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

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

Elective surgery study shows older adults have concerns about what it will cost them, how much work they’ll miss and whether they’ll catch COVID-19.

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.

The process, also known as liver perfusion, works differently than traditional ischemic cold storage methods for donor livers by involving technology that recreates the optimal physiological conditions for the organ.

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.

A car accident at age 20 left Sahar Mashhour in the intensive care unit for three months. Almost six years later, Mashhour is still pursuing her passions proving that her disability doesn’t limit her ability, but instead helps her see life through a different lens.

Last year, a young girl experienced up to 40 seizures a week. Today, after nearly a year of working with the ketogenic diet team at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital – overseen by a pediatric neurologist and dietitian – she’s celebrating six months of seizure freedom.

Investigators have developed an environmental risk score that assesses a person’s risk for developing ALS, as well as for survival after diagnosis, using a blood sample.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a model for studying one type of familial epilepsy, opening the door to understanding—and eventually targeting—the mechanisms that lead to the disorder and its associated fatalities.

A Michigan Medicine study finds older Americans with complex neurologic conditions travel may travel great distances for care, many of whom live in rural areas or regions with a limited number of specialists.