Meet Physicians and Scientists

What if we could disable the defense mechanisms that enable cancer cells to evade treatment, or even control their genes to prevent them from developing into tumors in the first place? Can we enhance our brain’s ability to forestall damage from Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions? Is it possible to develop a vaccine for everything?

Drs. Armstrong and Newgard, have devised an innovative, community-based effort focused on children’s health and nutrition to fulfill her wish.

David G. Kirsch, MD, PhD, is leading a Duke Cancer Institute study on cancer biology and radiation response. By understanding how cancers develop, how tumors respond to therapy, and how they become resistant to therapy, his team is working to develop new therapies that save lives

Anru Zhang, PhD, hopes to give physicians another tool to treat disease and improve health – by turning patients’ electronic medical records into a treasure trove of information.

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.

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.