News

Study finds little survival benefit and high costs from the preventive procedure

Mutations in the BRCA gene correspond to a higher lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, and many women who carry these mutations consider undergoing mastectomy or removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes as preventive measures.

The Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) has elected Gayathri Devi, PhD, Associate Professor in Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences, to its Board of Directors. ACTS supports the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program by advancing research, public policy, and education in clinical and translational science. ACTS members include leaders, investigators, and trainees from academic medical centers, government, industry, and philanthropy.

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. 

For NASA astronauts traveling outside of Earth’s protection, cosmic radiation can create some out-of-this-world problems.

Gayathri Devi, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Pathology, and Member of the Women’s Cancer Program at the Duke Cancer Institute, has received a Breakthrough Award from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (CDMP-BCRP) in the amount of $1,192,441.

The National Cancer Institute has funded a four-year $2 million grant to support the Cancer Disparities Translational Research Partnership between Duke University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU). The grant funds two laboratory-based translational research projects that aim to understand molecular aspects in prostate and breast cancer health disparity in African Americans. 

The Herald Sun recently featured the Duke-NCCU Partnership

Study is the first to identify how chemicals might encourage deadly cancer’s growth

The chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, appears to aid the survival of inflammatory breast cancer cells, revealing a potential mechanism for how the disease grows according to a study led by researchers in the Department of Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke Cancer Institute.

The School of Medicine Office for Faculty Development created the ALICE program in 2016 as a leadership development opportunity for mid-career women faculty in the Duke School of Medicine. Each year, the program selects a new class of women to take part in the program, which provides in-depth skill development, personal reflection and goal setting, peer-mentoring, and constructive feedback. 

Duke Surgery would like to congratulate Bruce Sullenger, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences, for receiving the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Gayathri Devi, PhD, Associate Professor in Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences, was invited to the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program 10th Anniversary Conference as a guest speaker and chair of the general session.