3 Thursday, May 12, 2016 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS ‘U’ faculty members elected to join the National Academy of Sciences New study links education to depression in Black men Four new inductees bring total University membership to 29 By ISHI MORI Daily Staff Reporter Four University of Michigan faculty members were elected as members to the National Academy of Sciences — one of the highest honors in academia in the United States —Tuesday. Members of NAS are selected for their exceptional achievements and contributions to research and their responsibilities include advising the members of the federal government on science, engineering and medicine. The University’s four inductees join 2,291 active members and 465 foreign associates. This year brought 84 newly elected members to NAS nationwide. The professors inducted — Stephen Forrest, Judith Irvine, Susan Murphy and Melanie Sanford — also bring the total number of active University faculty members in the NAS to 29. Irvine, the Edward Sapir Collegiate Professor of Linguistic Anthropology, was elected for her research on language use in African social life, such as in local politics, in creating and expressing social hierarchy and in the making and destruction of social difference. Irvine found her election to the NAS to be a joyful surprise, as her field is uncommon among NAS members. “I was completely astonished to be elected to NAS – an unlooked- for honor and… unusual for my field,” Irvine wrote in an e-mail interview. “There are linguists in the Psychology section but not so much in Anthropology, though some in the past.” Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, was already elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 prior to his NAS election. Forrest, who specializes in electrical engineering and material science, was elected to the NAS for his lifelong work that led to breakthroughs in the understanding of soft materials, which can be easily deformed by thermal stresses or fluctuations at room temperature. His previous election to the NAE was based on the exploitation of the materials and structures he developed for applications including fiber optic communications and displays. Forrest wrote in an e-mail that his goal is to secure a more sustainable future with his research , adding that his membership in the NAS can bring him one step closer. “I work at the very interdisciplinary boundary between materials, physics and engineering, primarily on photonic (that is optical) devices for displays, lighting and solar cells,” Forrest wrote. “Since lighting and solar cells both affect our use and generation of energy, you can see that I have a deep interest in sustainability and helping the world toward greater independence from fossil fuel.” Murphy was elected for her research on mobile health platforms, specifically for developing algorithms for wearable devices which deliver individually tailored treatments. Murphy is the Herbert E. Robbins Distinguished University Professor of Statistics, a research New University research finds high school diploma increases risk factors By ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter Despite the fact that an education acts as a protective factor against depression for most social groups, it is conversely a risk factor for depression among Black men, according to a recent University of Michigan study. Soon to be published in Frontiers in Public Health, the findings suggest certain intersections of race and gender can lead to negative mental and physical health conditions with relation to education. Shervin Assari, University professor of psychiatry and lead author of the study, said this research — along with other studies he has done regarding the interactions between race, gender and depressive symptoms — has important social and public policy implications. Assari used data from the Americans’ Changing Lives study from the University’s Institute for Social Research. The study followed a nationally representative sample of more than 3,600 men and women for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. The longitudinal study collected data regarding a range of social, psychological and behavioral factors, according to its website. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.6 percent of Blacks experience moderate depressive symptoms as compared to 4.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites. For the most recent study, Assari focused on two outcomes — depressive symptoms and the number of current medical conditions — to survey how education can protect against depressive symptoms in white men, white women, Black women and Black men. Assari said there are multiple things that can be considered protective factors — aspects of life which promote health and well-being — but his research focused solely on education and income. “These types of resources help the individual avoid risk and minimize the consequence of risks when they happen,” Assari said. “When you have education, education is the risk resource for you not to get the medical conditions that lower-educated or people with lower education would be at higher risk for. These are types of social resources that an individual can use to navigate.” The study looked at how baseline education — such as the number of years in school or the type of degree or credentials earned — influences behavior. Assari wanted to see how baseline education could predict change in depressive symptoms and chronic medical conditions over 25 years. According to Assari, for both white men and white women, having a high school diploma is protective against depressive symptoms, yet for Black women, having these credentials neither protects nor increases the risk. For Black men, however, education correlates with an increase in the risk of depression. “In all groups, (education) is protective with one exception, which is Black men,” Assari said. “If other people have a high school diploma, they are definitely not at higher risk of ACADEMICS HEALTH See FACULTY, Page 9 See EDUCATION, Page 9