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A highly complex emergency endovascular procedure was one man’s only hope of survival when others deemed his condition inoperable.

As a Vietnam prisoner of war for more than five years, William Fortner has been through a lot in his lifetime.

A pilot for the military, his history is impressive. And, despite the many missions that might have ended his life, he is here to tell his story, thanks to the expertise of Nicholas Osborne, M.D., and the vascular team at the Michigan Medicine Frankel Cardiovascular Center.

When other surgeons told Fortner he was not a candidate for surgery, a Michigan Medicine team stepped in to perform a complicated emergency endovascular procedure to repair the 77-year-old’s thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm.

The aneurysm had grown to 10 centimeters, “Well beyond when surgery is considered,” says Osborne. “This was one of the largest thoracoabdominal aneurysms I had seen.” Typically, a thoracoabdominal aneurysm is repaired when it reaches approximately 5.5 to 6 centimeters.

A thoracoabdominal aneurysm is a weakening in the aorta — the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body. This type of aneurysm extends from the chest to the abdomen and is considered extremely difficult to treat due to its location. But repairing it is critical as a ruptured aneurysm can be life-threatening.

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MIDAS is honored to work with five of Michigan’s Native American tribes to streamline their processes of data collection, analysis, and reporting for their educational systems. A team of undergraduate students, Kristen Shaw (Data Science), Gustavo D’Mello (Computer Science), Yeonho Jang (Computer Science), and Troy Sorensen (Computer Science), are working with the tribes’ education directors, with Dr. Tayo Fabusuyi as the mentor.

Kristen Shaw describes the project as “an incredible opportunity to give back to these communities around the state of Michigan while using the skills learned at U-M”. She is “excited to continue collaborating with the team of students and talking closely with the tribes’ education directors”.

MIDAS (Michigan Institute for Data Science) collaborates with community partners and supports the application of data science into impactful products, services, and policies, towards a better data-enabled society. Such collaboration also ensures that data science research is inspired by real-world problems and rooted in real-world data.

Visit the MIDAS website for more information

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Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education on Wednesday, May 19. The hearing was titled “Picking up the Pieces: Strengthening Connections with Students Experiencing Homelessness and Children in Foster Care,” and the other witnesses included the executive director of the School District of Philadelphia, a foster parent, and the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction.

At the hearing, Erb-Downward shared findings from her research on the educational challenges faced by students who do not have a stable place to live. In a new analysis of student discipline data from the Michigan Department of Education, Erb-Downward found homeless students are suspended or expelled at a rate four times higher than their housed peers who are not economically disadvantaged. Erb-Downward’s research also found 1 in 4 students who had experienced homelessness at any point during middle or high school dropped out of school.

“While housing is critical, housing alone does not close the educational gap faced by students who have experienced homelessness. Without the needed school supports, homelessness and housing instability have lasting educational impacts on children,” Erb-Downward said during her testimony.

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