Renowned bioethicist and health care authority, Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., envisions a dramatic change in the relationship between physicians and their patients as medicine evolves in the future.

He described this new approach in the keynote address of a New Era in Medicine Symposium on October 16, sponsored by the Taubman Institute and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Emanuel, the head of the Bioethics Department at The Clinical Center of the NIH, sees a day when the nation’s health system shifts its emphasis from “high tech” to “high touch” medicine. This means focusing on primary care, increased accessibility to services, preventive medicine and other ways to treat patients’ conditions before they escalate to the point where hospitalization or costly procedures are necessary.

These innovations are currently being tested in a number of locations and in a number of forms. The result, says Dr. Emanuel, is better health care for patients and greater savings for the system as a whole.

“Dr. Emanuel did a fantastic job looking into the future of medicine and finding a better health care system – and one we can afford,” says A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of the Taubman Institute. “It was a provocative and illuminating presentation, which can help inform the public debate as we go forward.”

For the first time this year, the annual Symposium was a joint venture of the Taubman Institute and MICHR, two U-M Medical School organizations dedicated to accelerating the pace by which medical treatments are developed from basic and clinical research.  

They chose the theme, a New Era in Medicine, to examine the rapid changes taking place both in health care provision and medical research.
Leading U-M medical scientists also spoke:

• Kenneth J. Pienta, M.D., director of MICHR, explained how the organization trains and educates U-M medical scientists in clinical and translational research.
• Taubman Scholar David Pinksy, M.D., shared his research on preventing and limiting the damage of strokes.
• James Dowling, M.D., Ph.D., described his work on childhood muscle diseases.

Dr. Feldman used the occasion to announce that Dr. Dowling had been named the Taubman Institute’s first Emerging Scholar. This new program seeks to support clinician researchers at an early stage in their professional careers.

“We recognize that there are many pressures that are causing a growing number of physicians leaving residencies to abandon a career in research,” says Dr. Feldman. “We are in danger of losing some of the most promising medical scientists in the next generation.

“This program will encourage them to continue their work in the laboratory.”

• View a slideshow of the Symposium
  

One of Ann Arbor’s favorite events is set for October 4 this year.

Last year’s Big House Big Heart run drew more than 7,000 people to the streets of Ann Arbor, where they raised nearly $250,000 for worthy charities. This year, it expects 10,000 people to do even more to support U-M’s Program for Neurology Research & Discovery and other worthy causes.

The Big House Big Heart run is the only charitable event that gets to use the U-M Stadium. Participants can run a 10K or 5K course or join a 1 mile Fun Run. Everyone finishes by running through the tunnel that leads to the football field and onto the 50 yard where they can watch themselves cross the finish line on the Jumbotron.

“Seeing all those running bursting into the Big House, their arms raised in victory, is a sight to behold,” says Eva Feldman, Director of the Program for Neurology Research & Discovery.

“But it’s even more thrilling to know that all these people are running to find a cure for ALS and to support other worthwhile charities.” 

A portion of all entrance fees go to three U-M beneficiaries: ALS Research at the Program for Neurology Research and Discovery, the Cardiovascular Center and the Mott Children’s Hospital.

In addition, participants can raise money for a charity of their choosing.

This year, A. Alfred Taubman, Founder and Chair of the Taubman Institute, will join U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, in kicking off the race. He will also receive the Phil Bowen Award, given each year to the individual who does the most to raise public consciousness about ALS.

Big House Big Heart Run
Sunday, October 4, 2009
University of Michigan Football Stadium
Start Times:
8 a.m. – 10K
9:10 a.m. – 5K
10:30 a.m. – 1 Mile

To learn more or to form your own team, visit www.bighousebigheart.com

Stem cell research has the potential of transforming what we know about human biology and how we treat a host of human diseases.

The University of Michigan is at the forefront of this new technology, all made possible by the passage of a constitution amendment in November lifting restrictions on the research.

You can see the amazing progress being made in stem cell research in a new video, produced by Michigan Television as part of its “Out of the Blue” series.

This revealing look at stem cell research will be shown two more times this week on the Big Ten Network, a cable channel that broadcasts features and sports from the universities that comprise the conference.

The show will air at:

• Sept. 21: 3:00 p.m.
• Oct. 2: 3:30 p.m.
• Sept. 28: 9:00 a.m.
• Oct. 12: 3:00 p.m.
• Sept. 29: 3:00 a.m.
• Oct. 13: 3:00 a.m.
• Oct. 19: 9:30 a.m.
• Oct. 26: 9:30 a.m.
  

You can also watch the video here.

It features Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., the director of the Taubman Institute, who explains her efforts to develop and test stem cell therapies for a wide variety of disorders including ALS, diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease. Eva takes us inside her lab to show us the research that she and her team are conducting to take what they have learned about stem cell biology and turn it into new treatments and cures.

It also tells the poignant story of one of her patients, a University of Michigan professor who has developed ALS. The segment drives home the critical nature of this research – the hope it offers to those suffering from disease.

It shows that the road to a cure for these diseases may be long. But it’s no longer a question of whether we will get there, but when.

ALS Day at Comerica Park

Seventy years ago this summer, Lou Gehrig gave one of the most famous farewell speeches in American sports history. “I am the luckiest man on the face earth,” he told the fans at Yankee Stadium.

The Iron Horse, who had played in 2,130 consecutive games, was knocked out of the New York lineup by ALS – the same terrible disease that the Program for Neurology Research & Discovery struggles to understand every day in its laboratories.

Throughout the season, Major League Baseball is honoring the memory of Lou Gehrig and the fight against ALS at ballparks around the country.

On Sunday afternoon, August 9, the Detroit Tigers held a special ALS Day, to raise public awareness about the disease and to encourage people to participate in the Big House Big Heart Run/Walk on October 4. This annual Ann Arbor event raises money for ALS research at U-M and other worthwhile causes.

Dr. Eva Feldman, Director of the Program for Neurology Research & Discovery, told 42,000 Detroit Tigers fans about the ongoing battle to find a cure for ALS, the terrible disease that knocked Lou Gehrig out of the Yankee lineup 70 years ago.

A. Alfred Taubman, Chair of the Taubman Institute, joined event organizer Mike Highfield in urging the crowd to fight the disease by signing up for the Big House Big Heart Run on Sunday, October 4.

Ten thousand people are expected to take part in the event. They will make their way through the streets of Ann Arbor and into the tunnel leading onto the U-M Stadium football field, where they will watch themselves on the Jumbotron as the finish the race on the 50 yard line.

Taubman, along with U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, will kick off the race. He will also receive the Phil Bowen Award, given each year to the individual who does the most to raise public consciousness about ALS.

• To learn more about the event or to form your own team, visit www.bighousebigheart.com
• See the video on ALS Day at Comerica Park here.
  

The Taubman Institute Lecture will feature Anders Sima, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology, neurology and neurosurgery, Wayne State University. Sima will present "Is C-peptide the Missing Link to Successful Treatment of the Complications of Type 1 Diabetes?" at 9 a.m., Friday, July 17, in the Biomedical Science Research Building auditorium. This lecture is sponsored by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. Full Article(pdf)

Approximately 35 scientists, regulatory experts and economic development officials convened on June 4 in the first statewide stem cell research meeting since the passage of Proposal 2 in the November election, which lifted restrictions on this crucial new field of inquiry.

The session, hosted by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, was a chance for scientists and other life science professionals to learn about each other's work and to brainstorm ways to work more closely together. Full Article

A Consortium is being formed at the University of Michigan’s Taubman Institute to create embryonic stem cell lines to aid in the quest for new treatments and cures for human disease.

The A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies is the first major embryonic stem cell research program launched in Michigan since the Nov. 4 passage of a state constitutional amendment allowing scientists to create new stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics.

The launch of the center, combined with the recent state law change and President Obama's executive order loosening restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, is expected to transform stem cell research at the University of Michigan. Full Article

The first year of the Taubman Institute ended with a flurry of activity. Much of it revolved around the burgeoning field of embryonic stem cell research, and the promise it holds for providing new treatments and cures for a wide variety of diseases.

In October, the Institute held its first Symposium and Advisory Board meeting, at which time its founder and chair, A. Alfred Taubman, gave it a very generous birthday gift: $22 million.

On November 4, Michigan voters approved a state constitution amendment lifting many of the restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. It was a major step forward for doctors and researchers. It allows Michigan to join the other 45 states that allow this exciting, new field of medical inquiry.

In the run-up to the election, the Taubman Institute joined many others at the University of Michigan in an effort to educate the public about stem cell research, so that voters could make an informed decision on this crucial issue. Full Article

The Taubman Institute devoted its first annual Symposium on October 7 to the subject of embryonic stem cell research. The theme was “New Frontiers in Stem Cell Therapies,” and a near-capacity crowd turned out to hear keynote speaker James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D, vice chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force, talk about both the challenges ahead as this new technology becomes incorporated into research experiments and clinical trials and the great opportunities it provides for medical discovery. In addition, three Taubman Scholars shared the progress they are making in stem cell research with the aid of Institute funding. Full Article

In between speakers, members of the audience could view a Poster Session, in the halls of the Biomedical Science Research Building, in which nearly 30 entrants demonstrated some of the best stem cell research being performed by U-M scientists. The winners, among other prizes, will get to explain their findings over lunch to Alfred Taubman.

• View video of Taubman Symposium

As one of the chief advocates of biomedical research in Michigan, A. Alfred Taubman will be a frequent guest on WWJ-TV (Channel 62 in Metro Detroit) this coming weekend.

He will be featured in the CBS affiliate’s upcoming special, "Rx for Michigan,” which examines the potential of the life sciences to stimulate economic growth in the state of Michigan.

Hosted by WWJ-TV’s Editorial Director Carol Cain, the show will premiere during prime time on Saturday, February 7 at 9 p.m. Full Article

The Taubman Institute’s Advisory Board met for the first time on October 7. Comprised of leaders from business, science and the community, its responsibilities include nurturing the mission of the organization, monitorings its progress and charting its future.

The members heard from Robert P. Kelch, M.D., U-M’s executive vice president for medical affairs, as he shared his vision for the Hospital System. Taubman Scholars updated them on their latest research. And the Advisory Board discussed the Institute’s programs, including the new Taubman Institute-Israel Initiative, which seeks to build collaborations between U-M medical scientists and their colleagues in Israel.

They also considered the idea of establishing Junior Scholar grants for up-and-coming U-M scientists who show great promise.

To cap off the first year of the Institute, founder Alfred Taubman announced that he was bequeathing an additional $22 million in funding to further its quest for medical discovery. It will be added to a similar figure donated last year to establish the endowment.

It brings Taubman’s total gifts to the University of Michigan to more than $80 million. That speaks volumes to his commitment to the University, medical research and the people of this state. Full Article.

Nearly 30 U-M scientists entered the poster session competition held in conjunction with the first A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute Symposium on October 7. Like the Symposium, the poster session focused on stem-cell research, and it received a steady flow of viewers throughout the day.

The winners received cash prizes, as well as a chance to discuss their research with Taubman Institute founder and chair A. Alfred Taubman. Full Article