Blake Long, AB’82, MD’86, HS’92-’95, MBA’15, has cultivated strong roots at Duke — first as an undergraduate student majoring in health economics and health policy, next as a medical student, and then as a fellow in pediatric cardiology. Decades later, he returned to Duke to get his MBA and now holds a position as an adjunct professor in the Fuqua School of Business. He serves as vice president on the executive committee of the Medical Alumni Council.

A new $11.45 million award from the Nanaline H. Duke fund expands support at Duke for early-career physicians who also conduct research. The award will accelerate groundbreaking research that transforms patient care, while strengthening Duke’s role as a national leader in physician-scientist development, said Duke University President Vincent E. Price. 

New Director Esen K. Akpek, MD, will guide the next chapter of the Frances and Stephen Foster Center for Ocular Immunology, honoring the Fosters’ philanthropic partnership with Duke Eye Center and their unwavering dedication to advancing vision health worldwide.

A new Nature Medicine paper highlights how 40 years of HIV research reshaped far more than the fight against one virus. What began as an urgent global health response helped fuel breakthroughs that now power treatments for cancer, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and even COVID-19 — thanks to sustained U.S. investment and collaboration across universities, industry, and government.

Nenad Bursac, PhD, is growing beating human heart tissue in the lab to test a gene therapy that repairs heart tissue damaged from heart attacks.

Federal funding has provided crucial support for biomedical research at American universities for decades, fueling the innovation and discovery necessary to solve the biggest health challenges. This explainer video describes how research saves lives and how the process of research funding works.

A refurbished lobby and modernized auditorium now welcome patients, staff, and community members to Duke Regional Hospital, thanks to a generous $1.1 million gift from the Durham County Hospital Corporation. The investment marks another milestone in their longstanding partnership, and the renovations help make Duke Regional the best place possible for health, hope, and healing.

Monique Starks, MD, associate professor of medicine, is leading the nation's first clinical trial of an innovative approach to saving more people who suffer cardiac arrest by delivering automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by drone. Drones carrying AEDs are being dispatched during real 911 calls in Forsyth County, North Carolina, to see if drones can deliver AEDs to patients faster than traditional emergency services.

Wonder what the day in the life of a medical student looks like? Nicole Miller shares her experience as a third year MD student at Duke University School of Medicine. From clinical and research work, to dancing, to studying, to volunteering to keep the Durham community healthy – see what how universities are developing the next generation of doctors and researchers.

After years reconstructing the faces of injured service members, Air Force veteran David Powers, MD, brings that same precision and compassion to patients recovering from gunshots, accidents, and cancer.