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Thursday, July 21, 2016

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS

Profiles of faculty members, departments 
and research at University Medical School 

Ward 4 City Council race challenges incumbent’s leadership

Researchers 

continue to focus on 
addressing pressing 

health issues

By ALEXA ST.JOHN

Daily Staff Reporter

Last fiscal year, the Univer-

sity of Michigan Health System 
saw more than 2.1 million outpa-
tient visits. The patients received 
a range of care with new and 
innovative technologies— from 
psychiatric to orthopedic, car-
diovascular and surgical — and 
the University Hospital offered 
its services and resources in an 
attempt to find successful treat-
ments and cures.

With a $466 million research 

budget, a campus larger than 
11 million square feet, 1,000 
licensed patient beds and more 
than 26,000 faculty, students 
and volunteers that make up the 
University Health System, it is no 
question why many of the Medical 
School’s departments consistently 
rank with those of other competi-

tive schools nationwide. At the 
Medical School, researchers and 
professors continue to focus on 
constructing innovative solutions 
to society’s most troubling health 
problems. 

Today, researchers and admin-

istrators at the University Medi-
cal School continue to further the 
goals set forth since its opening in 
1850 and the opening of the Uni-
versity’s hospital in 1869 — the 
first program in the United States 
to have established and operated 
its own hospital at the time to 
learn and teach.

Depression Center — 

Veteran’s Health

In 1906, one of the nation’s 

first psychiatry departments was 
established at the University. In 
2001, the University’s Depression 
Center became the nation’s first 
comprehensive center of its kind. 
Established to bring depression to 
the forefront of medical research 
and public discussion, the cen-
ter has received multiple honors 
for research on adolescent brain 
development, substance use and 
more. Recent honors include the 
Center’s selection as one of 13 sites 
to launch a landmark study on 

substance abuse and adolescent 
brain development, in addition to 
the induction of several faculty 
members into the University 2015 
League of Educational Excel-
lence. 

Housed in the Rachel Upjohn 

Building, the Depression Center 
is dedicated to multiple aspects 
of understanding mental illness, 
including research, treatment, 
education 
and 
public 
policy. 

Aimed at reducing the stigma that 
often accompanies mental ill-
nesses, the center welcomes those 
suffering from depression, suicide 
survivors and college students.

There is also a distinct focus 

on veteran’s mental health. Amy 
Kilbourne, 
University 
profes-

sor of psychiatry and director 
of the Veterans Affairs Quality 
Enhancement Research Initiative 
Program, said a focus on veteran 
mental health is crucial particu-
larly due to the growing veteran 
population in the United States. 
According to the U.S. Census 
Bureau, the 2009 to 2013 Ameri-
can Community Survey revealed 
21.3 million veterans live in the 
United States and Puerto Rico — a 
total of 9 percent of the popula-

tion. Due to to this consistently 
increasing population, the VA 
changed its focus to strictly pri-
mary care services, and QUERI 
was established in 1998. 

Kilbourne, who represents the 

national QUERI program office 
in Ann Arbor, hopes to bridge 
the gap between her interest in 
psychiatry and veteran care. She 
added that sometimes the only 
provider of mental health services 
for veterans is the VA, and, con-
sequently, QUERI often co-spon-
sors suicide prevention programs 
and evaluates the best strategies 
of implementation for suicide pre-
vention.

However, this is not the only 

aspect of veteran health QUERI 
works to advance.

“The goal of QUERI is to 

improve veteran’s health, and, 
in order to accomplish that goal, 
QUERI promotes the more rapid 
implementation of research into 
routine care practice,” Kilbourne 
said. “We do that primarily by 
funding a national network of VA 
affiliated investigators who are 

Two residents 
running for 

Councilmember 
Krapohl’s seat

By KEVIN LINDER

Daily Staff Reporter

City Councilmember Graydon 

Krapohl (D–Ward 4), who ran 
unopposed in his original 2014 
election, faces two separate chal-
lenges for his council seat from res-
idents dissatisfied with what they 
describe as his ineffectual leader-
ship. However, he argues it is mere-
ly his brand of centrist pragmatism.

Both Eric Lipson and Diane 

Giannola are challenging Kraphol 
for his seat. Whomever emerges the 
victor of the Aug. 2 Democratic pri-
mary election will most likely claim 
the seat unopposed in November.

In a recent forum hosted by the 

League of Women Voters, the three 

candidates came together to dis-
cuss their positions on these issues. 
Lipson and Giannola tended to hold 
conflicting proposals for solutions 
to issues facing the council, where-
as incumbent candidate Krapohl 
tended to hold a neutral position.

The topic of development high-

lighted where these two candidates 
differ. Giannola is a supporter of 
growth in density, pushing for the 
development of a large building 
complex at the downtown library 
lot. Lipson opposes this and sup-
ports maintaining green space and 
constrained growth.

However, both Lipson and Gian-

nola share a discontent with the 
current state of affairs on City 
Council.

Giannola, a 20-year resident and 

current manager of the Univer-
sity’s Venture Accelerator, believes 
the current City Council currently 
lacks an aspect of customer service 
and that it operates to push agendas 
through, rather than communicate 
and work with residents on their 

issues.

“Overall, the mentality seems to 

me that they don’t see it as a service 
job and more that they have been 
appointed to this to pass the initia-
tives,” she said in an interview with 
the Daily.

She feels strongly that com-

munication with residents is lack-
ing, primarily because many City 
Council members do not put forth 
the effort. Particularly, she believes 
there is no meaningful constitu-
ent service in Ward 4 from its City 
Council delegation.

“Graydon is non-existent from 

what I can tell,” she said.

Both challengers have expressed 

concerns about what they described 
as Krapohl’s neutral, “wait and see” 
approach to how issues unfold.

Lipson, a 40-year resident who 

has acted as city planning commis-
sioner and director of Student Legal 
Services, said in an interview with 
the Daily he believes that many 
City Council members, including 
Krapohl, do not vote decisively. He 

believes his competitor’s voting 
habits are non-conducive to taking 
actual steps forward toward solu-
tions for on-going issues such as 
the dioxane plume and the lack of 
transparency around the proposed 
train station development.

“There are some members who 

are more independent than others,” 
Lipson said. “And there are some 
members, such as my competi-
tor the incumbent that I am run-
ning against, who vote along the 
party line and are aligned with the 
mayor.”

Krapohl, a former Marine and 

self-proclaimed pragmatist, says 
that he votes in line with the mayor 
for logical reasons, not for political 
reasons.

“I don’t fly by the seat of my 

pants,” Krapohl said in an inter-
view with the Daily. “When I talk 
at Council, I try to get to root prob-
lems and not treat symptoms. I tend 
to align with the mayor because I 
think philosophically on a number 
of issues I agree with that approach; 

I don’t think that’s bad.”

Krapohl, who was born in Ann 

Arbor and has extensively played a 
role in city government during his 
time as a resident, has served on the 
Ann Arbor Parks Commission and 
as a Neighborhood Watch coordi-
nator. While on City Council, he has 
served on the Human Rights Com-
mission and the Local Development 
Finance Authority.

“I think my experience and per-

spective is different from the other 
two candidates, and I think that 
both of them seem to be very issue 
oriented and to some extent have an 
agenda” Krapohl said.

Both Lipson and Giannola have 

focused on particular areas of inter-
est during their campaigns and 
have expressed that they intend 
to take immediate action on these 
issues if they are to be elected. Lip-
son wants to take immediate action 
toward addressing the spreading 
dioxane plume dealing with issues 
of transparency concerning the 

$500 million

AT A GLANCE

U-M MEDICAL SCHOOL

Sponsored Awards to 
Support Research

41%
Of all U-M Expenditures 
to Support Research

#12

1,534

$65 million

6,272

Ranked Medical School 
in NIH Funding (2014)

Active Clinical Trials

Source: U-M Medical School

Industry Sponsored 
Awards

Publications in 
PubMed (2014)

2,698

74

Proposals Submitted 
for Support

License Agreements with 
Business & Industry

See CITY COUNCIL, Page 9

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