News

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has released its 2018 rankings of NIH funding for basic and clinical science departments, revealing that Duke Surgery ranks highest nationwide with more than $30 million in funding committed to research.

Dr. Peter Smith, Professor and Chief, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, has been reappointed as Chair of the American Medical Association’s Specialty Society Relative Value Scale (RVS) Update Committee (RUC).

Duke Surgery researchers are bridging the gap between basic research and clinical application, moving gene therapy from the bench to the bedside.

With a buzzing phone and dinging inbox repeatedly begging for her attention, Dr. Georgia Beasley momentarily tunes out the chaos to discuss the journey that led to her current position at Duke. Here, she splits her time between treating melanoma patients in the clinic and researching novel treatments for the disease in the laboratory.

In recognition for his extraordinary efforts to accommodate a patient’s needs, Jeffrey Gaca, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, has received the Strength, Hope, and Caring Physician Award from Duke University Hospital.

As a visiting professor in China 10 years ago, thoracic surgeon Dr. Thomas D’Amico introduced a novel surgical procedure that was showing tremendous benefits in cancer patients back home at Duke University Medical Center.

Surgical Center for Outcomes Research (SCORES) Scholars Awards were established by the Duke Department of Surgery in 2016 to foster new collaborations around surgical health services research. After a rigorous peer review selection process, we are pleased to announce that the 2017 SCORES Scholars Award recipients are:

The Duke Human Heart Repository has been a resource for cardiovascular research scientists at Duke University since 2004, and with a new grant, the facility will be able to expand its capabilities.

David Harpole Jr., MD, Professor, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, has received a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Defense for research on a link between military service and the development of mesothelioma cancer. Out of the estimated 3,000 mesothelioma diagnoses in the United States each year, nearly a third of these patients have military experience. This study will help to determine why.

Photo: Cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Jacob Klapper and Dr. Nnamdi Nwaejike perform a double lung transplant. Shawn Rocco/Duke Health

Each day, tens of thousands of patients on waiting lists across the United States await a simple phone call: one that says a match has been found and an organ is available for transplant. Despite a growing demand for donors, organ shortages continue to hinder many patients’ chances in receiving their potentially life-saving call.