On December 1st, GREMAP folks attended a symposium in honor of Dr. James S. Jackson, who was a leader and revolutionary in the field of psychology and the social sciences, remembered for this career-long dedication to understanding and advocating for the health and wellbeing of Black Americans. Notably (although it seems many things he did were notable), Dr. Jackson established the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) at the UM Institute for Social Research, which aimed to study the health of Black Americans by looking at within-group differences, rather than as compared to White populations, which was the standard at the time. This approach was both innovative and impactful and transformed the research and scholarship on the mental health of Black people in the U.S.

In addition to research and scholarship, Dr. Jackson’s career was characterized by leadership and mentorship. While the sessions in the symposium ranged from everything from Dr. Jackson’s impact on the University and the Institute for Social Research, to his roles in leadership and advocacy, to his work in sports and athlete health and wellbeing, the common thread through almost all of the talks was his human impact as a mentor and friend. Among the speakers was Dr. Mezuk, who was mentored by Dr. Jackson. During her talk, Dr. Mezuk discussed the impact of Dr. Jackson’s mentorship on her career thus far and in the future. She also reflected on the integral role of Dr. Jackson in the MIWI program, of which he was the co-founder and first co-director alongside Dr. Mezuk. His mentorship and leadership in MIWI continues to shape the MIWI program today.

In her speech, Dr. Mezuk also highlighted Dr. Jackson’s goal of “intergenerational mentorship”, or, as others who spoke phrased it, how “[he] played the long game”. Throughout his career, Dr. Jackson was devoted to investing in the next generation of diverse scholars, both professionally and interpersonally, and it was evident to those who knew him that he respected, challenged, cared for, advocated for his mentees. Reflecting on the symposium, I am confident that those who were impacted by him will continue his legacy of support and mentorship.

You can read more about the life and career of James S. Jackson here.

We are excited to share a new article published in Health Lab, a Michigan Medicine publication that features stories on research and innovation in healthcare, that highlights the work of the Diabetes and Mental Health (DMH) initiative. The article introduces the DMH Initiative and its goals to support the psychosocial health and well-being of people with diabetes through our work with patients in Michigan Medicine. The writing team also interviewed Dr. Kevin Joiner at the U-M School of Nursing, who collaborates with GREMAP on the DMH study. Dr. Joiner is a long-time researcher and advocate for reducing stigma among people with diabetes, which is also central to the DMH Initiative. They write that “[the DMH initiative’s] efforts, along with others, are prime examples of U-M research driving evidence-based patient-centered care and increasing support and resources for people living with diabetes.” You can read the full article here.

GREMAP folks attended the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) annual conference in Tampa earlier this month. We presented our work on a variety of topics on the intersections between aging and health, including mental heath, cognition, social isolation, and function limitation, as well as how this interacts with social and economic factors such as long-term care, retirement, and incarceration.

GREMAP presentations included:

“Incarceration History and its Association With Cognition and Isolation Among Older Black Americans”, presented by Eskira Kahsay.

“Correlates of Retirement Expectations Among Baby Boomers in US and South Korea: Applications of Tree-Based Methods”, presented by Linh Dang.

“Parental Transition to Long-term Care: Implications for Psychological Well-Being of Adult Children”, presented by Viktoryia Kalesnikava.

“Network Analysis of Objective and Subjective Indicators of Social Isolation and Functional Limitations”, presented by Chuwen Zhong.

“Nursing Home Expectations and Mental Health Among Older Adults in the Health and Retirement Study”, presented by Annalise Lane.

Overall, this year’s conference was a great opportunity to share our ongoing work with a gerontology-focused and interdisciplinary audience. Great work to everyone who presented and collaborated on these projects!

We are excited to share that a new article on the mental health impacts of type 2 diabetes, contributed to by Dr. Mezuk and the DMH study team, was published in Healthline this month. The article, titled “How Type 2 Diabetes Can Also Impact Your Mental Health”, discusses the complex, bi-directional relationship between type 2 diabetes and mental health disorders, including the role of stress, inflammation, stigma, and other physiological and social factors unique to the experience of folks with type 2 diabetes. The article also features excerpts from an interviews diabetes researchers, including Dr. Mezuk, that translate research findings to a more general audience. You can read the full article here.

GREMAP alum Dr. Natalie Bareis is the Project Manager for the recently-completed, SAMHSA-funded project “Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study.” These data provide the most up-to-date prevalence estimates of mental health outcomes in the U.S., including, notably, measures of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This data will be an incredible resource for researchers for years to come. A great example of how GREMAP alum are growing into leaders in the field of public mental health! Please see more details about the data resource here.

GREMAP attended the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) 2023 Conference in Milwaukee, WI in full force this past May. Hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Public Health Association, this conference aimed to bring together various NVDRS stakeholders to discuss findings from NVDRS and their implications for how NVDRS data can develop, expand, monitor, and sustain violence prevention programs, policies, and practices. Our presentations included:

• “Understanding the Utility and Limitations of the Narrative Texts in the National Violent Death Reporting System: Review and Recommendations”, co-presented by Linh Dang and Eskira Kahsay
• “Retirement-Related Suicide during the Great Recession: Perspectives from the National Violent Death Reporting System”, presented by Aparna Ananthasubramaniam
• “Area-level Income Polarization and Suicide and Deaths from Undertermined Intent”, presented by Viktoryia Kalesnikava
• “Leveraging machine-learning tools to explore salient themes related to suicide across the life course”, presented by Dr. Mezuk

Overall, the NVDRS Conference was a great opportunity to meet and interact with the other NVDRS stakeholders and are hopeful for collaborations in the future!

Above: The team arriving in Milwaukee via the Lake Express ferry!; Bottom left: Dinner with stakeholders from the Puerto Rico Violent Death Reporting System (PR-VDRS); Bottom Right: the GREMAP team during NVDRS conference activities (left to right: Alejandro Rodriguez-Putnam, Lily Johns, Dr. Mezuk, Aparna Ananthasubramaniam, Viktoryia Kalesnikava, Eskira Kahsay, and Linh Dang)

As a part of the Diabetes and Mental Health (DMH) Initiative, Dr. Mezuk and Caitlan DeVries co-authored a piece on the health and mental health implications of high insulin costs in Dr. Mezuk’s Psychology Today Blog “Ask an Epidemiologist”. The blog discusses a history of insulin, current challenges related to cost and accessibility, and affects on health outcomes and disparities. You can read the full piece here.

This past week we were excited to welcome Dr. Norman Sartorius to CSEPH and to the University of Michigan! Dr. Sartorius is currently the President of the International Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programs, and is the former director of the Division of Mental Health at the World Health Organization. He is also a mentor for our MIWI program, or the Michigan Integrative Well-being and Inequality Training Program, which took place earlier this week.

During his visit, Dr. Sartorius gave a lecture to CSEPH titled “On the Future of Medicine and Psychiatry” that took a deep dive into major social and economic trends affecting the practice of medicine and psychiatry now and in the future. Throughout this presentation, he highlighted the importance of strengthening and supporting community health and caregiving.

Overall, Dr. Sartorius teaches and reminds us of the importance of empathy and humanism in the practice of medicine, psychiatry, and public health. He especially emphasizes the role of teaching and mentorship in both research and clinical education settings as a way to center empathy and respect for the person or patient. It was a pleasure to meet and discuss with Dr. Sartorius and we were happy to welcome him to the University of Michigan!

Dr. Norman Sartorius (center) pictured with folks from GREMAP