In this conversation, Dr. Gupta discusses the growing shift in aging science from extending lifespan to improving healthspan – how well we live as we age. He shares insights from his research on metabolic resilience, healthy aging, and the biological systems that help the body adapt over time. Dr. Gupta also highlights interdisciplinary collaborations at Duke, including work related to GLP‑1–based therapies and their potential impact beyond weight loss.

At Duke University, researchers across medicine, engineering, environmental science and public policy are studying what rising global temperatures mean for human health, ecosystems, and communities.

A career dedicated to improving health in partnership with communities has culminated in a transformational gift by Duke University School of Medicine Professor Emeritus J. Lloyd Michener, MD, to carry forward work that he and his wife, the late Gwendolyn C. Murphy, PhD, championed for years.

Carrie Brown, MD'04, HS'04-'08, MPH, credits her first clinical rotation as a Duke University medical student at John Umstead Hospital, a former psychiatric inpatient facility in Butner, North Carolina, with planting the seed for her future psychiatry career. That path eventually led her to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), where she now serves as chief psychiatrist and deputy secretary for facilities, behavioral health, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Duke researchers are exploring how we can not only survive longer, but thrive longer.

Duke University School of Medicine is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Dean’s Staff Awards. 

Study pinpoints a single brain connection in songbirds that helps turn practice into skill, offering one of the clearest explanations yet of how the brain learns complex behaviors like speech and music.   

Broken or disrupted circuits in the brain contribute to many neurological disorders.

The Faculty Awards honor outstanding contributions in teaching, research, clinical care, professionalism, and service.

Duke researcher Leah Acker, MD, PhD, is studying how repeated stress and inflammation in the body can quietly build up over time, creating an “inflammatory hangover” that may speed up brain aging and cause subtle issues like brain fog or slower thinking. Her team is exploring tools like wearable devices and gentle nerve stimulation to help the body recover better and protect brain function. The goal is to keep people thinking clearly and living independently as they age.