Meet Donors Like You

In the early morning of July 3, 1966, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Carole Ryan could not believe she was in labor. 

Her baby was due on the Fourth of July, and Carole felt strongly that she would give birth to her first child on Independence Day. But after some coaxing by her concerned husband, Carole grudgingly agreed to go to the hospital. Her acquiescence proved wise — baby Suzanne arrived just 20 minutes later at 6:10 a.m. 

The Bedford Falls Foundation has committed $250,000 to support the Duke University School of Nursing Master of Nursing (MN) program clinical immersion experience.

The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Duke Health mourn the passing of David H. Murdock, a visionary philanthropist and the namesake of the MURDOCK Study, who died at the age of 102.

Sarah Rose Smale has been a patient of Sharon Freedman, MD, for almost 20 years. During that time, Freedman has helped the family preserve as much of Sarah Rose’s sight as possible and has guided them through multiple chronic and acute eye conditions, often from afar. In appreciation, Angela and Leonard Smale have been generous supporters of Freedman's research.

Professor of Medicine Michael Hershfield's research has transformed the lives of patients with rare immunodeficiencies and treatment-resistant gout. Now he's made a philanthropic gift to support early career physician-scientists at Duke.

Dean Emerita Wilson’s gift will fund an international visiting professorship and Duke’s Center for Nursing Research, to be renamed in her honor.

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.