DukeMed Alumni News

The Duke University School of Medicine welcomes students from across the country and around the world who start their health professions careers at the School of Medicine this month. First- and second-year students in the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program participated in White Coat Ceremonies on Aug. 6. The second-year students were unable to hold an in-person ceremony last year due to COVID-19. The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program also held a White Coat Ceremony in July, and the Physician Assistant Program will hold one later this month.

A surgical team at Duke University Hospital, led by Drs. Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano, successfully implanted a new-generation artificial heart in a 39-year-old man with heart failure, becoming the first center in North America to perform the procedure. 

This spring, nine faculty members in the Duke University School of Medicine have been awarded distinguished professorships. In total, Duke University awarded distinguished professors to 22 faculty members from eight Duke colleges and schools this year. Distinguished professorships are awarded to faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health. 

The 2021 recipients from the School of Medicine are:

Dean Mary E. Klotman, MD, reflected on the challenges and successes of a historic year and shared her outlook for the School's future.

A family foundation established by the late Dudley Rauch, has pledged $30 million to establish an endowment for need-based financial aid for medical students.

Philip Gold is arguably the world’s foremost expert on the neuroendocrine underpinnings of psychiatry and a pioneering investigator of the pathophysiology of major depression. Among many major contributions, he developed the prevailing hypothesis that depression represents a systematic dysregulation of the central nervous system stress system.

L. Ebony Boulware, MD'95, MPH, is a nationally known researcher, educator, and academic leader who has made fundamental contributions to improving the quality and equity of health care and outcomes for individuals and populations affected by chronic health conditions including kidney disease and hypertension.

Debara Tucci is a national expert on the causes, impact, and treatment of hearing impairment and loss. She is director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to going to NIH in 2019, she was on faculty in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine for 26 years.

Debara L. Tucci is a national expert on the causes, impact, and treatment of hearing impairment and loss. She is director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to going to NIH in 2019, she was on faculty in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine for 26 years.

Lisa Amaya-Jackson is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a tireless advocate for children and families who have experienced violence, trauma, abuse, and loss.