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When nearly 700 clinicians, educators, and researchers gathered for the 2025 American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) Conference, the energy in the room was electric. This annual event has long been a key platform for advancing manual therapy practice and research, but this year had an added significance: it was led by Derek Clewley, PT, DPT, PhD, FAAOMPT, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and associate director of the Center for Excellence in Manual and Manipulative Therapy at Duke University.

The Office for Faculty is offering a 2.5-day Faculty Leadership Foundations program covering topics such as managing self and others, having challenging conversations, and understanding how academic medical centers are financed. This learning intensive is free to regular rank faculty in School of Medicine departments. Sessions will be held February 16, 17, and 18, 2026. Individuals can register for single days or all three. Registration will remain open until 11:59pm on December 7, or until capacity is reached.

Duke Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) student Brian Gonzales Granados, OTD’26, recently presented a poster at the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA (SSO:USA) Annual Research Conference, held November 6–8 in Galveston, Texas. This year’s theme, “Occupations and Nature: Connections and Transactions,” provided the perfect backdrop for Brian to discuss spatial neglect and nature-based occupations.

The November Interdisciplinary Rehabilitative Research Seminar brought together faculty, students, and clinicians from Duke’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) programs for an engaging session led by visiting professor Catherine E. Lang, PT, PhD, FASNR, FAPTA, Barbara J. Norton Professor of Physical Therapy, Professor of Neurology and Occupational Therapy, and Associate Director for Movement Science PhD Program at WashU Medicine.

Salime’s journey from ESL student to science presenter shows BOOST’s power to transform lives, combining research, mentorship, and creativity to inspire STEM dreams.

Congratulations to the following doctoral students who have successfully defended their dissertations and will graduate from the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics PhD Program.

Erik Sulman, MD, PhD, will serve as the interim executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), effective January 5, 2026

September 12 was National Day of Encouragement. Le Well partnered with DPT Student Affairs Office to offer rock painting, coloring and learning about Kawa.

Stephen Lisberger, PhD, George Barth Geller Professor, will be stepping down from his role as chair of the Department of Neurobiology effective November 30, 2025.