When Duke University went into partial lockdown in March, only a few, select labs that are working on a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment were allowed to remain open. For Duke University School of Medicine researchers, temporarily closing their labs was nothing short of titanic.

Kim Spancake and her husband, Drew Snider, understand the crucial importance of health care workers. When their 13-year-old daughter, Addie, was born, she was eight weeks early and only weighed two pounds, seven ounces. Addie spent six weeks at the Duke Regional Special Care Nursery (SCN), growing stronger and healthier under the care of the team there.

Steve and Lisa Eisenstein, P’19, P’22, are no strangers to supporting good causes—and not just by opening their wallets. They are active in various philanthropic organizations, including one that helps people rebuild homes after hurricanes and other natural disasters.

On May 1, 2020, MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM hosted an on-air fundraiser and teamed up with local businesses 919-Fix-MyAC and The Carolina Ale House of Durham to bring 160 lunches to healthcare providers at Duke Children's.

When COVID-19 arrived on American shores and exploded across the country within a matter of weeks, researchers across Duke hastened into action. Duke scientists in fields from microbiology and molecular genetics to pediatrics and surgery are racing to try to understand this exceptionally complex virus and develop approaches to defeat it.

When facing an illness such as ALS, one in which there currently is no proven treatment to stop or reverse it, patients often look to clinical trials for options for living longer and better lives.

When Melissa F. Neumann, MD, and her husband, James Crichton, made a $150,000 pledge earlier this year to the Laszlo Ormandy Professorship Fund in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, they did not know how fast their gift would change its purpose.

Nurse Carrie Mohagheghi trained co-workers on how to correctly wear personal protective equipment.

As teams throughout Duke’s hospitals, clinics, and research labs actively monitor and respond to the developing COVID-19 pandemic, Duke Health’s COVID-19 Response Fund to support the area of greatest need has received a generous gift from the Biogen Foundation.

Duke connections remain strong and community spirit shines through from the other side of the world. Donations of cash and surgical masks to Duke Health arrive quickly thanks to active network.