First round of Henry Ford + MSU Research Affinity Group Funding awarded

Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences has announced the recipients for the first round of Henry Ford + MSU Research Affinity Group Funding. Two teams of Henry Ford and MSU researchers have been awarded funding from the partnership that will amplify the scholarly community.

“The heart of this partnership is coming together as a single community, and with this first round of funding it’s so exciting to see our teams connecting to lay the foundation for our unified scientific enterprise,” said David Lanfear, M.D., Henry Ford + MSU research committee vice chair, and Henry Ford Health vice president of research and chief scientific officer.

The goal of the funding is to further catalyze connections between researchers at Henry Ford and MSU, empowering scientists to self-assemble along lines of shared research interests.

“We hope this funding will offer the opportunity for our researchers to uncover new synergies,” said Walter Esselman, Ph.D., Henry Ford + MSU board member and MSU Health Sciences associate vice president. “We want them to unite and learn from each other, which will ultimately lead to a greater impact.”

The recipients for the 2024 June Henry Ford + MSU Research Affinity Group Funding are:

Team Building Funding Recipients (Total Team Award of $2,000)

• Hongsheng Gui, Ph.D. (Henry Ford Health)
• Ana Vazquez, Ph.D. (MSU College of Human Medicine)
• Fei Sun, Ph.D. (MSU School of Social Work)
• Eric Adjei Boakye, Ph.D. (Henry Ford Health)

Led by Gui in collaboration with Vazquez, Sun, and Adjei Boakye, these funds will be used to create a multidisciplinary team for health equity and genomics research on complex disorders. This team will be able to generate important research findings that will match with specific aims of Henry Ford + MSU in the fields of precision health, health disparities, and population health.

Community Building Funding Recipients (Total Team Award of $10,000)

• Matthew Harkey, Ph.D. (MSU College of Education)
• Amanda Ali, Ph.D. (Henry Ford Health)
• Charles Day, M.D. (Henry Ford Health)
• Jacek Cholewicki, Ph.D. (MSU College Osteopathic Medicine)
• Micah Lissy, M.D. (MSU College of Human Medicine)
• Jane Manfredi, Ph.D. (MSU College of Veterinary Medicine)
• Adam Alessio, Ph.D. (MSU College of Engineering)

Led by Harkey in collaboration with Ali, Day, Cholewicki, Lissy, Manfredi and Alessio, this funding will be used to organize a research symposium and a research planning meeting aimed at fostering robust scientific collaborations among researchers at MSU and Henry Ford. These events will focus on fields critical to musculoskeletal health, orthopedics, sports medicine, biomechanics, and imaging.

The deadline for the next round of Henry Ford + MSU Research Affinity Group Funding is September 30, 2024.