Henry Ford + MSU Partnership Expands Graduate Education Opportunities in Research

Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences is preparing to provide new opportunities for MSU graduate students. Starting in the summer of 2025, MSU graduate students may rotate with and join Henry Ford Health research labs in Detroit.

“We are dedicated to creating a place for MSU students to thrive in the Henry Ford Health labs,” said Michael Bey, Ph.D., Henry Ford + MSU Research Committee Graduate Student Workgroup co-chair, and Henry Ford Health Basic Research associate vice president. 

As part of the Henry Ford + MSU partnership commitment to enhance training and education opportunities for students, the interview process for incoming graduate students included one-on-one interviews with Henry Ford investigators, and an in-person tour of Henry Ford Health labs and education facilities. 

“Our goal is to further advance the students’ educational experience while also increasing the possibilities of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries,” said Bey. 

In early 2025, the partnership was thrilled to welcome MSU Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology student Bobby Zuniga as the first MSU graduate student to join a Henry Ford Health lab. Mentored by Qing-Sheng Mi, Ph.D., Zuniga is currently working on a project exploring the epigenetic regulation of innate T cell development and function.

“After fine tuning the program, we are excited to expand and offer this opportunity to more MSU students,” said Walter Esselman, Ph.D., Henry Ford + MSU board member, Henry Ford + MSU Research Committee Graduate Student Workgroup co-chair, and MSU Health Sciences Research associate vice president. “This collaboration between student and faculty can only add to the quality and impact of the work being done through the Henry Ford + MSU partnership.” 

To further advance this collaboration, the Henry Ford + MSU partnership recently announced the appointment of the Co-Directors of Graduate Studies at Henry Ford Health, Cristina de Guzman Strong, Ph.D. and Howard Crawford, Ph.D. 

“I’m very excited to be partnering with Dr. de Guzman Strong to lead the graduate studies program at Henry Ford,” said Crawford. “As a former graduate school dean at the Mayo Clinic, together with Cristina’s extensive experience and leadership with graduate student programs at Washington University, we are dedicated to creating a rich scientific and educational environment at Henry Ford to support a substantial training culture as we help guide tomorrow’s medical researchers in their early careers.”

Crawford and de Guzman Strong will work alongside MSU graduate education leadership to establish a culture and ethos of excellence in graduate education at Henry Ford.

“We are excited about the partnership’s initiative to invest in the future of health sciences. Here at Henry Ford, MSU students will obtain direct exposure to translational research and patient communities in our urban area that will greatly impact the development of their scientific research,” said de Guzman Strong. “These opportunities will innovate the science and hence future success, thus ensuring that our MSU students emerge as promising scientific leaders in the coming years.”