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Small cell lung cancer is aggressive and often spreads before it’s detected. About 70% of patients have metastatic cancer at diagnosis, and the five-year survival rate remains roughly 7%. Now Duke University School of Medicine researchers have identified a promising new strategy to fight this deadly disease: combining low doses of two cancer drugs to overwhelm tumors that have spread throughout the body.

Researchers are studying rare moments when people with advanced dementia suddenly regain clarity, memory or function

At a ceremony welcoming 120 future physicians, faculty and alumni reflect on the responsibilities and sense of purpose that define medicine

For more than 50 years, Edmund Joseph Wise, Jr. has carried Duke’s physician assistant program with him throughout a distinguished career in healthcare, education, and professional leadership. Now, Wise is giving back to the program that inspired his calling, making a transformative gift that creates both immediate and lasting impact for students in the Duke PA Program.

At the 57th annual Duke University Medical School Student Research Symposium, students shared discoveries born from an immersive third-year research experience.

For 26 years, Duke’s Exploring Medicine in Honduras program has immersed medical, nursing, and physical therapy students in collaborative, community-based care, teaching them to diagnose and treat patients in resource-limited settings while building long-term relationships with local communities. Through hands-on experiences such as treating chronic wounds with simple materials and adapting care without advanced technology, students learn clinical reasoning, teamwork, compassion, and the value of serving underserved populations.

What if pain relief and addiction didn't have to go hand in hand? Duke researchers report a discovery that could help scientists design safer opioids. Their Nature study found that a small group of brain cells appear to play an important role in reward learning, the process that can lay the foundation for addiction. The team showed that opioid pain relief could be preserved even when drug-related preferences failed to form.

In this candid conversation, Dr. Mary E. Klotman, executive vice president for health affairs of Duke University, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, and chief academic officer of Duke Health, sits down with Dr. David W. Zaas, chief executive officer of Duke University Health System, to talk about what's ahead.

The tool, called Raygun in a nod to science fiction, can create shorter, longer, and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function. The findings, published in Nature, open new possibilities for protein engineering and drug development.