Meet Physicians and Scientists

We’re thrilled to announce the April 2021 opening of the Duke Behavioral Health Center North Durham at Duke Regional Hospital. Part of the largest construction project in the history of Duke Regional Hospital, the center brings together Duke emergency, outpatient, inpatient and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) behavioral health services in one spectacular new building.

Thirteen Duke scientists, including eight members of the Duke University School of Medicine, appeared in a new list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists in the United States. Cell Mentor, a blog and online resource for researchers, composed the list to showcase the contributions Black scientists make to the scientific community.

Duke's Ed Miao, MD, PhD, a professor in the Departments of Immunology, Molecular Genetics, and Biology, was the first to demonstrate that pyroptosis (cellular suicide) is real and clears intracellular bacteria. More basic science research is needed, however, to understand why pyroptosis can occur in normal, non-infected cells, which could be implicated for sepsis.

As the COVID-19 pandemic shines a light on health disparities, efforts to find new ways to reduce them get a boost.

Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, Butler Harris Assistant Professor in Radiation Oncology, is one of many physician-scientists at Duke who credits the Duke University School of Medicine’s Strong Start Program for her career growth.

Breast cancer researcher Donald McDonnell, PhD, met his wife, Mary, in Maine for a week of vaca­tion. Sitting at a secluded inn on Anne’s Point, McDon­nell, Coleader of the Women’s Cancer Research Program at the Duke Cancer Institute, couldn’t stop thinking about what he had heard at a meeting.

Postdoctoral Fellow Binita Chakraborty, PhD was intrigued: in published analyses of large numbers of patients with melanoma (skin cancer) treated with an immunotherapy that is becoming standard of care, the treatment worked better in men than in women.

A surgical team expands the reach of Duke’s cardiovascular care to bring lifesaving treatment to patients with few other options.

We all know that exercise is good for us. But what if doctors could prescribe the precise workout that would help each person beat their cancer?

Researchers and staff at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory are working around the clock to develop therapies and a vaccine to combat COVID-19.