, providing a rich source for historians that is housed at the U-M Bentley Historical Library. That record includes this photo, available through the Bentley's digital Image Bank: https://lnkd.in/gRtWk_WJ

Would you know what to do if someone's heart suddenly stopped? This week is national CPR and AED Awareness Week. Knowing how to perform CPR and use an AED can make the difference between life or death during a cardiac emergency. Take the time to learn these lifesaving skills, you never know when they may be needed: https://lnkd.in/g9Ra8xge

VOICING APPRECIATION: Christian musician Scott Michael Bennett had a surprise guest at his performance this past weekend: the surgeon who helped restore his voice. Ten months after Norman D. Hogikyan, M.D., repaired Bennett’s vocal cords, the pair reunited on stage at the Lansing Seventh-day Adventist Church. Bennett’s performance was part of his comeback, now three years removed from a serious car accident. Bennett’s vocal cords were injured in the aftermath of the wreck, and he faced the possibility his singing career was over. With the help of U-M’s Vocal Health Center, however, Bennett is once again sharing his voice — and his story. “Spreading a message of faith, hope and joy through performing are central to Scott’s identity and purpose in life,” said Hogikyan. “Our Vocal Health Center team is extremely grateful for the opportunity to help him return to what he loves.”

When someone is having a cardiac arrest, starting CPR can help save their life 💓 During national CPR and AED Awareness Week, our Frankel Cardiovascular Center teams share some popular songs that can be used to keep rhythm during chest compressions (between 100-120 beats per minute for CPR delivery).

Established in 2013, the Michigan Child Care Related Infections Surveillance Program was the first online tool in Michigan and among the first in the U.S. to track pediatric illness. MCRISP brought together child care providers in Washtenaw County and U-M doctors to effectively monitor pediatric respiratory and gastrointestinal illness transmission. The system reported illness faster by three weeks compared to the paper-based system used by the public health department. Learn more about MCRISP in the comments.

💚 ECO-FRIENDLY LEADERS AND BEST: For the second year in a row, University of Michigan Health-Michigan Medicine has earned Practice Greenhealth's Top 25 Environmental Excellence award, the highest sustainability honor granted to hospitals and health systems by the nation’s leading healthcare sustainability organization. “Receiving the award two years in a row is truly an honor and welcome validation of the hard work our entire team has put into making our health system and communities more sustainable and resilient. I am very proud of everyone who helped make this happen,” said Chip Amoe, J.D., M.P.A., U-M Health Sustainability Officer. “However, the negative health and economic impacts of climate change and environmental exposures continue for our patients and communities. So, we will take a moment to celebrate this significant accomplishment today, and tomorrow we will get right back to the important work of improving the health of the patients, employees and communities we serve.” Read more here: https://michmed.org/kNGQY #PracticeGreenhealth #EnvironmentalExcellence #SustainableHealthSystems #EnvironmentalLeadership

The humble Y chromosome may be the smallest chromosome in the mammalian genome (and getting even smaller), but it is mighty: genes on the Y chromosome are critical for fertility in males. In a new study in the journal Current Biology, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School are studying deer mice to outline how the Y chromosome defends itself against decay by acquiring gene families, holding its own to maintain fertility. https://michmed.org/Nykjg

On June 4, 2007, six Michigan Medicine team members were traveling back from Milwaukee to the University of Michigan on a Survival Flight organ procurement mission with a set of lungs for one of our transplant candidates, when their plane crashed into Lake Michigan. On that day, the Transplant Center and Michigan Medicine community were changed forever. As we honor David Ashburn, Martin Spoor, Richard Chenault II, Rick LaPensee, Bill Serra and Dennis Hoyes, we remember not only how they died, but how they lived—with dedication, professionalism and an unwavering commitment to patient care. Their legacy continues to guide our mission and serves as a reminder that safety is not just a priority—it is a responsibility we owe to one another. In 2025, Representatives Jennifer Conlin and John Fitzgerald introduced a resolution to declare June 2–6 as Michigan Medicine’s Survival Flight of 2007 Memorial Week to commemorate these six individuals who lost their lives in service to patients and families across the State of Michigan.