misconceptions
about
precision
medicine,
an
approach
for
protecting
health and treating disease
that considers other factors
aside from an individual’s
own health, according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
“The idea is really to bring
together multiple disciplines
and expertise from across
campus to address the issue
of precision health,” Creguer
said. “We specifically chose
the name Precision Health
because we are trying to
incorporate
many
other
factors than just medicine.”
Some
of
these
factors
include
lifestyle,
environmental,
family
history, social environment,
genetics,
which
will
all
contribute to large amounts
of
data
about
individual
health. The available and
collected data will then allow
disciplines like social work to
take advantage of this work
and come up with strategies
for better patient care.
While the initiative is still
in its initial stages, one project
is already underway. With
the opioid project, Creguer
said, researchers hope to take
an approach geared toward
addiction prevention first —
especially by more personally
and
precisely
applying
prescriptions to patient needs
— before having to address
addiction treatment.
“The project will examine
ways we can predict how
much
pain
medication
someone will need, based
on their individual genetic
profile,
physiological
condition
and
social,
environmental and lifestyle
factors,” Schlissel said at the
Leadership Breakfast. “This
will allow physicians to tailor
how they help individual
patients manage their pain. …
There is no better university
in our nation to tackle a
problem like this.”
Precision
Health
Co-Director Sachin Kheterpal
agreed,
and
said
this
particular project within the
initiative allows researchers
to utilize the resources that
are available through the
University’s 19 schools and
colleges for maximum care.
“We wanted to make sure
that we created an initiative
that not only leverages those
strengths
but
demanded
them, and that’s one of the
reasons why — in addition to
the overall infrastructure and
the overall science that we’re
going to be funding using
this effort — that we did pick
one specific public health
concern: the opioid misuse
challenge that is currently
going on,” Kheterpal said.
“It’s one that demands the
most out of Michigan.”
The Michigan Genomics
Initiative
—
which
just
reached a milestone 50,000
participants,
and
is
a
big part of the research
already
being
conducted
for Precision Health — will
continue to be expanded to
diversify the population of
the project’s sampling. Aside
from
the
opioid
project,
mental health, cancer and
metabolic disease remain of
interest to researchers within
the
initiative
for
future
consideration.
And while students are
not yet involved, there are
several
plans
to
engage
with
student
researchers
on campus, Kheterpal said.
For example, the initiative
will
be
offering
funding
for
additional
research
programs,
developing
curriculum
through
a
certificate
program
and
potentially
some
degree
programs, and continuing
education for practitioners.
Lastly, developing data and
analytics tools that will allow
researchers to easily access,
use the information that is
collected
and
eventually
integrate
this
information
into the field; all of which are
priorities as well, Creguer
said.
“There has been a great
advancement
of
precision
medicine,
particularly
in
the area of cancer, so what
we’re attempting to do is so
much broader,” Creguer said.
“There are lots of avenues
we can go down, but we
anticipate choices somewhere
we can have large impact
drawing on the resources we
have here at the University.”
This initiative will not
come
without
challenges,
however;
a
need
for
infrastructure,
computing
power and capabilities, along
with the desire to implement
these findings into the field
in a practical and applicable
way will always have to be
considered, Creguer said.
In addition, Kheterpal said
there is a necessity to create
appropriate levels of focus to
ensure research doesn’t fail
for the sake of working on
too many projects at once,
along with adjusting cultural
expectations of medicine.
“There are cultural issues
to be managed here related
to the culture of health care,
medicine and how we define
the interaction between a
health care system and the
community that it serves,”
Kheterpal said. “A lot of what
Precision Health is about is
improving the transparency
of
the
information
that
we
offer,
improving
the
transparency of the data that
we have when we make a
recommendation to a patient.
… That’s going to require
some culture changes both on
the part of providers who are
giving that information and
on the part of the patient or
the health participant who’s
receiving that information.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, October 18, 2017— 3A
June 19, 2016
May 25, 2017
October 30, 2017
CEREN DAG/Daily
Downtown Home and Garden hosted the Ninth Annual Pickle Contest in Ann Arbor Saturday.
PICKLE FEST
my patriotism by my actions
when I uphold these values.”
Following the protests, the
council members returned to
their scheduled business.
The most pressing issue was
the vote on the approval of
more funds for the third year of
Ann Arbor’s controversial deer-
culling efforts. The resolution
on the table would approve
an
additional
$110,000
to
completely fund the estimated
2018 budget of $370,000 to be
spent on the deer cull.
The program, which began
in 2015, was designed to help
deal with the overpopulation
of deer in the Ann Arbor area.
Eight
Ann
Arbor
residents
spoke in the public commentary
about the deer cull. University
of
Michigan
professor
Christopher
Dick
spoke
in
support of the cull, saying it
was necessary for the health
of the deer and the forests they
lived in.
“Culling the herd can actually
help the dear by reducing
the spread of deer diseases
that may be exacerbated by
overabundance,” Dick said.
Other
speakers,
such
as
Ann Arbor resident Robert
McGee, attempted to rebut
the point that deer posed any
extraordinary threat to the
wildlife and forests of Ann
Arbor, or to its citizens.
Ann Arbor resident Sally
Daniels went a step further and
criticized the council for its
past and current support of the
deer cull.
“Council
members
have
based their vote on their own
limited
experiences
rather
than
the
wishes
of
their
constituents,”
Daniels
said.
“A deer ran on top of council
member
Kailasapathy’s
car.
Will killing 558 more deer make
her feel better?”
She concluded her remarks
by saying, “everyone who votes
for an increase in the cull
tonight deserves to be voted off
of City Council.”
In a vote of 10-1, the council
voted in favor of the additional
funds needed for the 2018 deer
cull, with Mayor Christopher
Taylor being the sole dissenting
voice.
The council members also
took time to vote on a resolution
to decline pay increases in their
salaries. The council rejected
this resolution, accepting the
pay increase. The council also
declared the month of October
Co-op Month in the city of Ann
Arbor in honor of the work local
co-ops do for the community.
COUNCIL
From Page 1A
PRECISION
From Page 1A
MARCH
From Page 1A
potential of war with North
Korea.
Gov. Rick Snyder and Bill
Schuette, Michigan attorney
general
and
gubernatorial
candidate,
were
popular
targets for the marchers. While
marching, chants of “How do
we spell Rick Snyder? C-o-r-r-
u-p-t” were common, and at the
final destination, Liberty Plaza,
protesters listened to activists
deliver more fiery attacks on
Snyder and Schuette.
Sandi Smith, an Ann Arbor
business owner and the former
president of the LGBTQ support
group Jim Toy Community
Center, spoke on Snyder and
Schuette’s roles in the landmark
court case DeBoer v. Snyder.
This case, which would be
consolidated with others under
the
umbrella
of
Obergefell
v. Hodges, led to marriage
equality nationwide in a 2015
Supreme Court decision. Snyder
and Schuette argued in DeBoer
v. Snyder that the Michigan law
preventing same-sex couples
from having joint adoptions
should be upheld.
Smith blasted Snyder and
Schuette for their positions in
this case, saying that Schuette
fought DeBoer v. Snyder all the
way to the Supreme Court to
deny people like residents April
DeBoer and Jane Rowse the
ability to protect their children.
“(DeBoer and Rowse) filed
their case on January 23, 2012,
in
federal
court.
Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette
fought this case all the way to
the Supreme Court, but he lost,
of course,” Smith said.
Smith also spoke on the
difficulties LGBTQ activists
face in their fight toward
equality, specifically singling
out the state of Michigan for
these hardships.
“I mean think about how
easy it would have been … to
give up,” she said. “April and
Jane, with a house full of young
children, each with full-time
jobs, defending their moral
standing as two lesbian moms
that can raise children just as
well as straight people, while
their home state of Michigan,
with our tax dollars, said that
children raised by same-sex
parents would be damaged for
life.”
The
remaining
speakers
included Nina Muckenthaler,
the
president
of
Michigan
National
Organization
for Women, who spoke on
what she sees as attacks on
women’s rights by the Trump
administration,
and
local
activists,
who
spoke
out
against pipeline development
in Washtenaw County and in
other areas of Michigan.
The marchers’ spirits were
also buoyed by local musicians
and singers who performed
classic protest anthems.
Music,
Theatre
&
Dance
senior
Mason
Van
Gieson,
a member of the a cappella
group
Amazin’
Blue,
sang
John Lennon’s song “Imagine”
and spoke on the benefits of
marches like these.
“I think primarily it’s a really
wonderful community-building
experience,” Van Gieson said.
“I think that there is something
about — primarily for a peace
march — there’s something
about finding other people
that are thinking the same
things you’re thinking, having
the same fears and the same
exhaustions that you’re having,
especially within the current
political climate.”
People are
starting to lose
their mojo and the
hate seems to be
stronger
Everyone
who votes for
an increase in
the cull tonight
deserves to be
voted off City
Council
line is so that people who want
to make sure that our laws
are enforced against illegal
immigration can be called
racists,” Spakovsky said.
Caplan
argued
law
enforcement officials practice
selective enforcement every
day, giving the example of not
giving a ticket to individuals
going 56 mph on a 55-mph
road. Caplan said this should
also be applied to those who
broke the law when crossing
the border illegally.
“Illegal immigration should
be stopped by making it legal,”
Caplan said. “Maybe as Hans
suggests, (resources) should
go to trying to find criminal
aliens instead, and violent
criminal aliens, rather than
worrying about people who
are just coming over the
borders to maybe work on a
farm. And what’s the big deal?
Why is that any worse than
someone driving 56 miles per
hour?”
Spakovsky
and
Caplan
debated the issue of the
travel ban put in place by
Trump, including its legality
and
justification.
Caplan
argued against the executive
action, saying it’s very likely
to be a Muslim ban, while
Spakovsky argued the move
was calculated, despite what
many of its critics have said.
“There is a long process
that you have to go through to
get (a tourist visa from Iraq).
Based upon the character
that Trump has revealed,
there is every reason to think
this is just another effort to
demagogue, to act like he
really cares about a serious
problem,” Caplan said.
“The countries that were
picked, yeah, some of them
were Muslim countries, but
that’s because they’re (state
sponsors of terrorists). The
idea that this was somehow
arbitrary and not correctly
done is just wrong,” Spakovsky
countered.
Spakovsky
said
illegal
immigrants
cost
the
U.S.
taxpayer a great deal of money
each year through not paying
taxes and receiving federal
and state assistance.
“Open
borders
where
anyone can come in would
cause tremendous chaos, and
the cost of illegal immigration
is very great,” Spakovsky said.
“A couple of years ago, The
Heritage Foundation actually
did a study, and they looked
at what would be the cost to
American taxpayers if we
provided amnesty to the 11 to
12 million illegal aliens who
are in the country according
to DHS. The net cost to the
American taxpayer … would
be $6.3 trillion on top of the
debt that we already have.”
The debate concluded with
questions from the audience,
who
challenged
both
speakers’
views.
Audience
members asked about the rule
of law and respecting those
who have become naturalized
citizens and what some regard
as a lack of due process for
undocumented residents.
Earlier
last
week,
controversial speaker Charles
Murray,
author
of
“The
Bell Curve,” which asserts
differences in IQ based on
race, spoke at the University
of
Michigan.
The
event
was
disrupted
by
student
protesters, who played music,
chanted and read newspapers
while Murray spoke.
LSA senior Jake Thorne,
Michigan Review editor in
chief, said he was happy
with how the debate went,
especially
following
the
protests at the Charles Murray
event.
“We and the University had
talked a lot about whether
there
would
be
protests,
especially with the Charles
Murray event going on and
things
like
that,”
Thorne
said. “We just took every
precaution
to
make
sure
people were able to exercise
their
freedom
of
speech,
exercise their concerns, but
we wanted it to be done in a
safe, and as equitable manner
as possible.”
DEBATE
From Page 1A
WRAP-UP
From Page 1A
the sexual education curriculum
in schools to ensure instruction
includes
medically
accurate
sexuality education that is age
appropriate.
State
Sen.
Hoon-Yung
Hopgood, D-Taylor, proposed the
bill. The proposed curriculum
seeks
to
better
prepare
adolescents to become sexually
healthy adults.
“Research
continues
to
show that comprehensive sex
education, which teaches both
abstinence and contraception, is
most effective for young people.
Youth who receive this kind
of education are more likely to
initiate sexual activity later in life
and use protection correctly and
consistently when they do become
sexually active,” Hopgood said in
a press release.
Currently, state law encourages
an abstinence-only approach to
sex education, which, the press
release said, has not proved to
be effective in increasing rates
of abstinence despite $1.5 billion
spent during the past decade on
abstinence-only programs.
HB 5074: This bill seeks to
amend the Income Tax Act of
1967 to allow for student loan
tax deductions, which reduces
the amount of taxable income.
The bill would permit taxpayers
to deduct up to $5,000 for single
filers and $10,000 for joint filers.
State
Rep.
Abdullah
Hammoud,
D-Dearborn,
proposed the amendment, stating
in a press release this bill will give
some relief to students repaying
loans.
“The cost of a college education
has
increased
exponentially
throughout
the
years.
In
addition to providing much-
needed tax relief, this bill
would provide the state a tool
to help retain our talent in a
competitive market. In today’s
economy, talent is the number
one determinant for a major
corporation selecting Michigan
as a place to do business,” said
Hammoud.
The bill only applies to those
who attend college, both public
and private, in the state of
Michigan.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com