DukeMed Alumni News, Spring 2024
Alumni Making a Difference: David Axelrod, MD’96, MBA’96
David Axelrod, professor of surgery and surgical director of kidney/pancreas and living donor transplant at the University of Iowa, explores the intersection of economics and medicine. Solid organ transplantation, he says, poses a unique set of complex challenges not only medically but also in terms of cost of care, organ allocation, and access to services.
2023 Distinguished Alumna Award Mary Louise Markert, PhD’81, MD’82, HS’82-’84, ’84-’87
Mary Louise Markert, PhD’81, MD'82, HS’82-’84, ’84-’87, is professor emeritus of pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology and professor emeritus of immunology at Duke University School of Medicine.
2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award Kurt D. Newman, MD’78
In 2022, Kurt D. Newman, MD’78 retired as president and chief executive officer of Children’s National Hospital, after a nearly 40 year career there. During his 11 years as CEO, the hospital soared from No. 18 to No. 5 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital annual rankings, with neonatology maintaining the No. 1 spot for six consecutive years.
2023 William G. Anlyan Lifetime Achievement Award Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD
Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD is the Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine and a professor of biochemistry, pathology, and chemistry at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also a basic research cardiologist at the Duke Heart Center and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. He has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator since 1976 and has spent most of his 50-year research career at Duke.
2023 Emerging Leader Award Kevin O. Saunders, PhD’10
Kevin O. Saunders, PhD’10, is an associate professor in surgery, molecular genetics and microbiology, and in immunology. He is the faculty chairperson for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and associate director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI).
2023 Emerging Leader Award Kanecia Zimmerman, MD’07, HS’07-’11, 12-’15, PhD, MPH
Kanecia Zimmerman, MD’07, HS’07-’11, 12-’15, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine.
2023 Distinguished Faculty Award E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH
Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, is the Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery, vice chair of research of surgery, professor of radiology, and disease group leader of the Breast Cancer Program at the Duke Cancer Institute.
2023 Transformational Leadership Award LATIN-19 Executive Team
A diverse team of Duke faculty and community advocates created LATIN-19 (Latinx Advocacy Team and Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19) in March 2020 to advocate for and bring awareness to the needs of the Latinx community in North Carolina during the COVID-19 crisis.
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.
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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