Month: April 2017

Houghton High School Students Visit Campus

Michigan Tech students demonstrate arterial stiffness measurements to high school students.
Ian (M.S. student) and Hannah (undergraduate) explain how to measure arterial stiffness to Houghton High School students.

Houghton High School’s Anatomy & Physiology class visited the Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Kinesiology & Integrative Physiology last week. The day began with with Alex Geborkoff (HHS teacher) and his 36 students learning how a Michigan Tech education prepares students to enter a variety of health-related fields from Dr. Shekhar Joshi and Dr. Jason Carter. Afterwards, students attended our Human Pathophysiology course taught by Dr. John Durocher. During the class they participated in a case-study related to gastritis and peptic ulcers with current Michigan Tech students. Students also got a taste a college-life by eating lunch at Wadsworth Dining Hall.

The majority of the visit was spent engaging students in hands-on lab activities that included:

  • Assessing arterial stiffness responses to a Wingate Anaerobic Test in Dr. John Durocher’s Clinical & Applied Physiology Laboratory witht the assitance of Ian Greenlund (M.S. student) and Hannah Marti (undergraduate)
  • Examining human skeletal remains from our Anatomy & Physiology Teaching Laboratory with Travis Wakeham
  • Conducting a classic experiment comparing concentric and eccentric exercise in Dr. Steve Elmer’s Exercise Physiology Laboratory  with the assistance from Lexi Herrewig (M.S. student), Mackenzie Perttu (undergraduate), and Derek Walli (M.S. student)
  • Measuring beat-to-beat blood pressure responses to stress with Ida Fonkoue (recent Ph.D. graduate) in Dr. Jason Carter’s Integrative Physiology Laboratory

We are excited to have the opportunity to share our experiences with local students and hope to motivate them to attend college and pursue a career related to health sciences!

 

Local Students Win Portage Health Foundation Making a Difference Scholarships to Michigan Tech

1491240303Four students who are entering Michigan Tech this fall to pursue health-related careers have received $8,000 Making a Difference scholarships from the Portage Health Foundation. Another 10 entering first-year students received $1,000 awards.

 

The $8,000 scholarships went to:

  • Peter Alger, Houghton, computer engineering
  • Alexa Destrampe, Lake Linden, exercise science
  • Hannah Kariniemi, Calumet, biological sciences
  • Karmyn Polakowski, Houghton, biological sciences

Receiving $1,000 scholarships were:

  • Blake Dupuis, Lake Linden, exercise science
  • Lauren Gabe, L’Anse, biological sciences
  • Austin Goudge, Houghton, medical laboratory science
  • Bella Nutini, Hancock, exercise science
  • Celia Peterson, Calumet, biomedical engineering
  • Anna Pietila, L’Anse, biological sciences
  • Lindsay Sandell, Houghton, biomedical engineering
  • Brooke Tienhaara, Calumet, biological sciences
  • Nicholas Walli, Finlandia University, biological sciences
  • Sloane Zenner, Houghton, mechanical engineering

The students are from Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga or Ontonagon counties.

The 14 recipients of the 2017 awards have an average GPA of 3.81. Their interests reflect a broad spectrum of majors including biological sciences, exercise science, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, medical laboratory science and mechanical engineering. The scholarship winners flip Michigan Tech’s male to female ratio of 3:1, with 10 female and 4 male recipients.

The scholarships are part of a Michigan Tech-Portage Health Foundation partnership established in 2015 to support health-related research and education, jobs and community health. The scholarships were first awarded in 2016.

“The awards reflect the high-caliber student talent we have locally, thanks to exceptional schools, outreach programming and parent support,” says Jodi Lehman, director of foundations at Michigan Tech. “We know that student talent is key in supporting the success of college peers and inspiring K-12 students to pursue health science and engineering pathways.

The Portage Health Foundation and Michigan Tech share the long-term goal of retaining or recruiting back local workforce talent — whether that be orthodontists, doctors, physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, biomedical engineers or professionals in the field of medical informatics. Scholarships ultimately play a critical role in helping to grow our local economy while fostering healthy communities.”

At a dinner for finalists, the scholarship recipients heard from current students also supported by the Portage Health Foundation through the Undergraduate Research Internship Program (URIP). Both speakers shared their internship experiences and career goals.

Read the full story.

John DeMay ’84 appointed President of Astellas US Technologies, Inc.

Astellas Pharma Inc logo

Astellas, a global pharmaceutical company, announced that John DeMay ’84 has been appointed as President of Astellas US Technologies, Inc.:

In this role, DeMay will be responsible for promoting collaboration and cooperation across Pharmaceutical Technology divisions functions in the Americas.  He will also serve as the site manager for AUST based in Northbrook and will represent AUST in various Americas management activities. DeMay will also continue in his role as head of Project and Product Management Group reporting to Dr. Katsutoshi Nakamura, head of Project and Product Management within Pharmaceutical Technology.

“John’s background and broad experience in this area will help him meet the challenges of this new role, while continuing to grow the strong partnerships th

at exist within AUST and between AUST and its collaborators,” said Nakamura.  “He is dedicated to assuring stable global supply of clinical and commercial products for patients.”

Previously, DeMay served as executive director, Pharmaceutical Technology Management for AUST.  He joined Astellas in 2002 as an associate director of Technical Services and later served as director and senior director of the CMC Technology group within US Pharmaceutical Technology Management.

Throughout his 15-year career at Astellas, DeMay has played an important role in the chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) development and CMC project management.  He has contributed to the development, introduction and stable supply of several new drug products and marketed products.

DeMay holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree with a Chemistry Minor from Michigan Technological University and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from Ferris State University.

Congratulations, John!