People in Flint are concerned about elevated cancer rates, particularly multiple myeloma, and possible links to environmental exposures where they live, work, and play. For many in the community, a lack of high-quality reporting on cancer rates in the wake of the Flint water crisis can be highly distressing, worrisome, and frustrating.

Rx Kids, a first-of-its-kind program designed to eliminate poverty and improve health, has passed a major milestone in Michigan: over $10 million in cash prescriptions directly to enrolled moms, babies, and families – and entire communities – since launching in Flint in 2024.

The plug-and-play program has since expanded to the cities of Kalamazoo and Pontiac, and to the eastern Upper Peninsula counties of Chippewa, Schoolcraft, Luce, Alger, and Mackinac with plans to expand to more communities throughout 2025.

Imagine you’re a new mom, sleep-deprived and home alone with your baby. It’s been over a month since you gave birth and you thought you would start to feel better by now: not just physically, but mentally.

Your relationships with your partner, family, and friends have shifted since the baby arrived and you’re not sure who to ask for help. If you needed help, it would be offered, right? The lack of help probably means you should have it covered on your own.

Four dedicated researchers from Michigan State University have received grants totaling more than $3 million from the American Cancer Society, or ACS, to find new ways to prevent, detect, treat and help patients survive colorectal, breast and cervical cancer.   

A new mom in Flint experiences excessive postpartum bleeding, but is told over the phone that she’s probably fine. Later, she is rushed to the emergency room. An expecting mom in rural Northern Michigan starts to feel dizzy and nauseous late in her pregnancy, a warning sign for preeclampsia, but the nearest hospital is two hours away and she doesn’t have transportation.

More than 1,300 babies and families in the city of Flint have received nearly $6 million in cash prescriptions since Rx Kids launched in January 2024. A birthday bash complete with cupcakes, coloring pages, and other birthday fun, was held Jan. 29 at the Flint Children’s Museum for 100 guests.

Researchers from Michigan State University and Rutgers University will lead the first nationally funded study to explore how neighborhood change created by racism in housing affects health across the life course, specifically related to aging. Researchers are starting to understand the links between historical redlining and contemporary health inequities. This work expands on that idea, studying a whole host of factors 'beyond redlining' that have influenced decline and disinvestment in cities. 

In recent years, some states have prioritized purging their voter rolls of those who have passed away or moved out of state. During election season, there is often increased discussion about the necessity and impact of these actions. Voter purging can be an important step for creating election integrity, but others have raised concerns about how the process is conducted and who it targets.

Gayle Shipp, PhD, RD, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Scholars for Action (HES4A).

If researchers from Michigan State University have their way, the old adage, “You are what you eat” will become, “You are what you know.”

“Knowledge is power,” said Heatherlun S. Uphold, assistant professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health and Department of Translational Neuroscience in the MSU College of Human Medicine. “Our efforts focus on sharing power and information with the communities that we serve so people can make informed decisions.

Content warning: If you or someone you know needs help, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

A newly published study found that one in five U.S. adults who die by suicide spent at least one night in jail in the year prior to their death. Rapidly and efficiently providing prevention, screening and outreach resources for this group is critical to reducing adult suicides nationwide. 

The Michigan State University Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Initiative and the Flint Odyssey House have been awarded a total of $100,000 in research and service “sister” grants from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. This community-academic team will evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Flint Odyssey House’s enhanced parenting services for pregnant and postpartum women receiving substance use disorder treatment in Flint and Saginaw, MI.