Meet Physicians and Scientists

Race, and how people are treated differently because of it, leads to major differences in health outcomes for cancer and other diseases. Tomi Akinyemiju, a social and molecular cancer epidemiologist, sees this aspect of culture and health as something to be examined and dissected, and has built her career doing that.

Duke has long been a leader in brain research and working to find treatments and cures for diseases like Alzheimer's. The new Duke-UNC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is playing a key role in this.

When we get a cold, or a cut on our hand, we will heal. This concept of resilience is being studied and researched at Duke, and basic science research may hold many of the keys to unlocking the power of the human body to resist infection and disease.

Although the term “eating disorders” is fairly common, it’s a bit misleading. That’s according to experts at Duke who say eating disorders are not about eating. Rather, individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder have a disrupted relationship with their bodies, which gets in the way of their ability to live fulfilling lives.

Like a team in a science fiction movie, the six-lab squad funded by a 2017 MEDx Biomedical research grant is striking in its combination of diverse skills and duties.

According to Google Maps, the walking distance between Duke University School of Medicine and the Pratt School of Engineering is 0.8 miles, or about 1,800 steps. You can cover it in less than 15 minutes.

The fortified Toyota Land Cruiser slipped and bounced in the muddy hollows of the rain-drenched Mongolian steppe. The driver, a native Mongolian man named Inka who spoke little English, slowly engineered the vehicle along what just two days earlier was a dusty pair of dirt tracks.

The United States has one of the highest rates of preterm birth—up to 10 percent of all pregnancies—in the world. And many pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia, which contributes to preterm birth, are associated with abnormal placental development.

Small vessel vasculitis—inflammation of the small blood vessels—appears as a stain of tiny, red dots covering the skin that, depending on the severity, can evolve into painful pustules or ulcers.  In some patients, it may even reflect inflammation in internal organs.

Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD, , and Cagla Eroglu, PhD, have been named Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators. HHMI provides its researchers with long-term flexible funding that gives them the freedom to explore and, if necessary, change direction.