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. 

Basic Science Research 

Clinical and Translational Research 
 

Data Science & Information Technology

Research Initiatives   

Research Support   

Duke Research and Discovery @RTP

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.

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Research News

Beth Sullivan, PhD
Beth A. Sullivan, PhD, has been appointed vice dean for basic and preclinical science at Duke University School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2026.
Anna Lehmann, a PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, looks at a sample of Aspergillus fumigatus.
Some fungal pathogens survive antifungal drugs by mutating. But Aspergillus fumigatus, a common mold, has a stealthier strategy: it duplicates entire chromosomes, rides out the threat, then discards the extra genetic material once the pressure lifts — leaving no trace that resistance ever occurred. Duke University School of Medicine PhD candidate Anna Lehmann made the discovery while working in the lab of Joseph Heitman, MD, PhD, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Her findings, published in the July 2006 issue of Current Biology, establish the first evidence that A. fumigatus can gain and lose entire chromosomes.
Sudarshan Rajagopal, MD, PhD and Preston Anderson examine a glass slide together.
Duke researchers Sundarshan Rajagopal, MD, PhD, and MD-PhD student Preston Anderson have worked together to realize how G protein-coupled receptors signal through liquid-like protein clusters that could have implications for drug delivery going forward. The findings are outlined in a paper published in the journal Nature.
Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD

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

  

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.