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Molecules that scavenge debris from dying cells appear to halt the cycle of chronic inflammation in lupus, while also enhancing the body’s ability to combat flu, according to Duke Health studies in mice. The molecules, called polymers, have commonly been used in gene-transfer experiments because they bind to the nucleic acid in DNA and RNA. When deployed directly in mice with lupus or an acute flu infection, the polymers home in on the DNA and RNA refuse from dying cells, halting the damaging immune attack.

The research -- led by Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., as part of the Walk Again Project in São Paolo, Brazil -- offers promise for people with spinal cord injury, stroke and other conditions to regain strength, mobility and independence. “We couldn’t have predicted this surprising clinical outcome when we began the project,” said Nicolelis, co-director of the Duke Center for Neuroengineering who is originally from Brazil.

Duke Health-led researchers have discovered new information about the signaling mechanism of cells that could one day help guide development of more specific drug therapies. For years, well-established science detailed the intricacies of how cells change function after receiving chemical signals from hormones, neurotransmitters or even drugs. 

One of the main mysteries confounding development of an HIV vaccine is why some people infected with the virus make the desired antibodies after several years, but a vaccine can’t seem to induce the same response. A research team led by scientists at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute has been unraveling that mystery, detailing new insights in a study published July 29 in the journal Science Immunology.

Duke University is in its 16th year offering their Summer Medical and Dental Education Program. Based on their interest in science fields, 80 students, were invited to jump in.  The program was featured on  WRAL news . Read more 

Kevin L. Anderson, Jr., a fourth year MD/MHSc candidate at Duke University School of Medicine, has been elected national chairman of Student National Medical Association (SNMA) board of directors. Founded in 1964 by medical students from Howard University College of Medicine and Meharry Medical College, the SNMA is the nation’s oldest and largest, independent, student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color. Organized with chapters across the nation, the SNMA membership includes over 7,000 medical students, pre-medical students and physicians.

Scientists at Duke Health are part of a team that has discovered a type of cell surrounding blood vessels can also serve as a starting point for sarcoma, a form of cancer that occurs in bones and connective tissues. The findings, made through studies of mice, offer insights that could aid in the development of potential new treatments for the rare but devastating cancer, which has 15,000 new diagnoses annually in the U.S.

The center will be a key component of the Trial Innovation Network, which is the newest part of the Clinical and Translational Science Award Program. Researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have received a major federal grant to study how multisite clinical trials of new drugs and therapies in children and adults can be conducted more rapidly and efficiently.

In April, Robin Rasor was named director of Duke’s Office of Licensing and Ventures, which is responsible for helping faculty and students patent and license their discoveries and, if they so choose, start on the path to forming a spin-off company. She began work at Duke on July 1, 2016. Rasor comes to Duke from the University of Michigan, where she has been the managing director of licensing within the university’s Office of Technology Transfer.

CDC awards $26M to support research on new ways to prevent superbugs and improve healthcare quality The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $26 million to Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and four other academic medical centers to create epicenters where researchers will develop and test innovative approaches to prevent healthcare-associated infections and the spread of dangerous bacteria infections, and to improve patient safety in healthcare settings.