Temple University Hospital is seeking patients with emphysema for a study of a new, nonsurgical way to improve their breathing. It is the first site selected for the trial in the United States. “Our involvement in the RENEW study means that we can give emphysema patients an option that most hospitals don’t offer,” said Gerard Criner, director of the nationally ranked Temple Lung Center.

The national debate on gun control has sparked an increased focus on mental illness. “A majority of gun crimes are committed by people who do not have mental health issues,” said Mark Salzer, chair of rehabilitation sciences at Temple. Salzer says roughly 15 to 20 million Americans have serious mental health issues and while he’s happy the gun control could mean more funding for mental health, he warns that it could also result in more discrimination. “Gun violence is actually not a mental health issue, it’s a gun issue,” he said.

The Newtown massacre has policymakers contemplating anew how people with mental health conditions are kept from harming themselves and others. Specific proposals have prompted much concern. “I knew what was coming when I heard about the tragedy: the assumption of a connection between the shootings and mental health,” said Mark Salzer, chair of rehabilitation sciences and director of the Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities at Temple. “I knew the demoralization and the guilt by association” that people would experience.