Meet Medical and Nursing Alumni

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

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.

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos will oversee one of the top-ranked nursing schools in the nation.

Eric Dziuban, MD’07, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s country director for the southwest African nation of Namibia, was enjoying a weekend at the coast with his family when the call came. A Romanian couple who had recently arrived in the Namibian capital of Windhoek from Spain had fallen ill. Tests confirmed everyone’s fear: COVID-19 had finally come to Namibia.

Turning a Terrifying Ordeal into an Opportunity to Help

When reports early last winter indicated that a mysterious new infectious disease had broken out of its point of origin in Wuhan, China, Charles Lucore, MD’83, P’17, MBA, began to prepare for its possible arrival in New York.

Duke University School of Nursing celebrated its 90th birthday in 2020. In the time since its doors opened, much has changed. The School’s location on Trent Drive has expanded beyond its original small white building connected to Hanes House to today’s beautiful towering and awe-inspiring building with its open spaces and high-tech classrooms. Even its degree programs have grown and stretched over the years.

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.

In her new position as principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Amy Abernethy, MD’94, HS’94-’01, PhD, is working to use data and precision medicine to develop more efficient ways to deliver personalized care.

Grace Terrell, MD’89, HS’89-’90, uses precision medicine technology to improve the odds for patients in search of diagnoses.