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continued from page 42
For Exceptional Stroke Care,
Visit St. Joe's
By Jack Weiner,
President and CEO
St. Joseph Mercy
Oakland
A stroke occurs when blood flow to a part
ofthe brain stops. A stroke is sometimes
called a "brain attack" and is considered
a medical emergency. When you or a loved
one has a stroke, call 911 and get to an
emergency room immediately.
If blood flow is cut off for longer than a
Ramesh Madhavan,
few
seconds, the brain cannot get blood and
MD, DM
oxygen, and can result in a stroke. A stroke
can take two forms: a clot or a bleed in the
brain and if not treated quickly, you can
suffer brain damage or death.
Pratik Bhattacharya
There is hope if you receive timely,
MD
specialized treatment. For the best,
technologically advanced stroke treatment,
come to the leader in stroke care—St.
Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO). As the home
base of the Michigan Stroke Network (MSN), SJMO has top stroke specialists—vascular
and neuroendovascular specialists, a neurointensivist, neurosurgical and neuroscience
nurses and other specialized clinicians or specialty clinicians—to treat your stroke and
restore your quality of life.
St. Joe’s stroke specialists use the latest treatments to resolve a stroke. In some cases,
a clot-busting drug can dissolve the stroke. In more severe cases, an interventional
procedure is performed using the latest technology, such as stent retrievers, to remove
the clot and restore blood flow to the brain.
In 2004, SJMO, a member of the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, became Michigan’s
first certified primary stroke center. This laid the foundation for the MSN, which was
launched in October 2006 by Trinity Health and SJMO. The MSN provides technologically
advanced stroke care not only at St. Joe’s, but also to more than 22 partner hospitals
throughout Michigan via telemedicine, using two-way, audio-visual robotics to provide
remote clinical health care. The MSN provides remote access to stroke care, ongoing
clinical trials and stroke education and support across Michigan
“To prevent a stroke, follow a healthy diet, reduce your sodium intake, keep your
cholesterol and blood pressure down, exercise and don’t smoke,” says Ramesh
Madhavan, MD, DM, an SJMO vascular neurologist and Medical Director of Telemedicine.
Dr. Bhattacharya, Stroke Program Director also advises for protection
from a stroke, know your risk factors and the signs and symptoms of stroke.
Visit www.michiganstrokenetwork.com to learn more.
2064350
44 July 28 • 2016
physics, Merajver finished her bachelor’s
degree in under a year and pursued fur-
ther physics studies with a biological focus.
She received her master’s and doctorate
degrees from the University of Maryland
and pursued a post-doctoral fellowship
in biological physics at the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
Her project was to devise membranes
to encapsulate hemoglobin protein so
artificial blood could be produced for the
military.
Inspired by her work in medical prob-
lems, Merajver pointed her career to work
on scientific problems that help humanity.
She saw how the future of physics could
be applied in medicine and spent the next
12 years getting medical training, special-
Merajver and Dr. Rabia Gilani, Ph.D.,
izing in internal medicine and oncology
a post-doctoral research fellow in the
at U-M Medical School. Her connection
in breast cancer research began when she Merajver Laboratory
was asked to work as a junior clinician on
the breast cancer unit.
Meravjer is a firm believer in the
“Understanding the basic biology
power of student teams from partnering
and physics of cancer so that the genetic
institutions throughout the world as a
vulnerabilities of cancer cells can be dis-
training model for future generations of
covered and targeted with better drugs is
researchers.
an overarching purpose of our research,”
“The best tools we have to study the
says Merajver, who enjoys spending time
complex changes that take place in
with her three grandchildren. Her three
breast cancer require fairly advanced
children, now adults, celebrated their bar
mathematics and biostatistics,” Merajver
mitzvahs at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann
says. “In addition to descriptions of
Arbor.
biologic phenomena, mathematics
During her approaching sabbatical,
permits us to explore the patterns
Merajver will stop teaching her under-
and principles underlying a biological
graduate class in global health and relin-
phenomenon and to make predictions. We quish caring for patients so she can focus
need to make these predictions available
on her various research projects and accel-
to clinicians.
erate their progress.
“More importantly, if we can map the
“Sofia Merajver is a great mother,
real-time activity of cancer cells taken
incredibly smart, cares deeply about her
from a patient, using mathematical mod-
patients and is energized by her research,”
eling and other technologies, we can make says Larry Baker, collegiate professor,
better decisions about a patient’s treat-
Cancer Development Therapeutics and
ment, helping us decide which drugs to
professor of internal medicine and phar-
give her in a particular sequence. We’ve
macology at the U-M Health Center.
moved much closer toward personalized
Although he lives in Ann Arbor, he main-
medicine.
tains his longtime membership at Temple
“The ultimate cure and prevention for
Beth El in Bloomfield Township.
all types of breast cancer is still some-
“During the 20-plus years I’ve known
where in the future, but we’re close to
her, Sofia, like most scientists, maintains a
turning most breast cancer into a chronic
high level of curiosity she uses to discover
illness,” she says. “We also know more
how cancer cells differ from normal cell so
about nutrition and how changes in life-
they can be targeted and treated.”
style can limit cancer occurrence.”
When asked what it would take to get
For more about Dr. Merajver’s team
where she wants to go with her research,
research, visit the website
without hesitation Merajver responds she’d
www.med.umich.edu/merajverlab or
like to complete all her ongoing research
contact Dr. Joel Yates: joely@umich.
as well as finish those projects waiting to
edu or (734) 763-6009. To learn about
be researched.
partnering in Merajver’s research,
“That would take about $10 million
contact amandasn@umich.com,
dollars over a period of five years to add
sboa@umich.edu or (734) 936-6884.
additional lab space and hire additional
If you are a patient or have questions
researchers,” says Merajver, who spends
about cancer care, call the U-M Cancer
close to two-thirds of her time raising
AnswerLine at (800) 865-1125.
funds from the government and individu-
al donors to carry on her work.
*