Looking for the Achilles’ Heel in Treatment-Resistant Tumors
Christine Eyler is exploring how tumors evolve during treatment to identify vulnerabilities that could lead to more effective cancer therapies. By studying rectal cancer organoids and epigenetic changes, Eyler aims to uncover new strategies that could eventually translate into personalized treatments for patients.
Neuroscientist Nuo Li Joins Duke to Lead Cutting-Edge Brain Research
Duke University School of Medicine has welcomed Nuo Li, PhD, as an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology, and 2024 Duke Science and Technology Scholar. Li and his lab members bring a wealth of expertise in understanding the complexities of how the brain makes decisions.
New Hope for Fighting Fungal Infections
Mapping the structure of an enzyme crucial for fungal survival also sheds light on how climate change is affecting the fungal world.
Hidden Players in Climate Change: How Microscopic Proteins Could Shape Our Future
New research reveals shape-shifting proteins may help some organisms, like plants, adapt to rising temperatures. But this same ability could also lead to the emergence of dangerous fungal pathogens
How Breast Cancer Spreads to a Vital Compartment of the Brain
When breast cancer spreads to the lining of the brain, survival time for patients is less than six months. Duke University School of Medicine researchers have discovered clues as to how they might stop this dangerous spread.
Body’s Touch Sensor Has A Previously Undiscovered Signal
Two tiny sensors of touch, Piezo1 and Piezo2, signal the lightest pressures and can be found monitoring the circulatory system, telling the body where its limbs are in space, and even sounding the alarm for bladder pressure. But a new study from Duke University shows that Piezo1 works differently than everyone thought.
‘Extreme’ Cells Could Provide New Insights into Cell Biology, Pregnancy Diseases, and Cancer
Duke Science and Technology Scholar Amy Gladfelter, PhD’01, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology, studies extremely large cells, such as that of the human placenta, whose outer layer is one huge cell with billions of nuclei. The insights she’s gaining into these cells’ organization and function sheds important light on cell biology, diseases of pregnancy, and cancer.
Clare Smith Named 2024 Pew Scholar
Clare Smith, PhD, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. This award provides four years of funding to young investigators to explore some of the most pressing questions in human health and medicine.
NSF Awards $12.5M to Duke Researchers and Colleagues to Explore Polyploidy
The National Science Foundation awards $12.5 million grant to Duke researchers and their colleagues to lead pioneering study of polyploidy.
A Trial HIV Vaccine Triggered Elusive and Essential Antibodies in Humans
An HIV vaccine candidate developed at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute triggered low levels of an elusive type of broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies among a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical trial.