Research

various researchers

Duke University School of Medicine is the vibrant home for the next generation of discovery. Our capacity for innovation stems from knitting together our existing strengths in fundamental basic science and deepening our growing translational capabilities, our integration with Duke’s national recognized clinical enterprise, and our unique scale and depth in clinical research. The combined efforts of the school’s basic and clinical faculty members in 26 departments, and numerous centers, institutes and initiatives make Duke one of the largest biomedical research enterprises in the country with $1 billlion in sponsored research expenditures annually. 

Basic Science Research 

Clinical and Translational Research 
 

Data Science & Information Technology

Research Initiatives   

Research Support   

Duke Research and Discovery @RTP

Duke Research Saves Lives

The words Duke Research Saves Live in a child's handwriting and written in crayon

Duke’s relentless pursuit of scientific innovation transforms groundbreaking discoveries into life-changing patient care and healthier communities. Explore how Duke researchers are changing people’s lives across North Carolina and around the world.

Explore Duke Research

 

Research News

Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD

Broken or disrupted circuits in the brain contribute to many neurological disorders.

Zebra finch on a branch
Study pinpoints a single brain connection in songbirds that helps turn practice into skill, offering one of the clearest explanations yet of how the brain learns complex behaviors like speech and music.   
Diego Bohórquez, PhD
Scientists are finding that the gut may play a major role in how the body ages, sending signals that affect the brain, mood, and overall health. Duke researchers discovered special cells in the gut that can quickly detect bacteria and communicate directly with the brain, influencing things like eating behavior even without illness or inflammation. This “gut-brain conversation” could help explain how diet and gut microbes shape aging and may lead to new ways to protect brain health.
Dr. Chi in the lab with a researcher.
Study reveals ascites is more than a patient symptom, but an active player in helping ovarian cancer spread and grow.

  

Nobel Laureates Robert Lefkowitz, MD and Paul Modrich, Ph.D.

Nobel Laureates

Duke University School of Medicine is proud to claim two Nobel Laureates among its faculty. Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., professor of medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was recognized in 2012 for his work on a class of cell surface receptors that have become the target of prescription drugs, including antihistamines, ulcer drugs and beta blockers to relieve hypertension, angina and coronary diseases. Paul Modrich, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was recognized in 2015 for mapping, at a molecular level, how cells repair damaged DNA and safeguard the genetic information.