The lives of three men were honored recently through a $1.5 million gift to establish the Stewart, Hughes, and Wendt ALS Research Endowment. The endowment supports amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research at Duke and acknowledges D. Loy Stewart, Larry V. Hughes, and George C. Wendt, three individuals who died of the disease.

The Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) has been given approval to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial of one of its most promising antibody treatments for COVID-19. This would be a temporary treatment until a vaccine is developed. The DHVI also is developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine that would combat future iterations of COVID-19 and similar viruses, and also researching if saliva can be used as an accurate indicator of COVID-19 infection.

Thom Mayer cheerfully gives back to the school that gave him a chance

For 27 years, Heather Paradis, a 1995 graduate of Duke University’s Master of Science in Nursing Program, cared for cancer patients at Duke University Hospital as a hematology-oncology nurse practitioner. As she saw many patients fighting the disease, she had no idea that she would one day be on the other side of cancer care.

Thanks to the support of philanthropic partners, in 2019 Duke launched the Center for Misophonia & Emotion Regulation, the only center of its kind in the U.S.

Duke Children’s Hospital once again ranked among the top 50 children’s medical centers nationally and retained its position at No. 1 in North Carolina, according to this year’s annual list from U.S. News & World Report.

A potential new vaccine developed by members of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute has proven effective in protecting monkeys and mice from a variety of coronavirus infections — including SARS-CoV-2 as well as the original SARS-CoV-1 and related bat coronaviruses that could potentially cause the next pandemic. The findings were published in the journal Nature.

A Parent’s Love and Tenacity Leads to Duke Eye Center, and an Appeal to Innovate

The Duke Endowment of Charlotte, N.C., is supporting Duke University’s efforts to expand its faculty in computation, materials science and the resilience of the body and brain by completing the second phase of a $100 million investment.

Fred Sanfilippo, MD, PhD, of Atlanta, is grateful for the medical education he received at Duke, as well as the life-saving care given to his wife. The couple established a trust fund and scholarship to benefit MD/PhD students.