COVID-19 News
Muath Bishawi, MD, MPH, Cardiothoracic Surgery
Resident
Working in a Pandemic: Physician-Scientist Trainees Describe Challenges and Important Lessons Learned
Muath Bishawi, MD, MPH, Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident, shares the challenges he's faced as a surgeon-scientist trainee working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flexibility in Vaccine Research Using HIV Assays to Research Potential Mutations in SARS-CoV-2
In the wake of a pandemic, the one question that many people have is how to protect themselves from something they cannot physically see. The solution to it is simple to understand, yet complex in its creation—vaccines. Dr. David Montefiori, professor of surgery, is currently reaserching the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the goal of creating an effective COVID-19 vaccine for the public.
Lindon Pearson enjoys a moment in his backyard
garden. Photo courtesy of Lindon Pearson.
Finding Silver Linings in the Midst of a Pandemic
After COVID-19 forced Lindon Pearson to work from home some days, he found more time to work on his garden, adding several trees – dogwoods, redbuds and magnolias – this spring and filled his front yard with wildflowers. But more importantly, he’s had more time to spend in his garden, enveloped by the green oasis he’s built.
Aerial Shot of the Duke Medical Campus
Transplantation at Duke in the Time of COVID-19
Transplantation remains the last hope for many patients with end-stage organ failure. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a nationwide decrease in transplants and organ donation. A recent study in The Lancet reported that deceased donor organ transplants in the United States have decreased by 51.1%. Many transplant centers have suspended procedures and limited organ donations to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to immunocompromised transplant patients.
COVIAGE tent
Engineering Student Works with Team Designing Isolation Chamber for COVID-19 Patients
Max Sondland E’20 was on spring break when he learned of the changes Duke was implementing for the remainder of his final semester at Duke in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—changes that would prevent him from finishing work on his senior design project, a robot built for a large international construction company.
Rita Chambers, Colleen McDowell, and Danielle
King
An Inside Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic: Educational Program Coordinators
In the wake of the current pandemic, administrative team members had to quickly shift gears to a virtual work environment to ensure the safety of patients and frontline workers. The shift has greatly impacted the Program Coordinators and administrative staff of the Section’s education programs, who now are organizing some of the programs’ most important events of the year from afar.
Guido Ferrari, MD, David Montefiori, PhD, and
Georgia Tomaras, PhD
Understanding COVID-19 Antibodies is Crucial to Vaccine Development
A trio of researchers at Duke University School of Medicine who have long collaborated to study how the immune system’s antibodies respond to HIV infection are now focusing on the new coronavirus.
James Meza, MD, General Surgery Chief Resident
An Inside Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic: Dr. James Meza
The final year of residency holds many milestones. For general surgery administrative chief resident James Meza, MD, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the last few months of his residency, but has also become a defining time in his career.
Post-Pandemic Predictions About Cancer Disparities After COVID-19
“Are we there yet?” A question both expected and dreaded by parents everywhere. Usually asked about 10 minutes into a long drive or flight, it not only reflects our children’s impatience but also their ignorance (innocence?) about time and space, about what it takes, in minutes and money and movement, to get from where we are to where we need to be.
The Emergency Medicine team practices social
distancing during the Thank You Duke Health
parade
Coping with COVID-19: Emergency Medicine Introduces Resiliency Working Group
As a front-line responder, Dr. Catherine Staton has experienced first-hand the stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, she says emergency medicine providers were overwhelmed with a lot of information about the risks associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This explosion of information led to trepidation about becoming infected themselves and possibly bringing the virus home to their families.
Duke Plastic Surgery faculty and residents on
a videoconference call
Divide and Conquer: Responding to COVID-19 with Residency Platoons
To care for patients, healthcare providers must stay healthy themselves. During the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duke’s surgical residency programs faced a serious challenge: how to keep their residents safe, healthy, and available, while still meeting the needs of patients in a rapidly changing global landscape.
Office of the Laboratory for Transformative
Administration
Surgical Case Selection: How the Laboratory for Transformative Administration Works with Surgeons to Schedule Cases During COVID-19
Hospitals and the many healthcare professionals working in them strive to bring the best care to their patients no matter the circumstance. Once the threat of COVID-19 came to light, healthcare workers were advised to prioritize hospital admissions for those who were afflicted with the coronavirus, but where does that leave patients who already scheduled a surgical procedure during this time period?
Dr. Jason Theiling with Dr. Daniel L. Gilstrap
An Inside Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic: Dr. Jason Theiling
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Dr. Jason Theiling spends most of his time in the emergency department. As medical director, he now works most days of the week to treat patients requiring emergency care while meeting the new demands of the pandemic.
Dr. Amy Alger, Assistant Professor of Surgery
An Inside Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic: Dr. Amy Alger
Before getting into her car to go home, Dr. Alger begins a 3-step decontamination process. She changes out of her scrubs and personal protective equipment (PPE), scrubs her hands, and puts on new clothes. As soon as she gets home, she immediately throws her clothes in the laundry and takes a shower, all before interacting with her kids.
Dr. Henry Rice, Professor and Chief of Pediatric
General Surgery
Dr. Henry Rice Leads Study to Improve Surgical Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Under the leadership of Dr. Henry Rice, Duke Surgery will participate in two global health studies to improve surgical outcomes in patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Priyamvada Acharya, PhD, Associate Professor of
Surgery
Duke Leverages Cryo-Electron Microscope Facility in the Race for Coronavirus Vaccine
Although most research laboratories at Duke University are shuttered to prevent future transmission of the Covid-19 coronavirus, one of the few to remain open houses a powerful machine that Duke researchers think will be instrumental in developing a vaccine for the virus.