Division News

Creating Communities to Address Health Disparities

Community has always been central in the life of Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics) and director of the Duke Center for Research to Advance Healthcare Equity—also known as the REACH Equity Center.

Dr. Johnson grew up in tiny Winstonville, Mississippi, just outside Mound Bayou, a town founded by former slaves in 1887. She was aware that barriers to her success existed in the larger world, yet inside her all-black community, surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, the sky was the limit.

“Probably more than anything else, I’m a product of my community,” she says.

Death Café: Tea, Cake, and Conversation

A gathering called a Death Café was organized for students taking a class called “Gerontological Nursing: Caring for Older Adults and their Families,” but it was open to all in the Duke community.

Harvey Cohen Says Yes

Harvey Jay Cohen, MD, never planned to go into geriatrics. It wasn’t a word he heard in medical school in the 1960s. In fact, he hadn’t planned to go to medical school either. Once there, he certainly wasn’t planning to become a clinician--he just wanted to do research. Even after deciding to become a clinician-scientist, he chose hematology-oncology as his specialty. He never gave geriatrics a thought.

But life has a way of presenting opportunities, and Dr. Cohen has a way of saying yes.

Research Development Council offers concept criticism without judgment

Michael Dee Gunn, MD, and Heather Whitson, MD, MHS, lead the Department of Medicine’s Research Development Council (RDC), a group dedicated to supporting investigators in the early phase of grant writing. Dr. Gunn supports basic investigators; Dr. Whitson supports clinical investigators. 

Lyles featured in Duke Magazine podcast

Kenneth Lyles, MD, professor of medicine (Geriatrics), was recently featured in Duke Magazine's "The Devil's Share" podcast in a story about his side specialty: pound cakes.