Tyffany Lockler receives award from Chair Dr. Kathleen Cooney
Tyffany Locklear, research program leader in the Division of General Internal Medicine, has received the Duke Department of Medicine’s 2026 Research Staff Excellence Award, which recognizes sustained excellence in implementing clinical or laboratory research studies.
Since becoming the division’s research lead in December 2023, Locklear has supported faculty across a wide range of studies, including quality improvement projects, observational studies and clinical trials involving community participants and health system patients.
Her work includes onboarding students and clinical research professionals, supporting regulatory activities and reviewing documents such as data use and transfer agreements. When needed, Locklear also serves as the primary clinical research professional for studies, drawing on previous experience as a clinical research coordinator on projects ranging from research in the Surgery Clinical Research Unit to studies involving genetic testing.
Locklear currently serves as the primary clinical research professional for the multisite STEPS Study, which examines approaches to kidney care and access to kidney transplantation for people with chronic kidney disease. The project involves multiple sites as well as data from an external transplant registry.
During changes to the study’s data management plans, Locklear coordinated with participating sites and data teams to help ensure the necessary data and agreements were in place. She also shares her research expertise with clinical research professionals at other participating sites.
In nominating Locklear for the award, S. Nicole “Nicki” Hastings, MD, MHS, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and Ranee Chatterjee, MD, MPH, vice chief of research, cited her expertise, attention to detail and responsiveness to research faculty. They also highlighted her role in strengthening research operations and faculty support across the division.
The Research Staff Excellence Award recognizes Department of Medicine staff whose work supports the successful implementation of research studies through activities such as research protocols, participant recruitment, data collection, study management and laboratory research while maintaining research rigor and ethics.