Center for History, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences & Ethics in Medicine

CHHASSEM
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About

Learn about the Center for History, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Ethics in Medicine.

How Can We Help?

Learn About the Center's helpful resources and tools.

Areas

Explore our multi-faceted discipline areas.

Research

Learn About CHHASSEM's Research & Impact.

Education

Learn about CHHASSEM’s commitment to training and mentorship.

People

Meet the diverse team behind the Center.

We are building a welcoming home where we center the insights and lessons of history, ethics, humanities, social sciences, and the arts to deepen our understanding of health, illness, and care delivery, and to amplify the promise of biomedicine. Put another way, CHHASSEM asks an aspirational question: “What could healthcare become?”

We invite members of the U-M community to co-create this new space with us as a place where we revive the heart of medicine and reimagine the experience of healing and healthcare work.

The leadership group will continue advancing strategic plans to further define our path forward.

Leadership

Director

Lisa Harris

Lisa H Harris, MD, PhD
Professor

Managing Director

Emilee Coulter-Thompson, DrPh, LMSW

Emilee Coulter-Thompson, DrPH, LMSW

Managing Director

We encourage you to connect with CHHASSEM's Director, Managing Director, or Area Directors to share ideas.

Director: Lisa Harris

Managing Director: Emilee Coulter-Thompson

Arts and Medicine Directors: Greer Hamilton & Daniel Whibley

History of Medicine and Public Health Director: Laura Hirshbein

Medical Humanities Directors: Terri Laws & Kara Zivin

Medical Social Sciences Directors: Julie Maslowsky & Scott Stonington

Michigan Bioethics Directors: Kayte Spector-Bagdady & Christian Vercler

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Discipline Areas
  • Michigan Bioethics
  • Medical Social Sciences
  • History of Medicine & Public Health
  • Medicine & Arts
  • Medical Humanities
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    Our Newsletters

    The Connector highlights our latest news and events. Check out our most recent issues here and subscribe to our email list to keep up with CHHASSEM.

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    • Upcoming Events

    CHHASSEM Picnic
    Join us for the 2026 Center Picnic!

    Featured News & Stories

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    Research News

    Securing NIH awards is getting more competitive — and confusing

    As success rates for grant applicants plummet, researchers scramble for new funding.
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    Health Lab

    The algorithm will see you now? Patients say not without a doctor nearby

    Researchers at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University found that U.S. adults were significantly more likely to trust in and choose medical AI in scenarios with better AI performance, U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, national and local certifications, the presence of a clinician, and the use of representative data.
         Black history composite
    News Release

    Pioneers and pathbreakers: Black History milestones at Michigan Medicine

    As part of the celebration and examination of U-M medical history, an overview of some of the key Black Americans who learned, taught, worked and led at the Medical School and beyond.
         Medical history artifacts from U-M microbiology
    News Release

    175 years of U-M medical history come alive in museum exhibit

    A free museum exhibit explores the medical history of the University of Michigan from 1850 to today.
         Dee E. Fenner, M.D., Lisa Hope Harris, M.D., Ph.D., and Frederick Kofi Korley, M.D., Ph.D., new elected members of the National Academy of Medicine
    News Release

    Three U-M faculty elected to National Academy of Medicine

    Dee E. Fenner, M.D., Lisa Hope Harris, M.D., Ph.D., and Frederick Kofi Korley, M.D., Ph.D., are the latest University of Michigan Medical School faculty to join the National Academy of Medicine
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    Health Lab

    Personalized app reduces cancer-related fatigue

    Researchers at the Rogel Cancer Center, in collaboration with Arcascope, have developed and tested a personalized app that tracks a user’s circadian rhythm and makes behavioral recommendations to reduce daily fatigue.