Here we share feature stories of the department's efforts and achievements throughout the year, looking deep into the cutting-edge research, educational advancements, and patient care breakthroughs performed by Duke Surgery faculty, trainees, and staff.
SEEDS Initiative Promises to Invest in Duke Surgery Team Members
As one of the ten core values of the Section of Surgical Disciplines, diversity plays a crucial role in supporting the employees of Duke Surgery, which in turn enables better care for patients.
Duke Completes 1,500th Heart Transplant
Photo above: Drs. Jacob Schroder and Carmelo Milano transplant the first donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart in the United States.
In the midst of the pandemic, Duke University Hospital completed its 1,500th heart transplant in October 2020, a milestone achieved by only five other transplant centers nationwide. Surgeons performed the first heart transplant at Duke in 1985, and the hospital recorded its 1,000th heart transplant in 2014.
Spring '21 Publications in High Impact Factor Journals
Publications in Journals with an Impact Factor of 10.0 or Greater
From COVID-19 to HIV-1, Duke Surgical Sciences Blazes the Trail in Vaccine Immunology
The COVID-19 vaccines are one of the greatest discoveries of the past 100 years. Their success has set new standards for how future vaccines should be designed and manufactured: a well-documented safety record, an excellent efficacy rate (up to 95%), and an accelerated production timeline compared with traditional vaccines. The novel mRNA technology that brought about this success was based on decades of research, including seminal work in the Division of Surgical Sciences.