Division News

By Liz Switzer

Internal medicine hospitalist Lana Wahid, MD arrived at Duke Medical Center in April 2020 with a simple goal: becoming involved in clinical research. By December 2020, she had been named Duke site Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded ACTIV-4a platform trial to evaluate anticoagulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and quickly established the Duke Health System as one of the highest enrolling trial sites in this international collaboration.

Duke University School of Medicine was awarded more than $608 million in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2021, ranking third nationally among academic medical centers, up from 10th last year, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The Department of Medicine's award of that total was $174,530,472. 

In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are highlighting some of the inspiring women at Duke’s Center for Applied Genomics & Precision Medicine (CAGPM.) We spoke with them to learn more about their careers and what excites them about genomics.

Dr. Lori Orlando leads the team behind MeTree and studies decision modeling and implementation science as it relates to identifying and managing individuals in clinical settings at increased risk for medical conditions.

The February 8, 2022, session of Duke Medicine LEADS featured Bryan C. Batch, MD, MHS, Nia S. Mitchell, MD, MPH, Julius Wilder, MD presenting on "Perspectives on Health Disparities Research." 

Pearls

More effective and equitable implementation of cancer screening represents a significant opportunity for the National Cancer Program, with the potential to reduce the burden of cancer, according to a report released February 2, 2022, by the President’s Cancer Panel. The Panel’s report, Closing Gaps in Cancer Screening: Connecting People, Communities, and Systems to Improve Equity and Access, presents goals and recommendations to optimize cancer screening informed by a series of meetings conducted 2020-2021.

Fatima Syed, MD, has been selected to serve as the new Director of the Primary Care Leadership Track (PCLT) at the School of Medicine. 

The January 25, 2022, session of Duke Medicine LEADS featured Amit Patel, MD, Caroline Sloan, MD, Gabriela M. Maradiaga Panayotti, MD, and Daniella Zipkin, MD presenting "Patient Advocacy and Involvement in Governmental Affairs." 

Pearls

Katherine Neal, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the General Internal Medicine (GIM) division and a hospitalist at Duke University Hospital. Learn more in our interview! 

Post submitted by Fatima Syed, MD, a primary care physician and a Vice Chief for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the General Internal Medicine division, along with Dr. Sonya Patel-Nguyen.

I’m the child of Pakistani Muslim immigrants. 

My dad spent much of his early years in the US in rural North Carolina. This was 1970 America, and my dad spent his early years learning American history and reading the speeches of Dr. King.