Kevin C. Bergquist

A special issue of Medicine at Michigan magazine — celebrating the Medical School's 175th anniversary — featuring 175 people who have helped shape our history

On Oct. 16, the Board of Regents approved the appointment of Douglas C. Noll, Ph.D., as interim chair of Biomedical Engineering (BME), effective Jan. 1, 2026, while the College of Engineering and Medical School conduct a search for the next chair.

Stephan F. Taylor, M.D., has been appointed chair of the Department of Psychiatry and the Daniel E. Offutt, III Professor of Psychiatry in the Medical School, effective Sept. 1. The provost has provided interim approval of these appointments, and they will be reported at the September Board of Regents meeting.

On Aug. 15, the University of Michigan will proudly join institutions nationwide in celebrating Graduate Medical Education (GME) Professionals Day — a day dedicated to recognizing the remarkable contributions of those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support the doctors of tomorrow

Nine Medical School faculty members and nine research staff members have been recognized for their contributions to teaching and research with Endowment for Basic Sciences (EBS) Awards for 2025. Each of the nine UMMS basic science departments select a winner for each award. This year’s recipients received their awards June 12 during a ceremony in the Medical School.

Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education Louito C. Edje, M.D., MHPE, FAAFP, was reelected to the American Medical Association’s Council on Medical Education (CME). CME studies and evaluates all aspects of the medical education continuum and recommends national policies for medical and allied health education.

On June 10, the University of Michigan Medical School honored the 42 faculty members who were appointed to named professorships in 2024. A named professorship is one of the highest honors bestowed on a faculty member. Medical School leadership gathered with the honorees for a reception in the Gilbert S. Omenn Atrium in the A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building.

The Board of Regents on June 12 approved the appointment of Sachin Kheterpal, M.D., MBA, as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and the Robert B. Sweet Endowed Professor of Anesthesiology in the Medical School, effective July 1, 2025.

Lab Swap events held over three days on the medical campus and at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) kept more than 1,700 pounds of supplies out of landfills and allowed research teams to save more than $90,000 compared to buying new. Sponsored by the U-M Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS) and Medical School Facilities, the annual Lab Swap events support U-M’s waste reduction efforts by allowing research staff to donate surplus lab supplies — lightly used, non-expired lab materials, consumables, glassware, and small equipment — that can be used by other staff.

On May 15, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved promotions for more than 200 Medical School faculty members. Their new appointments take effect Aug. 25, 2025.

Many of our graduating medical students brought strong leadership skills with them to campus. Others have developed them through a flexible curriculum that has prepared them to be leaders and change agents in medicine. How, when and why they demonstrate leadership varies, but the featured speaker at the Medical School Commencement Ceremony on May 16 in Hill Auditorium told 163 graduating medical students that their leadership is welcome during a time of great turmoil in health care.

Shirlene Obuobi, M.D., is a cardiologist, cartoonist and author and shares her advice for the next generation of doctors.

Louito C. Edje, M.D., MHPE, FAAP, is recipient of the ELUM Compass Award, a special award given as part of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program’s 30th anniversary celebration. ELAM is a prestigious national leadership fellowship for women which aims to increase and sustain the number and impact of women in leadership positions in the health sciences.

Lives are being saved, and many others are being changed dramatically, by current GLP-1 therapies like tirzepatide, which has helped many patients treat type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, and also lose weight. It has been a long road from bench research to clinical trials to the health care market, but patients are now benefitting more than ever, according to a leading scientist who served as the keynote speaker for the second annual Dean’s Lecture and Bold Science Symposium, “Metabolism Research from Bench to Bedside.” Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer and executive vice president of science and technology at Eli Lilly and Company and president of Research Laboratories and Lilly Immunology, was the Dean’s Lecturer on April 14 at the North Campus Research Complex Dining Hall.

Three Medical School faculty members are among a group of 50 nationwide to receive Young Physician-Scientist Awards from the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Nora V. Becker, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of internal medicine in the Division of General Medicine; Wassim Walid Labaki, M.D., M.S., an assistant professor of internal medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; and John R. Prensner, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics and biological chemistry, are recipients of the annual award, which recognizes physician-scientists who are within 1-5 years of their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.