Two faculty members from the Department of Medicine have been selected to receive 2020 Physician-Scientist “Strong Start” awards from the School of Medicine. Four faculty across the School were selected for 2020 awards.
The School of Medicine created the awards program in 2016, funded with a gift from the Duke Endowment, to support promising, new physician-scientists at Duke as they develop independent research programs. Each recipient will receive $70,000 annually for three years to support their research programs.
2020 Strong Start Award Recipients from Medicine
- Joshua T. Thaden, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor (Infectious Diseases)
- Yen-Rei Andrea Yu, MD, Assistant Professor (Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine)
The Strong Start program is administered by the School of Medicine’s Office for Physician-Scientist Development (OPSD) and integrates with several physician-scientist development programs including the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD students) and the Lefkowitz Society (clinical residents and fellows).
“Physician-scientists play a central role in facilitating the critical connection between discovery and the translation to patient care,” said Mary E. Klotman, MD, dean, Duke University School of Medicine. “Through the Strong Start program, the School provides funding to our outstanding faculty to support the development and advancement of their research programs addressing important biomedical questions.”
Seventeen faculty members have received funding from the program since its inception. The early outcomes of the Strong Start Award Program demonstrate that this investment enables promising individuals to launch successful careers that balance research and clinical care.