Research

various researchers

Duke University School of Medicine is the vibrant home for the next generation of discovery. Our capacity for innovation stems from knitting together our existing strengths in fundamental basic science and deepening our growing translational capabilities, our integration with Duke’s national recognized clinical enterprise, and our unique scale and depth in clinical research. The combined efforts of the school’s basic and clinical faculty members in 26 departments, and numerous centers, institutes and initiatives make Duke one of the largest biomedical research enterprises in the country with $1 billlion in sponsored research expenditures annually. 

Duke Research Saves Lives

The words Duke Research Saves Live in a child's handwriting and written in crayon

Duke’s relentless pursuit of scientific innovation transforms groundbreaking discoveries into life-changing patient care and healthier communities. Explore how Duke researchers are changing people’s lives across North Carolina and around the world.

Explore Duke Research

 

Research News

The teen years may be a critical window when the gut microbiome and its influence on weight is still taking shape and more open to change.

A new study suggests what’s flushed down the drain can offer a real-time snapshot of what communities are eating.  

A team at Duke University School of Medicine, led by Nobel laureate Robert Lefkowitz, MD, report the first compounds that directly switch off β-arrestins, which regulate GPCRs — widely used drug targets present throughout the body. Published in Nature, the findings provide the first clear way to control these proteins with pharmacological precision.
Beth A. Sullivan, PhD, has been appointed vice dean for basic and preclinical science at Duke University School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2026.

  

Nobel Laureates  Robert Lefkowitz, MD and Paul Modrich, Ph.D.

Nobel Laureates

Duke University School of Medicine is proud to claim two Nobel Laureates among its faculty. Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., professor of medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was recognized in 2012 for his work on a class of cell surface receptors that have become the target of prescription drugs, including antihistamines, ulcer drugs and beta blockers to relieve hypertension, angina and coronary diseases. Paul Modrich, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was recognized in 2015 for mapping, at a molecular level, how cells repair damaged DNA and safeguard the genetic information.