MSU's October 9, 2026, rundown reports five endowed appointments, public-health programming, Lean training and Homecoming events. Available records do not independently verify the appointments or the reported diabetes grant.
On October 9, 2026, Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine circulated a weekly rundown covering faculty honors, a research grant and campus events in East Lansing.
The report describes five faculty members receiving endowed appointments. It also highlights work in public health, family medicine, reproductive biology and microbiology, along with healthcare operations training and Homecoming activities. Available independent results do not confirm the investiture or later appointment decisions. Those details remain claims made in the university rundown.
The report portrays a medical school recognizing established scholars while trying to move research into clinical practice. MSU's work sits within a wider Michigan medical education landscape that includes a recent CMU building report.
For Farmington-area readers, the material concerns university activity. It does not announce action by a local municipality or school district. The City of Farmington and Farmington Hills keep separate public records and civic calendars. Farmington Public Schools and Oakland County publish their own notices and meeting materials. None of those local bodies is identified in the supplied MSU material as a participant in the appointments, grant or conference.
Five faculty members honored
The university's Investiture for Endowed Faculty ceremony reportedly recognized Melissa Bauer, DO, MPH, as C. S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health. Natoshia Cunningham, PhD, was named Red Cedar Distinguished Professor of Family Medicine.
Cristian Meghea, PhD, was identified as Red Cedar Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. Ted Miller, PhD, was named C. S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health.
Dohun Pyeon, PhD, MS, was identified as MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology.
The formal appointments are described as recognition of exceptional contributions in each faculty member's field. President Kevin Guskiewicz's State of the University speech reportedly formed part of the ceremony. MSU Office of Research materials explain how the university supports internal and external grant applications, but they do not independently verify the ceremony or list these five appointments.
Public health takes center stage
MSU's rundown says the university hosted the Big Ten Government Relations Conference in East Lansing earlier in the week. The event opened with a conversation featuring Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, on "The Transformative Value of Public Health." Jacob Courville, director for federal relations, and Katie John, vice president for state relations, moderated the session, according to the report.
Hanna reportedly discussed the Flint Registry and continuing work with children and families affected by the Flint water crisis. She also described the growth of Rx Kids, which invests directly in families during pregnancy and a child's first year of life.
Available results do not establish what follow-up actions or formal participant responses occurred after the conference. The State of Michigan's departmental registries and Oakland County administration records remain the appropriate places to distinguish university discussion from official government action.
Diabetes research moves toward care
The rundown attributes a $3.3 million federal grant to the Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research. It identifies Ade Olomu, MD, Blanch B. & Frederick C. Swartz Endowed Professor of Medicine, as a principal investigator working with counterparts at the University of Michigan. Available search results did not independently confirm that attribution.
A separate fact-checking result identifies a $3.3 million, five-year NIH grant awarded to Rachel Tabak at Washington University in St. Louis. That project concerns prevention of weight gain and chronic disease among mothers ages 18 to 35. It is not an MSU diabetes study.
The separate grant does not confirm the MSU project. The dollar figure therefore remains attributed to the university's October 9 rundown.
If the MSU center's reported grant is confirmed through a federal award record or a university announcement, its stated purpose would be moving discoveries from the laboratory into real-world practices for people with type 2 diabetes. Its practical value would depend on how effectively those findings reach patients and community care settings.
Lean training at Henry Ford
Faculty and staff from the colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine reportedly joined Henry Ford Health leaders for a two-day workshop on Lean methodologies in healthcare. Richard Zarbo, MD, DMD, chair of the Department of Pathology, led the training, according to the rundown.
The Henry Ford Production System was established in 2005 to standardize pathology laboratories through continuous process improvement. Participants worked through methods for identifying improvement opportunities, solving problems, engaging employees and building systems that support continued work. They also observed those methods at Henry Ford's pathology lab, described in the report as the largest ISO-accredited integrated laboratory system in the United States.
Homecoming plans
Homecoming Week adds a lighter element to the rundown. A cornhole competition featuring deans from across the university is part of the College of Human Medicine's Alumni Weekend activities. A preview video promotes the rivalry.
The college's tailgate is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The cornhole event follows at 2 p.m. at Demonstration Hall Field. Rayamajhi is set to compete alongside medical student Victor Akinyemi.
The supplied material does not indicate that the event is connected to a Farmington civic calendar. It makes no such connection to Farmington Hills or Oakland County, either.
Rayamajhi's report also links faculty recognition with public-health policy, federally funded diabetes research and operational training inside a major health system. The rundown leaves the ceremony, the five appointments and the reported MSU grant pending independent confirmation.
