Every Gift Tells a Story

Thanks to the support of R. Sanders “Sandy” Williams, MD'74, HS'77-'80, and family, a newly-established fund will provide support to laboratory-based research projects conducted by physician-scientists in the School of Medicine.

In addition to being a talented teacher, surgeon, and humanitarian, John Karickhoff, MD'64, HS‘64-'68, is a visionary. He recently gave $1 million to launch the Duke Ocular Innovation Hub. The hub will serve both as an engine to drive innovation and a repository for innovations developed at Duke Eye Center.  

Joel Graybeal knows what it’s like to work at a business where people mean more than the bottom line. At Triangle Rock Clubs, where he is managing partner, employees find joy in helping clients climb their way to better health and fitness. Some of them even find their soul mates: the clubs’ colorful climbing terrains have served as backdrops for several marriage proposals.

Colton Goodman of China Grove, North Carolina, was just 3 years old when he was referred to Duke after an MRI showed a growth behind his right eye. At Duke, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a life-threatening muscle tissue cancer that is most often seen in children.

It's all about leaving a legacy. That’s what Brad Branch said about establishing the Catherine S. and J. Bradford Branch Fund with his wife, Catherine Shingleton Branch. Through a generous estate gift to Duke, the couple has created an endowment to benefit both Duke Heart and Duke Cancer Institute (DCI).

The May family made it through a harrowing injury with help from plenty of Duke friends.

Family creates the John Rhea Armstrong Memorial Fund to support glioblastoma research.

Anthony Filiano, PhD, an assistant professor in the Duke Department of Neurosurgery, has received a $375,000 grant from the Rosenau Family Research Foundation for a three-year project titled, “Immune Responses in Peripheral Nerves After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants for Krabbe.”

Suzanne Markel-Fox, PhD, and Jonathan C. Fox, MD, PhD, FACC, are committed to nurturing growth in just about everything they do, from tending vegetables to developing new cardiovascular and metabolic medicines and training the next generation of physician scientists.

Prior to 2011, the life expectancy of an individual diagnosed with metastatic melanoma was generally measured in months. There were no good treatment options. Among patients diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, 50% developed metastasis to the brain, and only 5% were still alive five years after diagnosis.