Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Marty Fischoff
Managing Director, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, University Michigan
andMelissa Preddy
Communications Director, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, University Michigan at the Institute
andDr. Eva Feldman
Director, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, University Michigan at the Institute
Steel Magnolias— Advancements in Diabetes Research
Program Description
A panel discussion about the latest advancements in diabetes research.
Presented At
Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Film Synopsis
Revolving around Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small parish in modern-day Louisiana, Steel Magnolias is the story of a close-knit circle of friends whose lives come together there.
In a small parish in Louisiana, M'Lynn (Sally Field) is the mother of bride-to-be Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts), and as friend Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) fixes the women's hair for the ceremony, they welcome a helping hand from aspiring beautician Annelle Dupuy Desoto (Daryl Hannah). Diabetic Shelby has a health scare, which is averted but doesn't bode well for her hopes of having children. Time passes, and the women and their friends encounter tragedy and good fortune, growing stronger and closer in the process.
About the Speaker
Marty Fischhoff came to the University of Michigan Health System in 2008 to oversee administrative, programming, communications, and development functions of the Taubman Institute. Prior to that, he was assistant managing editor at The Detroit News, where he worked for 20 years in a wide variety of capacities. He was the editor of Detroit Monthly for five years before that, winning the William White Award as editor of the best city magazine in its circulation class in the nation. He has worked in public relations, marketing, and video production, and wrote a best-selling guidebook to Detroit. He has participated in many community organizations, serving on the boards of Washtenaw Literacy, the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, and D-PAN (which produces music videos for the deaf community).
Melissa Preddy joined the Taubman Institute in 2011 as communications director. A veteran editor and writer, she worked as a reporter, columnist, and editor for The Detroit News from 1995 to 2008, specializing in business journalism and personal finance. As a freelance writer, her work has appeared in print and online for numerous news organizations ranging from bankrate.com to Agence France-Presse to D Business magazine. She has authored and presented training materials to other journalists via seminars and webinars nationwide.
Preddy received a BA in communications and an MA in journalism from the University of Michigan, and also was selected as a Knight-Wallace Fellow in Journalism 2004–2005 for her study proposal on the topic of financial anthropology.
Dr. Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, is the the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan. In January 2008, Dr. Feldman was named the first director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. In her own work, Dr. Feldman is on the forefront of applying stem cell research to human disease. Most notably she is the principal investigator of the first clinical trial of intraspinal transplantation of stem cells in patients with ALS, which received FDA approval in April 2013 to proceed to Phase 2.
Dr. Feldman has received many honors, including the Early Distinguished Career Award and the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Michigan, along with several scientific achievement awards in the field of diabetes. In 2010, she was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, and she has been listed in Best Doctors in America for more than 12 consecutive years. She served as president of the American Neurological Association from 2011 to 2013, the third woman to hold this position in 140 years. In 2014, she was elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.