Carolyn Coyne, PhD: Exploring How Viruses Evade the Placental Barrier
The human placenta performs a delicate balancing act: it must let beneficial nutrients pass from the mother to the developing fetus, but block harmful pathogens from making the same trip. Carolyn Coyne, PhD, investigates how the placenta has evolved to be such a fantastic protector but can also be vulnerable to pathogens.
Ed Miao, PhD: Moves and Countermoves in the Immune System
When certain immune cells in our bodies are invaded by a dangerous pathogen, they sacrifice themselves to vanquish the intruders.
Rapid Test Identifies Antibody Effectiveness Against COVID-19 Variants
A new test can quickly test the ability of antibodies to neutralize spike proteins from different variants of COVID-19 simultaneously. The D4 assay shown here is the Teflon-like technology that makes the test possible.
Dr. William Fulkerson Reflects on His Illustrious Career
When William J. Fulkerson, MD, MBA, steps down from his illustrious tenure as executive vice president of Duke University Health System (DUHS) at the end of this year, he will be celebrated as one of the most influential and successful figures in Duke Health’s 90-year history.
Alumni Spotlight: Emily Wang, MD’03
Emily Wang, MD’03, initially intended to study HIV research and treatment, but midway through medical school she became interested in the issues facing inmate populations. Now a professor in the Yale School of Medicine, she explores the health effects that mass incarceration has on populations both inside and outside of prison — a subject that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief.
Alumni Spotlight: Susan Blackwell, MHS, PA-C’89
In a lot of ways, Susan Blackwell (Crawford), MHS, PA-C’89, and the physician assistant profession have grown up together. They were born at roughly the same time, matured in parallel and proximity, and for more than three decades they’ve been inextricably linked.
Lung Transplant Clinical Trials Network Renewed for Seven More Years
With $21 million in new funding from the NIAID, the network now includes eight centers in North America and will study adolescent lung transplant recipients as well as adult.
Using Genetic ‘Dimmer Switches’ to Combat COVID-19
Nick Heaton, PhD, has turned his research focus from influenza to another RNA virus: COVID-19. He is using powerful gene-editing tools to identify candidates for host-directed therapeutics, which don’t attack the virus directly but instead target proteins the virus needs.
School Launches Plan to Dismantle Racism
Since launching its Moments to Movement initiative in June 2020, Duke University School of Medicine has begun work to better understand the root causes and harms of racism and to develop strategies to reduce racial inequity.
Helping Kids Navigate the Pandemic
The stress and isolation of the pandemic may have a lasting toll on some children, but Duke experts say most will recover fully — and some might even emerge with new strengths.