A Message From Leadership
At the university and around the globe, we are all still facing the challenges of the pandemic. From our basic scientists to colleagues in the clinic, the entire Michigan Medicine community is still battling COVID-19. Additionally, this ongoing crisis has brought into sharper focus the continued negative impact of inequity, both in our day-to-day lives and in how we serve patients. But as the year comes to a close, I’d argue there is much reason for optimism, as our research at Michigan Medicine continues to impress and make a positive impact.
Over the summer, the university closed its fiscal year and the numbers point to strong, continuing growth. Michigan Medicine had $720 million in award dollars for FY2021, compared to $662 million last year. $138 million of those 2021 dollars came from our collaborations with industry. Astoundingly, our researchers produced almost 9,000 publications last year. Imagine how the biomedical discoveries represented by that number will potentially help patients in the future!
Scrolling through some of our other milestones below, you’ll see a common theme—PEOPLE are what make this work and these breakthroughs possible. From our dedicated faculty, staff, and students to the patients who participate in our clinical research, the individuals behind the scenes—and their commitment to improving human health—are what make the Michigan Medicine research enterprise among the best in the world.
"Our research community has remained highly productive and innovative throughout the pandemic, continuing to bring new discoveries to light that impact health care and care delivery at Michigan Medicine. The pandemic has highlighted even more significantly the value and importance of research in addressing the constantly evolving needs of our patients and the health care industry.”
FY2021 Metrics
Microscopic Imaging without a Microscope
A new technique developed by Jun Hee Lee, Ph.D., and his team uses high-throughput sequencing, instead of a microscope, to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression from a tissue slide. The technology enables a researcher to see every gene expressed, as well as single cells and structures within those cells, at incredibly high resolution: 0.6 micrometers or 66 times smaller than a human hair—beating current methods by multiple orders of magnitude.
“Traditionally, we’ve had to make a hypothesis about the role of two or three genes, but now we have genome-wide data at the microscopic scale. This can be used to provide insight into why certain patients respond to certain drugs, while others don’t.”
Continuous Glucose Monitor Benefits Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
A multi-site study of patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, authored by Rodica Busui, M.D., Ph.D., found that continuous glucose monitoring, compared to blood glucose meter monitoring, or finger pricking, significantly decreased their hemoglobin A1C over eight months. Study participants also exhibited better adherence to managing their diabetes, and their life satisfaction was higher.
“This trial demonstrates the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring for patients with type 2 diabetes, using technology that up until now hasn’t been covered by many insurers. Plus the benefits were seen across a broad spectrum of socio-economic status and racial backgrounds.”
What Does the Future Hold for Telehealth?
How can providers, insurers, and policymakers use the experience of the past year and a half to decide what kind of telehealth they will support once the pandemic ends? A report that’s the product of work by dozens of U-M faculty members and research staff who collaborate with the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation’s Telehealth Research Incubator provides new data that spotlights a number of disparities in adoption, access, and attitudes when it comes to telehealth, through previously unreleased data as well as findings from published research.
"The rapid pivot to virtual visits during the pandemic, when health care organizations were limiting in-person care to the most essential interactions, was one of the most rapid and revolutionary shifts modern medicine has ever witnessed."
Biased Tech Could Determine Who Gets Lifesaving Therapy
Studies at Michigan Medicine have revealed a persistent discrepancy between tests commonly used to determine a patient's oxygenation level. Tests which in turn are used to determine which patients are candidates for life-saving treatments such as ECMO. Valeria Valbuena, M.D., M.Sc., Theodore Iwashyna, M.D., Ph.D., Michael Sjoding, M.D., and Thomas Valley, M.D., examined the rate at which a patient would have a dangerously low blood oxygen level, below 88%, on an arterial blood gas measurement, while at the same time a pulse oximeter measured normal oxygen levels at 92% and above. They found that the risk of this discrepancy occurring in Black patients was up to three times higher than in white patients.
“For clinicians, if a pulse oximeter reads between 92 and 97%, we generally assume the patient is getting enough oxygen. But there are real systematic errors in interpreting single pulse oximetry measurements, even at a reading of 100%—and those errors are more likely in Black patients.”
Cold is Gold for COVID-19 Scientists
The Central Biorepository currently hosts over 30,000 biospecimen samples from 4,200 COVID-19 patients treated at Michigan Medicine. Preserved in freezers at -112 degrees Fahrenheit, the ultra-cold temperatures help keep the samples intact, preserving the fragile genetic material, proteins, immune-response molecules, and cellular signals that can reveal how the novel coronavirus wreaks havoc in the body.
"The faster we can get samples from a patient or research volunteer into our freezers, the more we can preserve the potential to unlock new discoveries."
Researchers in Training
New Molecular Toolbox Helps Demystify Invasive Fungal Strain at the Genetic Level
Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that can cause serious infections in hospitalized patients. In addition to being invasive and difficult to treat with common antifungal drugs, this particular fungus is hard to study in the laboratory. Darian Santana, a Ph.D. candidate in Teresa O’Meara’s lab, has developed a new, more efficient way to dissect Candida auris at the genetic level. Using this new molecular toolbox, researchers will be able to more easily discover how this fungal pathogen causes disease, and to develop effective therapies to fight serious infection in patients.
"Ph.D. students like Darian, as well as early career scientists, are the scientific engine for our laboratories. They are laying the foundation for the ground-breaking discoveries that advance health and medicine.”
