Four School of Medicine faculty members have been selected to receive 2022 Physician-Scientist “Strong Start” awards. The awards program, funded with a gift from the Nanaline H. Duke Fund, supports promising, early career physician-scientists at Duke as they develop independent research programs. Each recipient will receive $75,000 annually for three years to support their research programs. Since 2017, 31 faculty have been awarded a total of $6 million.
This year’s recipients are:
Nicholas DeVito, MD, Medical Instructor, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology
Samuel Francis, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Emergency Medicine
Lindsay Rein, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematologic Malignancies & Cellular Therapy
Jeffrey Russ, MD, PhD, Medical Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology
The Strong Start program is administered by the School of Medicine’s Office for Physician-Scientist Development (OPSD) and integrates with other physician-scientist development programs including the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD students) and the Lefkowitz Society (clinical residents and fellows).
“The Strong Start Program is a vital investment by the Nanaline H. Duke Fund and the School of Medicine in our junior physician-scientist faculty,” said Rasheed Gbadegesin, MD, associate dean for physician scientist development in the School of Medicine. “Our physician-scientist faculty are the bedrock of discovery science, and their success is vital for the future of medicine.”