The 皇家华人鈥檚 Top Featured Stories of 2024
For the 皇家华人 (MCW), 2024 has been a year of innovative research, transformational education, and meaningful community engagement. We have captured many of these moments in stories about our people, knowledge, and impact. These stories have reached more than 8 million people on social media and resulted in more than 150,000 page views online.
As the year ends, we would like to share some of the stories that reflect our mission to create new, life-changing knowledge that shapes the future of health. Here are the top 10 most viewed MCW feature stories of 2024.
The inked designs that adorn many bodies today are more than just art; they often tell profound personal stories. As tattoo culture becomes increasingly mainstream, a novel idea is emerging from recent research: tattoo artists can play a significant role in suicide prevention.
No. 9: ‘Medicine Chose Me': MCW Student Ready for Next Step in Journey
Casey Balson will graduate from MCW-Central Wisconsin鈥痠n May 2025 knowing that she left her mark at the school and beyond. Balson helped create Seeking Peer Outreach, a program that provides a student-led approach to addressing mental health among medical students, including issues such as stigma, isolation, depression and suicide risk.
No. 8: The Life-Changing Potential of Medical Psychedelics
John McCorvy, PhD, describes himself as a chemical neuropsychopharmacologist – someone who uses chemistry and compounds to address problems in the brain and studies the effects of drugs on the mind. Many of the questions he seeks to answer relate to mental health, mental health disorders and neurological diseases, illnesses he believes psychedelics have the power to treat.
There were plenty of obstacles that could have stopped Justin Perez, a medical student at MCW, from being where he is today. Born in a small city in Guanajuato, Mexico, and raised in Milwaukee, he and his family faced numerous challenges common in immigrant communities, many related to health. Instead of letting these challenges hold him back, Perez used them as motivation to pursue a career that gives him the opportunity to give back.
In the evolving landscape of medical education, the integration of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping the way future healthcare providers learn and practice medicine. At the forefront of this paradigm shift is the Data Science Interest Group at MCW, a student-led initiative dedicated to exploring the intersection of data science, AI and medicine.
No. 5: From Olympic Gymnastics to Medicine: Liza Merenzon’s Inspiring Journey
Liza Merenzon’s journey from the vibrant world of rhythmic gymnastics to the rigorous halls of medical school is a tale of resilience, passion and the relentless pursuit of one’s dreams. Born in Ukraine, Merenzon’s early fascination with rhythmic gymnastics set her on a path that would eventually lead her to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Yet, her story is not just one of athletic achievement, but also of an enduring desire to heal and help others, culminating in her decision to enroll at MCW.
No. 4: Fighting Parasitic Flatworms: A New Hope in Medical Research
Parasitic flatworms known as flukes or trematodes are responsible for some of the most debilitating neglected tropical diseases affecting billions of people worldwide. The need for more effective treatments and a growing resistance to currently available drugs has pushed researchers at MCW to find new, innovative solutions to this global issue.
No. 3: Unlocking the Mysteries of Multiple Sclerosis
There is much researchers still don’t understand about multiple sclerosis (MS), a central nervous system disease that afflicts nearly 1 million Americans.鈥疉hmed Obeidat, MD, PhD, an associate professor who specializes in鈥痭eurology鈥痑t MCW, leads multiple research studies that tap into the experience of patients to help us better study– and, ultimately, better treat – the disease.
No. 2: Community Conversations: Where Do You Fall
MCW’s “Where Do You Fall” brings diverse voices together to explore the impact of scientific research on the Milwaukee community. Our format involves community members and MCW scientists responding to statements from a moderator and physically positioning themselves to indicate their level of agreement, from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”
No. 1: Project Wonder: Spine Surgery Psychics
What if spine surgeons could predict your future after a procedure? Rather than relying on arcane rituals, a crystal ball or a deck of tarot cards, physician-scientists and researchers at MCW use finite element modeling to simulate how a patient’s spine will react to different surgical options. The goal is to peer into the patient’s future through these 3D simulations, specific to the individual patient, to personalize a surgical plan that will lead to the best recovery and quality of life.
As we welcome 2025, we want to hear your stories. If you have a story idea about the people, research or community impact of MCW, please contact us at social@mcw.edu.
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