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MSU recruits top scientist, gains $6.8M health center

April 28, 2010

A $6.8 million Center for Women’s Health and Reproduction Research moved to MSU’s Grand Rapids location this month following the recruitment of a leading infertility researcher, university officials announced Wednesday.

Asgi T. Fazleabas, now a professor and an associate chairperson in MSU’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, previously had been director of a Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research at the University of Illinois.

Throughout the past eight years, his research has been supported by a $6.8 million award granted from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which Fazleabas brought with him to MSU when he joined the university’s faculty.

Fazleabas was recruited through the MSU-Spectrum alliance — a collaboration agreement between the university and the Spectrum Health hospital established in Grand Rapids about two years ago.

Fazleabas’ research investigates infertility and how it relates to early pregnancy loss, as well as a disease called endometriosis, which can make women infertile and causes extreme pain, he said.

The research potential created by the alliance was part of what attracted Fazleabas to MSU, he said.

“I think it was the opportunity created by the school in Grand Rapids and then the alliance with Spectrum Health (that) really created a unique environment that allows us to do good research,” Fazleabas said.

The center — one of 15 in the U.S. — will be housed in the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids. The addition of Fazleabas’ research program could put Spectrum Health at the forefront of research into women’s health, said Matt Van Vranken, executive vice president of Spectrum Health and president of the Spectrum Health Hospital Group.

The hospital’s clinical programs likely are among the top 10 or 15 in the country in terms of the volume of women’s health services visits, Van Vranken said. Between 8,500 and 9,000 live births occur in the hospital each year, he said.

“We’ve made a huge clinical dedication to women’s health services and in order for us to continue innovation and a strong position as a leader, quite frankly, in the nation, having someone like Dr. Fazleabas and his program here housed at Van Andel Institute and in partnership with MSU is a great opportunity for women not just in Grand Rapids but in the state of Michigan,” Van Vranken said.

Endometriosis affects between 3 million and 6 million women in the U.S., said Serdar Bulun, one of the investigators and a professor at Northwestern University.
The team’s research is important because it could have significant implications for women, he said.

“It involves … the most important health problems of women and also development problems,” Bulun said. “I think it’s extremely important.”

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