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Twice a year the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society elects a small number of new members.  The criteria include scholastic achievement, leadership capabilities, ethical standards, fairness in dealing with colleagues, demonstrated professionalism, achievement and/or potential for achievement in medicine, and a record of service to the school and community at large. Membership in AOA is a distinction that accompanies a physician throughout his or her career.  

Michelle P.Winn, MD, Associate Professor of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine, passed away July 23, 2014, after battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. The Duke University Division of Nephrology will hold a memorial service to honor Dr. Winn’s life and work on September 2, at 3 p.m. in the Duke Chapel.

Redford Williams, M.D., a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Medicine, and the director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University School of Medicine, received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society of Behavioral Medicine. The award, the highest honor bestowed by the international society, was presented on Aug. 20, 2014, at the ISBM’s 12th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine in Groningen, Netherlands.

Two hundred and seventy-three students started their health professions careers at Duke University School of Medicine this month. Orientations and ceremonies continue to take place for the Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Programs. Statistics for the 2014 entering Medical Doctor class:

Sarah (Holly) Lisanby, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and James Blumenthal, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, have been named J.P. Gibbons Professors of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Lisanby is an internationally recognized leader in the field of brain stimulation. A pioneer in a novel depression treatment called magnetic seizure therapy (MST), she is the co-author on more than 150 publications. Dr.

Effective July 2014, the Physical Therapy Division became part of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Offering a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree since 1998, the division previously had its departmental home in Community and Family Medicine. While this has served the division well for many years, the division’s ever-increasing alignment with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and its faculty make this a natural and strategic transition. It will open up new opportunities for physical therapy education, research and clinical care.

Matthew Velkey, PhD, will assume the role of Assistant Dean for Basic Science Education in the Duke University School of Medicine on July 1, 2014, replacing Jeff Dawson, PhD, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Immunology and the current Assistant Dean for Basic Science Education. Dr. Dawson has been an integral participant in the medical student education program for many years and has served as the course director for the immunology portion of the program. Since the curriculum was revised in 2004, he has served as the Assistant Dean.. Dr.

This spring, 99 new doctors graduated from Duke University’s School of Medicine, where we serve as dean and vice dean of education. Another 190 master’s and doctoral students earned degrees from the school in health professions-related fields.

Ann M. Reed, MD, will join the Duke University School of Medicine as chair of the Department of Pediatrics, effective August 1, 2014. Dr. Reed currently serves as chair of the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Mayo Clinic. She is also interim director and physician-in-chief for the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center in Rochester, Minnesota. She is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the Mayo Medical School and a consultant in the Division of Rheumatology in both the Departments of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine and Internal Medicine.