U-M Library honored for copyright work
The American Library Association has awarded the annual L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award to the U-M Library’s Copyright Review Management System. The award is for its contribution to a balanced U.S. Copyright system through advocacy for a robust fair use doctrine and public domain. It is named after Patterson, a key legal figure who explained and justified the importance of users’ rights to information. This is the first time a project, rather than an individual, has received this award. The project, led by library Lead Copyright Officer Melissa Levine, began with a 2008 grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services to create a system to determine the copyright status of books in the HathiTrust Digital Library. The project was the brainchild of John Wilkin, then associate university librarian at U-M, and now dean of libraries at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Award allows U-M to develop methods to analyze patient treatment evidence
A $900,000 funding award to the School of Public Health from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute will allow researchers to develop methods to analyze treatment evidence that could make a difference in the lives of the 25 million to 30 million Americans living with rare diseases. A team led by Kelley Kidwell, research assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics at SPH, and Roy Tamura at the University of South Florida Health Informatics Institute, will study the use of sequential multiple assignment randomized trial designs in small patient populations. The goal is to get patients better treatments.
Medical School publishes student-run, open access journal
The Medical School has announced the launch of the Michigan Journal of Medicine, a student-led, open access journal. The journal is being published by Michigan Publishing Services, part of the University Library, in collaboration with Medical School Information Services. While there are many programs that encourage students to conduct research, until now, there has been no established program that trains students to effectively evaluate and communicate the results of this research. Michigan Journal of Medicine was developed to help fulfill this need, and is now part of the Medical Writing and Editing course for fourth-year medical students.
U-M joins new National Microbiome Initiative
The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy recently announced the National Microbiome Initiative, which brings together more than $520 million in new and existing federal, private and university funding to enhance microbiome research and education. U-M has pledged $3.5 million to the Michigan Microbiome Project, part of the national initiative. Microbes play key roles in the health of humans, animals and ecosystems. U-M’s pledge includes funding from the Medical School’s $15 million Host Microbiome Initiative and from grants from the Howard Hughes Medical institute and Procter & Gamble Inc.
E-waste event collects 230 tons of electronic waste
University faculty and staff, along with the local community, collected an estimated 230 tons of electronic waste to be recycled at the annual e-waste event May 5-7. More than 4,400 vehicles passed through the drop-off locations during the event. Local businesses, nonprofit organizations and the public filled 23 semi-trailers with broken or unwanted electronics. This effort supports the university’s commitment to sustainability education, research, operations and community engagement, known as Planet Blue.
U-M Police K9s Nike and Tank to receive body armor
The newest canines with the U-M Police Department soon will receive body armor. Nike and Tank will receive bullet- and stab-protective vests via a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s Inc. The vests are sponsored by Theodore Sippel of Manchester. Nike and Tank’s handlers are Officer Sue Upton and Officer Joe Dunny. The teams recently completed re-certification in explosive detection, tracking and patrol work.
Law faculty’s Bromberg and Friedman elected to police oversight panel
Howard J. Bromberg, clinical assistant professor of law, and Richard Friedman, professor of law, have been elected faculty representatives to the Police Department Oversight Committee. Friedman was elected as the Faculty Senate representative and Bromberg to represent non-Senate faculty members. Both began serving two-year terms May 1. The six-member oversight committee receives and makes recommendations regarding grievances against any police officer. It consists of two student members, two faculty, and two staff (one union and one non-union).
Observatory Street reconstruction scheduled near CCRB
Observatory Street between East Ann Street and Geddes Avenue will be closed in phases for construction of a new water main and reconstruction of the road through mid-August. Participants and members of the Central Campus Recreation Building should be aware of traffic delays, parking and alternate routes. During Phase 1 lasting through late June, Observatory will be closed to traffic from East Ann to just south of East Medical Center Drive, including closure of the Observatory Street-East Medical Center Drive intersection. For a complete list of transit alerts, go to pts.umich.edu/news/transit-alerts.php.
Detroit Connector bus returns to service
In response to rider requests, the Detroit Connector bus service has been expanded this spring and summer, offering riders an opportunity to visit Detroit Tuesday through Saturday. Faculty, staff and students with a valid Mcard can engage with U-M in Detroit while exploring one of the nation’s most historically influential cities. A schedule is at ridemdcc.umich.edu/schedule.
U-M No. 14 in Higher Education World Reputation Rankings
The university is ranked as the 14th top university in the world, up five spots from last year, according to the recently released Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings. The 2016 rankings are based on the results from an invitation-only survey of 10,323 academics in 133 countries. U-M is one of three public institutions in the U.S. in the top 20.
Learning Health Sciences co-sponsors pilot grant program
The Department of Learning Health Sciences and the U-M Office of Research are jointly sponsoring The Learning Health System Small Grants Program. This pilot grant program is being launched to accelerate development of systems, methods and technologies that support the science underlying the development of a ubiquitous global Learning Health System. Interested investigators are invited to submit a one-page project description of their idea. No budget is required yet. Project descriptions are accepted through June 3. A small number of the ideas submitted will be selected for further development, to generate a proposal for up to $100,000 to carry out the project. More information is at lhs.medicine.umich.edu/lks/learning-health-systems/small-grants.
