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For the fifth consecutive year, the Duke University School of Medicine has received a record number of underrepresented minority applicants for its biomedical graduate programs.

Nine members of the School of Medicine faculty were named to endowed professorships by Duke University on April 30, 2015.

Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, an advisory organization to the president and Congress composed of experts in all scientific fields. Andrews is one of 84 newly elected members of the NAS who are recognized for achievements in original research. Membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.

Duke BOOST (Building Opportunities & Overtures in Science & Technology) is a Duke University School of Medicine-based program designed to excite young people –particularly underrepresented minorities, girls, and youth from economically challenged backgrounds – about science, and to inspire them to pursue careers in medicine and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)-related fields.

Duke University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program ranked number one among PA programs in the country, according to new U.S. News & World Report graduate and professional school rankings released on March 10, 2015.

Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA, the Jerry Reves, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, has been named the permanent chair for the Department of Anesthesiology, effective immediately.

Edward Buckley, MD, has been named the permanent chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, effective immediately. This decision was made after an extensive national search. Dr. Buckley has served as interim chair of the department since March of 2014 and has done an outstanding job leading the department during an especially difficult transition in the wake of former chair Dr. David Epstein’s untimely death and through construction of the new Hudson Building.

Duke University School of Medicine ranked among the top ten medical schools in the country, according to new U.S. News & World Report graduate and professional school rankings. The School of Medicine ranked eighth for research.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has asked Holly Lisanby, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, to serve as its director for the Division of Translational Research. Dr. Lisanby will step down from her role as chair and take a leave of absence from Duke to begin serving the NIMH this fall, pending final NIH approval. As director for the Division of Translational Research, Dr. Lisanby will be in an exciting position to help set a national agenda for research on mental illness.

Merel H. Harmel, MD, professor emeritus and founding chair of the Duke University School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2015. Dr. Harmel served as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology from 1971 to 1983, and had a profound impact on all those with whom he came in contact.