The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 3, 2013 - 5A
ALS
From Page 1A
relatively new strain of human
embryonic stem cells developed
at the University through part-
nerships with the National Insti-
tutes of Health. She referenced
the work of Physiology Prof. Gary
Smith at MStem Cell Laboratories
- the University's stem cell insti-
tution - as a crucial component to
the development of the treatment.
"What we've done here at the
University of Michigan ... is make
embryonic stem cell lines, which
are now being used for under-
standing disease course as well as
for treatment," Feldman said.
Stem cells have the potential
to aid in the treatment of not only
ALS, but awide range of debilitat-
ing and life-threatening diseases,
including Parkinson's disease,
Alzheimer's disease and multiple
sclerosis, Feldman said.
"I know that the potential of
human embryonic stem cells is
really in its infancy," Feldman
said. "As we engage in under-
standing of what stem cells do,
we will really then begin to more
fully understand their complete
potential. I really don't think
we're even at the tip of the ice-
berg."
Although the results from the
trials are still preliminary, Feld-
man said four of 15 patients tested
in Phase I experienced a "stable or
improved disease course." Prior
to human studies, the research
team demonstrated the capability
of this treatment to slow the pro-
gression of symptoms in rats with
the disease.
"Stem cells placed into the spi-
nal cord of these rat models of
ALS caused the large motor neu-
rons to survive," Feldman said.
"And also actually allowed the
rats to have continued function
and not to die as quickly from
their disease. We're very excited
about that."
Prior to 2008, Feldman spent
10 years investigating ALS treat-
ments in California, while stem-
cell research was still illegal in
the state of Michigan. After the
passage of the Michigan Stem
Cell Amendment, which loosened
restrictions on stem-cellresearch,
Feldman moved her research back
to the University and has contin-
ued here ever since.
Although the research - in
particular, embryonic stem-cell
research - is still controversial in
some areas of the country, Feld-
man said the research has the
potential to impact the lives of
people suffering from degenera-
tive diseases.
"I am more pro-life than any-
one because what I do is take
embryos that were previously lit-
erally discarded down a garbage
disposal, and I take those embry-
os and we create new embryonic
stem cell lines," Feldman said.
"And I think you can see today
the hope that these new stem-cell
lines can offer for what are really
fairly devastating diseases."
After studying ALS at the Uni-
versity for almost 25 years, Feld-
man said she is equally interested
in understanding the disease as
well as the treatment. Martin
Fischhoff, managing director of
the Taubman Institute, said this
focus on "translational research"
is important to the future of fed-
erally funded research projects.
"There's been a disconnect
between the research being
done in the laboratories and the
development of new treatments
for patients," Fischhoff said.
"We're doing important research,
but there hasn't been the same
emphasis of bringing them to
patients through new treatments
and new therapies, which is what
we're tryingto do at the Taubman
Institute and I think throughout
the University."
"To do this kind of pioneering
stem cell researchhere at the Uni-
versity of Michigan is something
everybody in the state should be
proud of," he said.
- Brie Winnega
contributed reporting.
RENOVATIONS
From Page 1A
will invite a variety of foreign fla-
vors provided by local Ann Arbor
vendors; and an expanded salad
and soup bar will offer grab-n-go
and personalized options.
Keith Soster, food service
director for the University
Unions, currently heads opera-
tions at the Commons Cafe and
has played a large role in the ren-
ovation plans.
"The nice thing about these four
individual restaurant-type con- and individual study over longer
cepts is the stations are designed periods of time.
to be versatile," Soster said. "So "That whole space will lend
that as the trends or needs or itself to great opportunities for
desires of the students change, we collaborations for students," Sos-
can help modify the menu." ter said.
The caf6's cafeteria-like dining Mitchell Field will be renovated
area will also get a face-lift. Tall alongside the cafe with a focus on
stools, booths and soft lounge improving lighting, constructing
seating will be added to the stan- a support building for Rec Sports
dard cafeteria tables and chairs. staff and creating a student space
An additional 60 to 70 seats for intramural and club teams.
will be fitted in the dining area The total project cost to reno-
to accommodate an influx of stu- vate Mitchell Field, the three
dent traffic and create a more recreational sports facilities,
conducive environment for group Pierpont Commons and the
Michigan Union is estimated at
$174 million. A $65-per-semester
student fee will be implemented
in fall 2014 to pay forthe projects.
Nearly 22 percent of the revenue
from the student fee will be con-
verted into financial aid.
A poll conducted by Building a
Better Michiganpollin2012found
broad support for the fee, which
was approved by the University's
Board of Regents in April.
"This (fee) is not a minority
opinion, and the University is offer-
ingfinancialhelptothe people who
are going to need it," Mirante said.
SOLAR
From Page1A
year team member, is a part of
the leadership committee where
he oversees timelines, budgets
and recruiting.
"I definitely fell in love with
Solar Car because of what a real-
world project it is," Kauney said.
"It's inherently creative and mul-
tidisciplinary, and we have all
types of engineers and even LSA
and Ross kids that we're able
to bring in collaborate with, so
there's always something going
on and there's always something
to learn from someone."
Kauney echoed his team-
mates' sentiments about win-
ning, but says this week's race
is especially important to him
because he's been working on the
car's design from the beginning.
"When you're working 20
EQUAL
From Page1A
sex discrimination case against
Goodyear, but the ruling was
overturned on an appeal.
"I was devastated, humiliated
and could not let it go," Ledbet-
ter said.
Over the next eight years, Led-
better's case made it to the U.S.
Supreme Court, where the jus-
tices ruled in favor of Goodyear,
saying that she should have filed
a case within 180 days of her first
unequal paycheck, even though
Ledbetter was unaware of the
discrepancy for nearly 20 years..
"I could not let a major corpo-
ration (take advantage of) me and
hours a week on this one proj-
ect all year, it's definitely a lot
of work, but you're all doing it
together," Kauney said. "There's
definitely camaraderie that
comes into it, and you want to do
your best and see the car do its
best for the University, for your-
self, and for everyone else."
While dedication and high rank-
ings may have proven to be staples
of the Solar Car Team, Kauney said
the onethingthathas changed this
year is the car's name.
"Every other car we've
designed has had the letters UM
somewhere in it, but we decided
to switch it up this year and go
with something completely dif-
ferent, deciding on 'Generation,'
" he said. "It's a tribute to every-
thing we're a part of, the 1,200
alumni of the group, and the 12
car cycles."
Engineering sophomore Con-
nor O'Brien, a second-year mem-
my family," she said.
In 2009, Ledbetter made
national news again. This time
her name became the symbol of
President Barack Obama's first
piece of legislation signed as
president: the Lilly Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act.
On average, women make 77
cents to every dollar men earn,
and the discrepancy is even
worse for women of color. Under
the act, more time is allowed for
lawsuits to be filed for discrimi-
natory wage practices.
Since then, Ledbetter has
toured the nation speaking about
gender equality.
"(Inequality) is going on'every
day - as I speak tonight - in this
country, and that's why I still do
ber, explained that after the race,
the team will have time to re-
group and experiment, which he
enjoys.
"With everything already
done for Sunday's race, we've
kind of surpassed the climax of
the season and will have time
to restructure and rebuild as a
team, which I'm really looking
forward to," O'Brien said. "Now
we'll have time to try out differ-
ent things and reorganize our
workspace, which will be nice."
As an engineer, O'Brien said
the skills he has learned on the
team are very different from
those he learns in the classroom.
"The things we learn at
Solar Car don't reinforce the
things I'm learning in my class-
es because they're different
aspects of engineering, but I like
that it broadens my scope and
skill set," he said.
He added that the most
this today," Ledbetter said. "This
country is better than this, and
we need to correct these prob-
lems. We have to get some laws to
protect the people."
LSA senior Brianna Hender-
son said she attended the lecture
because she had heard many dif-
ferent perspectives on the Equal
Pay Act and wanted to hear from
Ledbetter herself.
Ledbetter was invited to speak
by the Department of Women's
Studies and the Institute for
Research on Women and Gender
for their annual Vivian R. Shaw
lecture, part of a series highlight-
ing issues affecting women or
gender. An open question-and-
answer section preceded her
speech. LSA senior Elizabeth
important part of racing strat-
egy is to "expect the unex-
pected." He recalled a 2011
race where the course involved
driving through unanticipated
smoke due to brush fires, which
resulted in an emergency stop
and threw off their race strategy
completely.
"The nicest part about this
year is how there haven't been
any major engineering problems
with the car," O'Brien said.
For O'Brien, Solar Car is more
about being a part of something
big.
"Being a part of our team
means you're a necessary part
of one of the best engineering
projects in the world," he said.
"We're kind of the poster child
of the College of Engineering,
and we get a lot of exposure, and
we take a lot of pride and caution
in making sure that everything
we do is deserving of that title."
Schapiro voiced her concerns as
a woman soon entering the work-
force.
"I'm shocked by the time-
frame of your case," she said. "I
thought we'd be talking about
the 50s and 60s. As a senior
entering the workforce next
year, I'm now concerned about
my salary."
A signing of Ledbetter's book
"Grace and Grit: My Fight for
Equal Pay and Fairness at Good-
year and Beyond" followed.
"This has been a journey, and
it has been very rewarding," Led-
better said. "And no, I do not buy
Goodyear tires."
- Daily StafftReportg Jennifer
Calfas contributed to this report.
Pressure builds for
quick fix to health
exchange issues
(AP) - The pressure is on
for the federal government and
states running their own health
insurance exchanges to get the
systems up and running after
overloaded websites and jammed
phone lines frustrated consum-
ers for a second day as they tried
to sign up for coverage using the
new marketplaces.
In some ways, the delays that
persisted Wednesday were good
news for President Barack Obama
and supporters of his signature
domestic policy achievement
because the holdups showed
what appeared to be exceptional-
ly high interest in the overhauled
insurance system. But if the
glitches aren't fixed quickly, they
could dampen enthusiasm for the
law at the same time Republicans
are using it as a rallying cry to
keep most of the federal govern-
ment closed.
"It was worse today than it
was yesterday," Denise Rathman
of Des Moines said after she tried
for a second day to log onto the
Iowa site.
Rathman has insurance
through Dec. 31 but said she
is eager to sign up for a policy
because of her psoriatic arthri-
tis, which has caused her to be
denied insurance in the past.
David Berge, a pastor with
two young children in Shorev-
iew, Minn., tried unsuccessfully
at least 10 times to create an
online account on the state-run
site MNsure. His high-deductible
plan expires at the end of the year.
"I'm anxious to see what the
insurance is going to look like for
my family at the beginning of the
year," Berge said. "That's a big
unknown right now. I want to fig-
ure that out as soon as possible so
we can begin planning."
In California, home to 15 per-
cent of the nation's uninsured,
officials pulled the enrollment
portion of the Covered California
site down overnight for emergen-
0 cy upgrades. It was restored mid-
morning Wednesday, and 7,770
people had started applications
by then, spokesman Roy Kennedy
said.
California is one of a hand-
ful of mostly Democratic states
that opted to set up their own
exchanges rather than let the fed-
eral government do it for them.
In the 36 states being operated by
the federal Department of Health
and Human Services, consumer
patience was still being tested.
Agency spokeswoman Joanne
Peters said many Americans suc-
cessfully enrolled on the first day,
but she declined to put a number
on it. She said the delays were due
to "overwhelming interest" and
high volume.
It's not as if nobody warned
them. Just three months ago,
the congressional Government
Accountability Office said a
smooth and timely rollout could
not be guaranteed because the
online system was still getting
finishing touches and had not
been fully tested.
The Obama administration
shrugged off the evaluation.
The bumpy debut has the hall-
marks of a technology project
that may have rushed to meet the
Oct. 1 deadline, said Bill Curtis,
chief scientist at CAST, a soft-
ware quality analysis firm, and
director of the Consortium for IT
Software Quality, which develops
standards.
"When you are in a rush, you
typically make a lot of mistakes
and you don't have time to test
them all out," he said.
High volume can also expose
software flaws that were not
detected in testing, Curtis said,
like the recurring problem con-
sumers encountered trying to set
up accounts on the federal site.
Drop-down menus that were sup-
posed to provide security ques-
tions did not work.
The department issued sur-
vival tips for aggravated con-
sumers after 4.7 million unique
visitors logged in to the health-
care.gov website on Tuesday. As
new health insurance markets
went live around the country, the
federal call center also received
190,000 calls.
In suburban Cleveland, Sharon
Schorr finally gave up on the fed-
eral exchange website after eight
hours of failed clicks.
CANDIDATES
From Page 1A
tem. However, over the next 10
months,the University Board
of Regents will be tasked with
choosing whether to once again
seek a candidate from outside
the University or turn within the
boundaries of its campuses.
The advisory committee in
charge of short-listing presi-
dential candidates , recently
released a Presidential Profile
detailing their expectations.
In an e-mail interview, Regent
Katherine White (D), the vice
chair of the board and act-
ing spokeswoman during the
search process, wrote that each
candidate, regardless of prior
affiliation with the University,
would bring "something unique
to the equation" and be judged
based on the profile.
"All candidates will be evalu-
ated on their own merit, whether
theyare internal or external," she
wrote in an e-mail interview. "It
is difficult to generalize about
pros and cons based solely on
whether a candidate is internal
or external."
E. Royster Harper, vice presi-
dent for student affairs, said
in a September interview that
some of the internal issues she
believed the upcoming president
would be faced with include
keeping college affordable,
maintaining a balance between
academic and athletic excel-
lence, and improving diversity
and inclusion.
"I don't know if it'll be a chal-
lenge, but we certainly want a
president that understands the
history of this place and the stu-
dents' role in it," Harper said.
Michael Bastedo, an associate
professor of education, said he
believed that an internal presi-
dent had the advantage of need-
ingless time to build connections
within the University.
"I think we can learn that hir-
ing someone externally doesn't
mean they make a bad president,"
Bastedo said. "Even though she
was hired externally, now the
perception of President Coleman
is she's a very Michigan person -
not somebody that wants to just
act autocratically."
By July 2014, the regents'
decision to choose a president
from within the University will
depend on their valuation of lead-
ership qualities. Matt Chingos, a
fellow in the Brookings Institu-
tion's Brown Center on Educa-
tion Policy, said although having
a top University administrator
step up to the presidency would
be a more "natural transition,"
someone from the outside would
be more likely to bring an out-of-
the-box perspective to the insti-
tution.
The solution may be to choose
someone who had held a position
in the University for only a short
period of time, Bellman said.
Coleman said in a September
interview that her experience
serving as a president of the Uni-
versity of Iowa prepared her to
serve the same at another Big Ten
university. It took a few years, she
said, but over time she believed
she was able to learn the ropes of
the University.
"It's like drinking from a fire
hose," Coleman added. "You have
to just learn, learn, learn and lis-
ten intently, but itcan be the most
exhilarating."
- Daily Staff Reporter Jennifer
Calfas contributed reporting.
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