DukeMed Alumni News, Fall 2022
Developing New Tools to Fight Cancer
For decades, medical cancer treatment has generally meant chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, alone or in combination. Today, new approaches such as immunotherapies and targeted therapies are becoming available, with many more in research and development.
One Foot in the Clinic, the Other in the Lab
Health challenges across the globe — everything from climate change to infectious disease and better treatment options for patients — precipitate the need for skilled physician-scientists: physicians who see patients in the clinic and who also devote time to scientific research. Duke programs including the Office of Physician-Scientist Development and the Medical Scientist Training Program are helping to meet that need.
Alumni Making a Difference: Bill Kaelin, BS’79, MD’82
2019 Nobel Prize winner Bill Kaelin says he’d be disappointed if he could predict the next big thing in cancer research and care, because many of the greatest advances come from unexpected directions.
Alumni Making a Difference: Lori J. Pierce, MD'85
Lori Pierce, a radiation oncologist, professor, and vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at the University of Michigan, says there is an important but frequently misunderstood distinction between “equality of care” and “equity of care.”
Alumni Making a Difference: Eugenie S. Kleinerman, MD’75, HS’75
Eugenie S. Kleinerman, chair of the Division of Pediatrics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is exploring how to alter the tumor microenvironment to increase the efficacy of treatments and improve outcomes.
Alumni Making a Difference: Arif Kamal, MD, HS’12, MHS’15
As the new chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society, Arif Kamal is working to ensure that cancer treatment goes beyond providing the appropriate therapy and also addresses each patient’s individual circumstances.
Making Change: Alumni are forging the future of biotech and the business of health care
Look at almost any arena within the world of medicine, science, and health care across the nation and beyond, and you will find individuals serving as leaders who learned and trained at Duke University School of Medicine.
Restoring Sight in Sierra Leone
In April 2022, Duke eye surgeon Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD, traveled to Sierra Leone to perform corneal transplant surgeries, restoring sight for patients who had suffered corneal-related blindness for years. Williams, associate professor of ophthalmology and director of the Duke Global Ophthalmology Program, performed 19 corneal transplants and four non-transplant surgical procedures during the visit.
Native American Heritage Inspires Lumbee Students
Third-year Duke medical student Emily Alway grew up near Detroit, but every July, her family would travel to North Carolina for Lumbee homecoming, which includes a parade and a pow-wow. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest Native American tribe in North Carolina, and its members have traditionally lived in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland counties in the southeastern part of the state.
Alumni Spotlight: Phil Lister, MD'79
One of the most powerful moments Phil Lister, MD’79, had in medical school came during a lecture by Adhemar "Jim" Renuart, BS’52, MD’56, HS’57. Renuart shared with the students the challenges he experienced as both a doctor and a father to a child with medical issues.
About DukeMed Alumni News
DukeMed Alumni News is published twice a year. If you have a story idea, please write to us at the address below or send an e-mail to dukemed@dm.duke.edu. We are interested in remembrances of favorite faculty or stories about your time at the School of Medicine, as well as alumni who have interesting hobbies, alternative careers, global and community health experiences, and anything you think would be of interest to other Duke medical alumni. Letters to the editor are also welcome.
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