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Inspirational Stories

Our donors and friends don’t just make financial gifts; they invest in a healthier future for all.

Our philanthropic partners play a pivotal role in Duke Health’s missions. Their generous support enables us to tackle the most pressing health challenges, innovate new treatments, and ensure that every patient receives the highest standard of care.

Together, we can achieve extraordinary outcomes and make a lasting impact on the world.

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Meet Donors Like You
Meet Grateful Patients
Meet Medical and Nursing Alumni
Meet Medical and Nursing Students
Meet Physicians and Scientists

Meet Donors Like You

John Karickhoff: Bringing the Light of Innovation to Duke Eye Center

Karickhoff wants every trainee at Duke to think about how they can advance ophthalmology and to consider making innovation their career focus.

John Karickhoff: Bringing the Light of Innovation to Duke Eye Center
Triangle Rock Clubs Owner Climbs Mountain of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

In his experiences at Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), Graybeal senses a like-minded commitment to caring for people.

Triangle Rock Clubs Owner Climbs Mountain of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Historic Gift Will Bring Proton Therapy to Duke

Proton therapy is a more precise type of radiation that has fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy.

Historic Gift Will Bring Proton Therapy to Duke
Retired Educator’s Estate Gift Will Support Haven for Healthy Weight Management

Ready to take control of her life and wellbeing, the donor made her first trip to the Duke Diet and Fitness Center.

Retired Educator’s Estate Gift Will Support Haven for Healthy Weight Management

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Meet Grateful Patients

Triangle Rock Clubs Owner Climbs Mountain of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

In his experiences at Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), Graybeal senses a like-minded commitment to caring for people.

Triangle Rock Clubs Owner Climbs Mountain of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
An Enduring Gift: The Branch Endowment for Duke Heart and Duke Cancer Institute

Through a generous estate gift to Duke, the couple has created an endowment to benefit both Duke Heart and Duke Cancer Institute (DCI).

An Enduring Gift: The Branch Endowment for Duke Heart and Duke Cancer Institute
A Horse Show, and So Much More

“Nobody says ‘no’ to Joan Petty. Don’t answer her phone call if you don’t want to work,” says Barbara Bays with great affection.

A Horse Show, and So Much More
A Window into the Infant Brain

She aimed to adapt OCT into a handheld device that could be used to better diagnose and treat retinal diseases in children.

A Window into the Infant Brain

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Meet Medical and Nursing Alumni

Alumni Making a Difference: Erich Huang, PhD’02, MD’03, HS’03-’08

He has been a pathfinder since transitioning in 2016 from clinical care to biomedical informatics and later directing Duke Forge.

Alumni Making a Difference: Erich Huang, PhD’02, MD’03, HS’03-’08
Alumni Making a Difference: William Stead, AB’70, MD’74, HS’73-’77

Stead worked with Ed Hammond, BSEE’57, PhD’67, director of the Duke Center for Health Informatics, and others to build The Medical Record.

Alumni Making a Difference: William Stead, AB’70, MD’74, HS’73-’77
Alumni Making a Difference: David Axelrod, MD’96, MBA’96

We need to ensure that we have a system that ensures maximum use of donated organs without increasing the cost of care.

Alumni Making a Difference: David Axelrod, MD’96, MBA’96
Alumni Making a Difference: Roslyn “Roz” Bernstein Mannon, MD’85, HS’85-’90

We must address the organ supply. I think we can actually eliminate a lot of the structural barriers, but we must solve this organ crisis.

Alumni Making a Difference: Roslyn “Roz” Bernstein Mannon, MD’85, HS’85-’90

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Meet Medical and Nursing Students

ChatGPT Enters the Classroom

Virtually instantaneous help in writing essays, planning trips, making dinner reservations, creating equations, and much more is drawing more.

ChatGPT Enters the Classroom
The Changing Landscape of Medical School Admissions

To help identify these change agents, the admissions committee has crafted an application and interview process designed to enable a holistic view.

The Changing Landscape of Medical School Admissions
Adapt and Innovate

The School of Medicine meets the challenge of the pandemic by crafting new ways to educate.

Adapt and Innovate
Making a Difference Through Evidence-Based Solutions

Tedrick L. Vernon III first became a Duke nurse anesthesia student in 2015, but he says Duke helped him grow into his nursing career before that.

Making a Difference Through Evidence-Based Solutions

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Meet Physicians and Scientists

Stacy Waters Appointed Vice President of DHDAA

Stacy Waters, MBA, has been named the new vice president of Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs (DHDAA), effective November 4, 2024.

Stacy Waters Appointed Vice President of DHDAA
First Presidential Distinguished Chair Named in Honor of Chancellor Washington

School of Medicine Dean Mary E. Klotman, MD, announced this week that Duke’s first Presidential Distinguished Chair will be named.

First Presidential Distinguished Chair Named in Honor of Chancellor Washington
Meet the School of Medicine’s 2024 Distinguished Professors

This spring, 18 faculty members in the Duke University School of Medicine have been awarded distinguished professorships.

Meet the School of Medicine’s 2024 Distinguished Professors
A Gut Sense

Diego Bohórquez, PhD, associate professor in medicine, has become known as a “gut-brain neuroscientist.

A Gut Sense

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