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  DURHAM, N.C. – Although being overweight with a high body-mass index (BMI) has long been associated with a higher risk for colorectal cancer, thinner patients might not fare as well after treatment for advanced cancer, according to a new study from Duke Medicine. The study, which was presented today at the European Society for Medical Oncology World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, found that patients with a low or healthy body weight lived an average of two-and-a-half months less than overweight and obese patients.

Allen Song, PhD, the director of the Duke-UNC Brain Imaging Analysis Center, has been named interim director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS).“I am grateful to Allen Song for agreeing to serve as interim director of DIBS,” said Provost Sally Kornbluth, PhD, who made the announcement June 26. “With Allen’s leadership, alongside DIBS senior staff and faculty, the institute is in excellent hands while the search for a new director is underway.“

The Duke University School of Medicine welcomed 33 students to its newest Master’s Degree Program: Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS). Thirteen women and twenty men who received their undergraduate degrees from 24 universities across the country including Duke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Howard, and Case Western, comprise the inaugural MBS class.

  DURHAM, N.C. – Heart attack patients age 65 and older who have reduced heart function might still benefit from implanted defibrillators, according to a Duke Medicine study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. But fewer than 1 in 10 eligible patients actually get a defibrillator within a year of their heart attacks, the study found.

John Sampson, MD, PhD, will be chair of the new Department of Neurosurgery. In February, the Duke University Board of Trustees approved the creation of a Department of Neurosurgery within the School of Medicine. The current Division of Neurosurgery, within the School’s Department of Surgery, will be elevated to department status, effective July 1, 2015. Dr. Sampson has served as chief of the Division of Neurosurgery since February 2014.

The new, state-of-the-art Hudson Building at Duke Eye Center was dedicated today, June 11.  The 4-floor, 116,000 square foot facility is named in honor of William Hudson, CEO of Durham-based LC Industries and chairman of the Duke Eye Center Advisory Board. LC Industries, the largest employer of visually impaired people in the country, donated $12 million for the building in 2010. It pledged an additional $4 million in 2013. The building will open to patients on June 29.

South Carolina and North Carolina have many things in common: southern heritage, a love of good food and family, beautiful beaches and mountains. The two states also share burdensome health issues like unacceptably high rates of diabetes, stroke, obesity, heart disease, and health disparities.

Delford L. Stickel, MD, professor emeritus in the Department of Surgery, passed away on May 11, 2015. Dr. Stickel was a nationally-renowned surgeon who in 1965 performed the first kidney transplant in North Carolina and at Duke.

Congratulations to the 346 students in the Duke University School of Medicine who graduated on May 9, 2015, marking the successful culmination of their hard work and dedication. Students received degrees through the following programs:

At the annual Spring Faculty Meeting on May 5, the School of Medicine recognized faculty members for their service and achievements in academic leadership, scholarly inquiry and teaching excellence. For more information about the awards, visit Faculty Awards The 2015 award recipients are as follows: