News

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute welcomes Hassan Nasser, M.D. , an otolaryngologist and surgical oncologist who specializes in head and neck cancers. Dr. Nasser is part of the Head and Neck Oncology Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) at Karmanos and is now accepting new patients at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit and Karmanos Cancer Institute – Roseville . He joined Karmanos on May 1, 2024. “One of the qualities that drove me toward the Head and Neck MDT and Karmanos is the team that has develo...

Scientists discovered the link between tobacco use and cancer decades ago. While most people associate smoking with lung cancer, the truth is tobacco use is also linked to many other forms of cancer. “The most common causes of head and neck cancers are tobacco and alcohol use,” said Dr. Nithin Peddireddy , a head and neck oncologist and microvascular reconstructive surgeon at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint .  “Daily use of those substances are the most important risk factors.” While...

Have you been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, low-grade spondylolisthesis, or mild to moderate scoliosis, or have chronic back pain that hasn’t improved with physical therapy or other treatment methods? Then a lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) surgery might be the answer for you. "Lateral lumbar fusion is a state-of-the-art spinal surgery where the spine is approached from the side to remove a damaged disc and replaces it with a bone graft. This approach stabilizes the spine, reduces pain...

Originally born and raised in South Sudan, Moses Dangba was a young adult when he came to the United States looking for a new career and opportunity in 2000. “South Sudan had been in a civil war for many years causing me and my family to seek a different living opportunity, so I first moved to Egypt and then eventually to Lebanon which led me to America,” he said. Dangba is an emergency medicine technician, and has worked for McLaren Greater Lansing for 20 years. When he first arrived in Lansing, M...

Karah Sorensen, lead technologist in the catheterization lab, was honored as the newest recipient of McLaren Greater Lansing’s Extraordinary Employee of the Season Award. This award acknowledges any employee in the hospital system for the extraordinary work they do. Sorensen’s nomination stated, “Karah is always going way beyond normal duties and her job title to help patients, staff, and physicians with daily procedures and cases. We do not have a current director or manager in our department, and she ...

Alexis Wilson, fifth-year doctoral student in the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute’s Cancer Biology Graduate Program, received the Best Oral Presentation Award at the eighth International Bone Marrow Adiposity Conference, held Sept. 24-26 in Montreal. The title of her presentation was “Tumor adaptive response to adipocyte-induced stress in bone metastatic niche: the functional interplay between Stearoyl -CoA desaturase and ATF4.” “I was v...

The Wendorf Award was created by the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation in 2017 and is named in memory of a longtime supporter of the hospital who understood the importance of giving back to the community. Individuals chosen to receive the award are recognized for their commitment to providing high-quality and compassionate care to patients. This year, the Janet M. Wendorf Outstanding Caregiver Award was honored to Dr. Tiffany Wyatt, a third-year internal medicine resident. Dr. Wyatt’s process improveme...

Lauren Hamel, Ph.D., co-leader of the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, has been appointed a visiting innovation faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) at the University of Pennsylvania, Abramson Cancer Center. This role complements her current position as an associate professor of oncology at the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine. Founded at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylv...

The best way to catch breast cancer early is to receive an annual mammogram once you turn 40. Some women will receive mammograms before that age due to their risk of developing breast cancer, especially if they have a first-degree relative diagnosed with breast cancer. However, there are other risk factors you should know about when it comes to breast cancer awareness. Some of those are: A personal history of benign, also known as non-cancerous, breast disease. Inherited changes in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 g...

The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development at Wayne State University’s (WSU) School of Medicine held its 2024 School of Medicine Faculty Awards and Promotion and Tenure Ceremony on Sept. 26. This is an annual recognition of faculty who have made outstanding contributions to teaching, mentoring, research, and leadership. This year, several Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute faculty, researchers and medical staff at the Karmanos Cancer Center received these awards, highlighting their si...