Duke University has received a $30 million, 10-year grant from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to improve maternal and early childhood health across North Carolina. The effort will bring together experts in clinical care, economics, policy, and public health — alongside families and communities — to create more connected, effective systems of care for pregnant women and young children.

Duke University alumnus and second-generation physician Vijay Ramakrishnan, MD and his wife, Praveena Ramakrishnan, have made a $3 million gift to advance patient care and radiology education at Duke Health. Practicing medicine runs deep in the Ramakrishnan family — and now, their legacy is helping shape the future of radiology at Duke.

A generous gift to Duke Health by Martin Marietta, a leading U.S. supplier of aggregates and other building materials headquartered in Raleigh, will help fund an expansion of Duke Health Cary for hospital services. 

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.