
DukeMed Alumni News, Fall 2024
School of Medicine Students Volunteer in Duke’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
Duke medical and health professions students are playing a prominent role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the Duke Health community.
More than 100 students from the School of Medicine have volunteered to assist with the administration of the vaccines at Duke vaccination sites. As of January 13, 2021, more than 18,000 vaccinations have been administered to Duke Health employees. Last week, Duke began vaccinating community members over the age of 75.
A Heavy Burden to Bear
For most medical students, getting the opportunity to don a white coat is a major milestone, one that fills them with excitement to be that much closer to becoming a doctor.
Kirsten Simmons had that same excitement initially too. But as time passed, Simmons, now in her fourth year of medical school at Duke, says her white coat gradually gained new meaning. It now feels heavy and represents a burden she wishes she didn’t have to bear.
A Seat at the Table
In his nearly nine years working at Duke, Lowell Tyler says there have been countless times when he’s been the only Black person or Black man in the room. It can be a bit of a challenge, and even though it’s a situation he has gotten accustomed to, he says it’s one that can—and should—change.
Alumni Spotlight: Charles Lucore, MD'83
Alumni Spotlight: Claire Aldridge, PhD’96
Alumni Spotlight: Eric Dziuban, MD’07
A Long Struggle
Eric Dziuban, MD’07, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s country director for the southwest African nation of Namibia, was enjoying a weekend at the coast with his family when the call came. A Romanian couple who had recently arrived in the Namibian capital of Windhoek from Spain had fallen ill. Tests confirmed everyone’s fear: COVID-19 had finally come to Namibia.
Adapt and Innovate: Medical Education During a Pandemic
Giving Back to the Next Generation of Duke Cardiologists
After 45 Years, Devoted Duke Medical Alumnus Reunites with Pilot Whose Arm He Saved
As an Air Force surgeon stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, during the height of the Vietnam War, Robert Green, AB’56, MD’60, saw a lot of badly injured servicemen cross his operating table. But one of them in particular stuck with him, a wounded young pilot whose journey from the skies over North Vietnam to Dayton was especially remarkable.
A Lifelong Commitment to Duke and Women’s Health Care
Growing up on a large farm near Toccoa, Georgia, Winnifred Allen “Al” Addison, AB’56, MD’60, HS’60-’65, HS’71-’72, P’83, GP’14, GP’18, was interested in anatomy from a very early age. He dissected a stillborn calf at his farm when he was just 13 years old. “I wanted to see what the inside of an animal looked like,” says Addison, the Walter L. Thomas Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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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