DukeMed Alumni News, Fall 2023
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.
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.
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.
Alumni Spotlight: Kurt Newman, MD'78
Health care professionals found themselves facing a whirlwind of unknowns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Among the many unanswered questions was what effect shutdowns, social isolation, and the virus itself would have on children. Despite what some stated at the time, Kurt Newman, MD’78, and his colleagues at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., believed there was cause for concern.
Challenge Accepted: Duke Science and Technology
Duke launches an ambitious new effort to elevate and sustain excellence in science and technology.
Zhao Zhang, PhD: Follow the Jumping Genes
Zhao Zhang, PhD — ZZ to just about everyone — is a bit of a scientific outlier. While most of his bioscience colleagues around the world are studying the 23,000 protein-coding genes that make us human, the assistant professor of pharmacology and cancer biology is looking at the other part of the genome and asking what it does.
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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