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Prepping for a Pandemic: Duke’s Long History of RNA-based Vaccine Development

September 23, 2020

As researchers around the world race to build a vaccine that can protect people from COVID-19, many of the frontrunners entering the final stretch—including those developed by biotechnology companies Moderna and BioNtech—are RNA-based vaccines.

RNA is the molecule that serves as a blueprint for translating DNA into proteins, and it is found in every living thing, from viruses to humans...Read Full Story

Duke spine surgeon offers awake surgery to patients

When you don’t want to miss a thing

Janie Colvin of Fairfax, Virginia, had never had surgery, except for a C-section with her second child. So when the 63-year-old was facing spine surgery, the thought of going under general anesthesia made her uncomfortable in a way that was hard to...Read Full Story

At the Intersection of Sickle Cell Disease and Geriatrics with Charity Oyedeji

Charity Oyedeji , MD, has been living with sickle cell disease her whole life—she doesn’t have the condition herself, but many in her family do. Her brother died of the disease in infancy, and a cousin with whom she was close died at age 19. As a high school student in Houston, Oyedeji spent...Read Full Story

Early Detection of COVID-19: How Your Smartwatch Could Help

Duke researchers aim to detect coronavirus infections early in CovIdentify study

News of the first U.S. coronavirus case hit the American public on Tuesday, Jan. 21. For Jessilyn Dunn, PhD, assistant professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biostatistics and...Read Full Story

Caregivers as Partners in Mental Health Care and Recovery

It was the summer of 2000, and Joy Noel Baumgartner was a doctoral student in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying illness management and recovery pathways for people living with psychotic disorders.

Unlike other mental health illnesses like anxiety...Read Full Story