In the second season of The Fundamentals podcast, co-hosts Kelly Malcom and Jordan Goebig talk to several leading experts from the Medical School about their fields and the fundamental questions they are trying to answer — and discover why U-M is such an amazing place for research. Six new episodes of the popular podcast were released on May 6

On today’s The Fundamentals is Dr. Brummett, Professor at the University of Michigan where he serves as the Senior Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He has more than 280 publications, including articles in top journals such as JAMA, JAMA Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Annals of Surgery. He is the Co-Director of the Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network or OPEN at the University of Michigan, which aims to apply a preventative approach to the opioid epidemic in the US through appropriate prescribing after surgery, dentistry and emergency medicine. Moreover, he is the Co-Director of the cross-campus Opioid Research Institute, which was launched in the spring of 2023. He leads multiple NIH grants studying these concepts and receives funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, CDC, and multiple foundations. You can learn more about Dr. Brummett here, and you can follow Dr. Brummett @drchadb and the department of anesthesiology @UMichAnesthesia on X.

Today on The Fundamentals is Dr. Maria Castro, the R.C. Schneider collegiate professor of neurosurgery, and a professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Her research program aims to develop immunotherapies for primary and metastatic brain cancer, studying basic immune biology mechanisms leading to clinical implementation. She has been inducted into the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the Latin American Academy of Sciences, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows. She has won numerous awards for her contributions to basic science and cancer research and is a diversity ambassador for the Cancer Biology Graduate Training Program. You can learn more about Dr. Castro here, and you can follow her @castro2355_mg, the Rogel Cancer Center @UMRogelCancer, the department of neurosurgery @umichneuro, Michigan Neurscience Institute @UM_MNI and the department of cell and developmental biology @UMCDB on X

A survey focused on how much people in their teens and early 20s know about periods and their experience and attitudes around “period poverty”.

Researchers improved memory and reduced neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease, suggesting another avenue for potential treatment.

U.S. emergency departments see 96% fewer visits, $7.6 million less in medical costs after FDA approval of over the counter emergency contraception.

Through a $4.17M NIH grant, a team of biomedical engineers, medical clinicians and data scientists from the Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation is collaboratively researching ways to develop a portable, non-invasive breathalyzer-type device and corresponding algorithm to quickly and accurately diagnose acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

After federal approval for over the counter emergency contraception in 2006, emergency departments across the U.S. saw dramatic decreases in related visits.

The death rate for patients with functional, nonepileptic seizures is higher than expected, with a rate comparable to epilepsy and severe mental illness, a Michigan Medicine-led study finds.

Investigators found that people with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery had stable cognition two years later. Researchers say it suggests that bariatric surgery may mitigate the natural history of cognitive decline expected in people with obesity.

Post-traumatic stress worse among Mexican American caregivers compared to white caregivers.

Experience gave him a new appreciation for interprofessional patient care

An Ohio-based sports photographer is recovering safely at home — and feeling somewhat victorious, despite the Buckeye loss — after having a heart attack at the conclusion of the Michigan-Ohio game.

Piotrowski consulted with a spectrum of doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors, each with a different recommendation for how to treat a herniated disc in the lower portion of his spine until he found one at Michigan Medicine recommending lumbar microdiscectomy, a procedure that involves small incisions to remove portions of the herniated disc and ease pressure on the spinal cord nerves.

Focusing on the ‘tripledemic’ of RSV, flu and COVID-19 infections that occurred last year, their results underscore the importance of all types of hospital emergency departments being prepared to care for sick children, especially when health systems become strained.