Wayne State University School of Medicine

The School of Medicine's mission is to provide first-rate medical education while leading the field through research and patient care. The faculty consists of numerous local physicians, many who are members of the Wayne State University Physician Group, and provide care at eleven affiliated hospitals, clinics and training sites throughout the area.

Scott Hall is the main building that centers the medical education at WSU-SOM

Detroit College of Medicine, about 1911

Although the school's faculty offer expertise in virtually all medical fields, the institution's areas of research emphasis include cancer, women's and children's health, neuroscience and population studies. Many are also academic leaders at national and international levels in editorial roles.

Professors at the school provided the "first evidence that glucose is a major stimulant on insulin secretion and, while an increase in the concentration of blood glucose stimulates the secretion of insulin, a decrease inhibits it and, in addition, stimulates the secretion of a blood-sugar raising factor (glucagon) by the pancreas." Subsequent experiments contributed substantially to the establishment of glucagon as a "second pancreatic hormone."[4]

The first successful open heart surgery was performed at the Detroit Medical Center by Wayne State University physician Dr. Forest Dodrill on patient Henry Opitek. He used a machine developed by himself and researchers at General Motors, the Dodrill-GMR, considered to be the first operational mechanical heart used while performing open heart surgery.[5][6][7]

Wayne State University School of Medicine is the academic affiliate of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of 26 NCI-designated Cancer Centers in the United States. WSUSOM researchers, in conjunction with Karmanos Cancer Institute, oversee more than 400 clinical trials, participate in a national program to collect and study cancer data for future research and provide about half of all national statistics on cancer in African Americans. The first drug approved for the treatment of AIDS and HIV infection, Zidovudine was synthesized here. WSUSOM and Karmanos furthered their partnership in 2009, signing an agreement to establish a new academic department at the school for Karmanos researchers and expand their already successful research and teaching partnership.

Wayne State University School of Medicine, along with Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine, is affiliated for undergraduate and graduate medical education with the hospitals of the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Health System.[8] The Detroit Medical Center includes the Children's Hospital of Michigan, the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Detroit Receiving Hospital, Harper University Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, Sinai-Grace Hospital, Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, and the DMC Surgery Hospital. Primary affiliates within the HFHS are Henry Ford Hospital, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, and Henry Ford Kingswood Hospital, a comprehensive psychiatric facility. Detroit Receiving Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital are Level 1 Trauma Centers, Children's Hospital of Michigan is a Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center. Additionally, it coordinates teaching experiences for students and residents with 14 community hospitals through the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education.

The school has strong ties to the local community. Wayne State University has a stated mission to improve the overall health of the community. As part of this mission, the School of Medicine has established with the help of a $6 million NIH grant the Center for Urban and African American Health to seek new ways to redress health disparities by identifying preventive strategies and therapeutic approaches to chronic diseases that plague this population, namely obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. More than 500 students annually serve at more than 70 clinical sites and nearly 100 community-based mentoring and outreach locations, and participate in a growing number of public health policy and advocacy opportunities. Year 1 and 2 students volunteer more than 34,000 hours of community service annually.[9]

Perhaps the most significant contribution the school provides to the community is care to area residents who are under- or uninsured. Along with the Detroit Medical Center, WSU faculty physicians provide an average of $150 million in uncompensated care annually.

WSU sponsors a number of community-service and health-awareness programs in southeastern Michigan, including mental-health screenings, Diabetes Day, the Community Health Child Immunization Project, the Detroit Cardiovascular Coalition and Brain Awareness Week. In addition to faculty-sponsored programs, WSU medical students are among the most active in the country for community outreach. The medical students, with supervision, regularly provide free medical care for homeless and unemployed patients at Detroit's Cass Clinic. Student-sponsored outreach programs also include Senior Citizen Outreach Project, Adolescent Substance abuse Prevention Program and Teen Pregnancy Education Program.

Wayne State University School of Medicine offers many graduate programs[14] including an MD/PhD program, ten Doctor of Philosophy programs, eight Master of Science programs, and four Certification programs. It also offers a postbaccalaureate program for pre-medical students that meet its 6 eligibility criteria.

As stated on the diversity and inclusion website, "The overall goal of the postbaccalaureate program is to increase diversity in the health professions by increasing the number of physicians from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.[15]

PhD Programs: Cancer Biology,[16] Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Immunology and Microbiology, Medical Physics, Molecular Medicine and Genetics in the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics (CMMG), Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Translational Neuroscience.

Master of Science Programs: Basic Medical Science, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Genetic Counseling, Medical Physics,[17] Medical Research, MPH Degree with Concentration in Public Health Practice, Physiology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences.

Certification Programs: Graduate Certificate in Clinical & Translational Science, Graduate Certificate in Medical Physics,[18] Graduate Certificate in Global Pediatric Health, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Practice.

This is a list of Clinics/Student Government/Committee Representation/Student Organizations.

Medical students are elected to serve 4 year terms as student representatives for the following administrative committees:

• Admissions Committee
• Curriculum Committee
• Professionalism Committee

Wayne State University has clinics that pre-clinical students are able to take leadership roles in and volunteer at.

• Cass Clinic
• Covenant Clinic
• MAPI Clinic
• Robert R. Frank Student Run Free Clinic

Wayne State University School of Medicine is ranked 66th out of 188 in the 2022 edition of the U.S. News & World Report research rankings.[19]

• Lawrence "Larry" Brilliant, Physician, epidemiologist, technologist, author, and philanthropist. The former director of Google's philanthropic arm Google.org
• Craig A. Spencer, Class of 2008, EM physician at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital, fourth person diagnosed with ebola in the U.S. after serving with Doctors Without Borders in West Africa.
• Phyllis Harrison-Ross, psychiatrist working with developmentally disabled and mentally ill children[20]
• Ron Krome, first editor-in-chief Annals of Emergency Medicine and former president of American College of Emergency Physicians[21]
• Christopher W. Lentz, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
• Joe Schwarz, former U.S. Representative for Michigan's 7th congressional district.
• Sabah Butty, M.D., Interventional Radiologist, Indiana University
• Jerry Michael Linenger, M.D., retired Captain in the United States Navy Medical Corps, and a former NASA astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle and Space Station Mir.
• Rana Awdish, M.D. Class of 2002. American pulmonary and critical care physician and noted author.

• Flossie Cohen, former professor, pediatric immunologist
• Margo Cohen, former professor and head of Endocrinology and Metabolism; later the founder of Exocell.
• David Gorski, associate professor of surgery, blogger on alternative medicine and pseudoscience
• John S. Meyer, M.D., founding professor and Chairman of Neurology in 1957
• Werner Spitz, former Chief Medical Examiner of Wayne County, Michigan.
• Gabriel Steiner, former professor of neurology and neuropathology, known for his research of multiple sclerosis.
• Morris Goodman, PhD, member of the National Academy of Science
• Bhanu Pratap Jena, cell biologist & discoverer of Porosomes

• Med.wayne.edu: Wayne State University School Of Medicine−SOM website
• Med.wayne.edu: Admissions
• Med.wayne.edu: Application Process
• Med.wayne.edu: Selection Process
• Med.wayne.edu: Entering Class of 2007 Admission Statistics
• Pilot Study of Comprehensive Ultrasound Education at the Wayne State University School of Medicine
• Wayne State University website