The main cause of death due to opioid overdose is respiratory depression. In other words, the brain of a person under the influence of opioids can simply forget to breathe. In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Erica Levitt, associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology at University of Michigan Medical School, who is trying to explain this connection, with the hope of maintaining the powerful pain relieving effects of opioids without their potentially deadly effects.

Episode Transcript

Dr. Erica Levitt Profile

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The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Welcome to Season 3 of The Fundamentals. We're starting this season with a conversation about AI: How could AI potentially revolutionize healthcare delivery? The application of computer algorithms to medical knowledge has a long history, one that has accelerated in recent years to include generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. U-M expert Dr. Cornelius James discusses how AI is touching everything from doctors’ workloads to diagnostics to medical education.

Learn more about A.I. in healthcare

Learn more about The Fundamentals

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s The Fundamentals is Dr. Brummett, Professor at the University of Michigan where he serves as the Senior Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He has more than 280 publications, including articles in top journals such as JAMA, JAMA Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Annals of Surgery. He is the Co-Director of the Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network or OPEN at the University of Michigan, which aims to apply a preventative approach to the opioid epidemic in the US through appropriate prescribing after surgery, dentistry and emergency medicine. Moreover, he is the Co-Director of the cross-campus Opioid Research Institute, which was launched in the spring of 2023. He leads multiple NIH grants studying these concepts and receives funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, CDC, and multiple foundations.

You can learn more about Dr. Brummett here, and you can follow Dr. Brummett @drchadb and the department of anesthesiology @UMichAnesthesia on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/feeling-hunger-itself-may-slow-aging-flies

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/different-pain-types-multiple-sclerosis-can-cause-difficulty-staying-active

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Fundamentals is Dr. Maria Castro, the R.C. Schneider collegiate professor of neurosurgery, and a professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Her research program aims to develop immunotherapies for primary and metastatic brain cancer, studying basic immune biology mechanisms leading to clinical implementation. She has been inducted into the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the Latin American Academy of Sciences, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows. She has won numerous awards for her contributions to basic science and cancer research and is a diversity ambassador for the Cancer Biology Graduate Training Program.

You can learn more about Dr. Castro here, and you can follow her @castro2355_mg, the Rogel Cancer Center @UMRogelCancer, the department of neurosurgery @umichneuro, and Michigan Neurscience Institute @UM_MNI on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/gene-therapy-brain-tumor-shows-promising-early-results-humans

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/two-genes-linked-autism-implicated-brain-cell-connectivity

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Fundamentals is Dr. Kevin Boehnke, research assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. His current research focuses on therapeutic applications of cannabis and psychedelics. His goal is to rigorously assess appropriate use of these substances and to help address the public health harms caused by their criminalization.

You can learn more about Dr. Boehnke here, and you can follow the department of anesthesiology @UMichAnesthesia on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/surgery-patients-now-less-likely-get-opioids-decline-has-slowed

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/1-8-older-adults-use-cannabis-products-suggesting-need-screen-risks

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Jody Platt. She is an Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. Trained in medical sociology and health policy, her research focuses on issues at the intersection of informatics and ethics. She is interested in understanding what makes data-driven health trusted, and the pathways for earning, achieving, and sustaining trust across stakeholders. Dr. Platt is the Academy Health and ABIM Foundation Senior Scholar in Residence advising on issues of measuring and building trust.

You can learn more about Dr. Platt here, and you can follow Dr. Platt @jeplatt and U-M Learning Health Sciences @umichDLHS on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/clinicians-could-be-fooled-biased-ai-despite-explanations

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/can-ai-help-hospitals-spot-patients-need-extra-non-medical-assistance

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Fundamentals, our guest Dr. Martin Myers, Director of the U-M Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute, discusses diabetes research in the context of Ozempic, Wegovy, and other drugs that are changing how people think about weight loss.

You can learn more about Dr. Myers here, and you can follow the department of molecular and integrative physiology @UMPhysiology on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/diabetes-linked-functional-and-structural-brain-changes-through-mri

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/device-makes-lot-sense

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Fundamentals, our guest is Dr. Michelle Kahlenberg, an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, the Giles Bole and Dorothy Mulkey Research Professor of Rheumatology and the Vice Chair for Basic and Translational Research in Internal Medicine.

Her clinical work is centered on the care of patients with lupus, including those with refractory skin disease. In addition to running her lab, she's an active member of the Immunology Training Program and has received national recognition for her research.

You can learn more about Dr. Kahlenberg here, and you can follow the Kahlenberg Lab @Kahlenberglab and the department of internal medicine @UMIntMed on X.

You can learn more about The Fundamentals on our website.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.

Find out more about the research stories mentioned at the top of the show at the links below:

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/obesity-leads-complex-inflammatory-response-inside-fat-tissue

https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/could-ginger-help-treat-autoimmune-disease-symptoms

Learn more about other exciting research happening at the University of Michigan, by checking out Health Lab, Michigan Medicine's daily online publication featuring news and stories about the future of healthcare.

The Fundamentals is a part of the Michigan Medicine Podcast Network, and is produced by the Michigan Medicine Department of Communication. You can subscribe to The Fundamentals on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.