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. 

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

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have uncovered a previously unknown role for astrocytes in shaping the developing brain. By sending different signals to immune cells, these star-shaped cells help decide which neural connections stay and which ones are pruned away.
Researchers from Duke University and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center used ultra-high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy to map volume changes throughout the brain in a carefully crafted collection of genetically engineered mouse models. The results provide new insight into the evolution of Alzheimer's disease and make it easier for scientists to test potential Alzheimer’s treatments in preclinical trials.
A newly published study from Duke Cancer Institute researchers sheds light on a long‑standing mystery in cancer biology and reveals a potential new path toward more targeted treatments for pancreatic and other solid tumors.

Viruses infect people every day. From the common cold to influenza, COVID, and more, viruses are part of life.

  

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.