Dukemed Alumni News Spring 2020
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ALUMNI NEWS Spring 2020 Duke ResearcherS _ Pivot to _ Attack COVID-19 - _ _ Experts with decades of experience in unraveling the mysteries of viruses launch an all-out effort to stem the outbreak—and prevent the next one. DUKE-NUS PIONEERS AN ANTIBODY TEST MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS ADAPT TIMELINE OF A PANDEMIC MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN DEAR FRIENDS, Duke is well equipped for this work. Almost 20 years ago, we became home to one of the nation’s National DukeMed Alumni News I hope you and your families are doing well. Just a few Institutes of Health-funded Regional Biocontainment is published by the Duke Medical Alumni Association. short months ago, who could have imagined what was Laboratories, a secure state-of-the-art facility ideally in store for our nation and world? We are now facing suited for working with new and infectious pathogens. EDITOR unprecedented challenges caused by COVID-19. Our own Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility Dave Hart I am beyond proud of how rapidly, skillfully, and coura- on campus allows us to produce candidate vaccines for ASSISTANT EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR geously the School of Medicine and our entire Duke team testing. This means that we have the ability at Duke to David Pickel have responded—but I am not surprised by it. As one of discover, develop, test, manufacture, and deliver new the nation’s premier academic health care institutions, treatments to patients. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Hart, Aliza Inbari, Lindsay Key, it is our mission and our responsibility to respond to the Duke-NUS Medical School has been a leader in this Mary-Russell Roberson, greatest health care challenges of fight from the beginning as well. It was among the first Jim Rogalski our time. This is what we do. This groups outside of China to isolate and culture the live PHOTOGRAPHY is why we’re here. virus, which has provided a foundation for many studies Ted Espenschied, Chris Hildreth, Leon Kirkbeck, Bob Leverone, Deb Our colleagues and leaders in and collaborations, and also developed one of the first Lindsey, Shawn Rocco, Jim Rogalski, serological tests for COVID-19. (See page 4.) the health system have been Brian Smith extraordinary in their efforts to Consistent with our history in patient care and research, ILLUSTRATION care for our patients and prepare Duke is leading and contributing at a local, national, and Joey Guidone to ensure we are ready to care international level, and we are partnering with our clinical Produced by for additional patients—all while and scientific colleagues all over the world to ensure we Duke Health Development and keeping our health care provid- are all using the resources, knowledge, and experience Alumni Affairs. ers safe. To date, hundreds of that everyone can bring to this fight! Copyright Duke University, 2020 providers have trained to deliver 20-0015-SOM Our education efforts had to rapidly adapt as well. Our virtual care via telemedicine, and DukeMed Alumni News is drive-through testing sites have innovative leaders and dedicated students in professional mailed two times a year to alumni, donors, and friends of Duke University been established across our system. and graduate education have transitioned to virtual class- es so that the learning continues. In March, Match Day School of Medicine. And true to our mission as an academic health system, was held virtually, but celebrated nonetheless! A total of Issues are available online we have pivoted our research to focus on the problem 115 Duke Med students participated and are headed to at medalumni.duke.edu. at hand. We have scaled up our clinical research ef- some of the nation’s most prestigious residency pro- Please contact us at: forts focused on COVID-19. In March, Duke University grams. We are quite fortunate that 28 of our graduating DukeMed Alumni News 300 W. Morgan Street, Suite 1200 joined the first national study to test a potential therapy students will be remaining here at Duke! Durham, NC 27701 for COVID-19, giving hospitalized adult patients with 919-385-3100 significant symptoms an option to participate. And in Thank you for the messages of support, expressions of [email protected] early April, the Duke Clinical Research Institute designed concern, and offers of help that so many of you have ex- tended. They sustain us as we battle this scourge. Please Your comments, ideas, and letters and launched a study to test a treatment for health care to the editor are welcome. workers across the nation who are at high risk of con- continue to heed the directives of your local community tracting this novel coronavirus. leadership regarding social distancing. We truly are all in this together, and we can all be part of the solution! A similar seismic shift has occurred in our laborato- ry-based research. Scientists have turned their efforts to Sincerely, focus on COVID-19. Our research teams here in Durham and at our Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore are making critical contributions. Some of the world’s most skilled and experienced researchers are at Duke and are Mary E. Klotman, BS’76, MD’80, HS’80-’83, HS’83-’85 rapidly working to develop countermeasures through the Dean, Duke University School of Medicine, development of a therapeutic antibody and a vaccine to Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University combat COVID-19. (See page 2.) Mary E. Klotman, MD Scott Gibson, MBA Colin Duckett, PhD Theodore N. Pappas, MD Jill Boy Dean, Duke University School of Medicine, Executive Vice Dean for Administration Vice Dean for Basic Science Vice Dean for Medical Affairs Associate Dean and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University Chief Communications Officer R.J. Reynolds Professor of Medicine L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS Michael Pencina, PhD Professor of Pathology Vice Dean for Translational Sciences Vice Dean for Clinical Research Vice Dean for Data Science and Stacy Palmer Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Information Technology Associate Dean for Strategic Ann Brown, MD, MHS Allan Kirk, MD’87, PhD’92, HS’95 Planning and Chief of Staff Member, Duke Human Vaccine Institute Vice Dean for Faculty Vice Dean for the Science Geeta Swamy, MD of Surgical Disciplines Associate Vice President for Research Judy Seidenstein Edward G. Buckley, MD and Vice Dean for Scientific Integrity Associate Dean and Vice Dean for Education Billy Newton Chief Diversity Officer Vice Dean for Finance CONTENTS VIDEO LINKS DEAN KLOTMAN: Hear the Dean's latest PAGE message about the School 10 of Medicine's response to COVID-19. bit.ly/DMAN-deansmessage PRESIDENT’S PAGE 12 MESSAGE: PAGE Listen to President Price 18 discuss how Duke is re- sponding to the outbreak. NEWS BRIEFS FEATURES bit.ly/ DMAN-presidentsmessage 2 COVID-19 NEWS 24 KAELIN WINS NOBEL PRIZE 4 DUKE RESEARCHERS 24 SOM AGAIN RANKED AMONG PIVOT TO ATTACK COVID-19 NATION’S BEST Experts at Duke have amassed decades of experience unraveling the mysteries of viruses RESEARCH BRIEFS 28 INAUGURAL RESEARCH WEEK DRAWS HUNDREDS 12 LOOKING FOR 28 HUMANS HAVE SALAMANDER-LIKE DISEASE IN A GLOBAL HOTSPOT ABILITY TO REGROW CARTILAGE BALANCING ACT HOW YOU ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT 18 CAN HELP: 40 MAKING THE JUMP How the Section of Surgical Disciplines Duke is leading and con- 42 FROM ETHICIST TO ACTIVIST excels in both research and clinical care tributing to the fight to defeat COVID-19 and care ET CETERA 35 MEDICAL ALUMNI for those affected. 32 PEOPLE NEWS ASSOCIATION AWARDS bit.ly/DMAN-covid19research 38 CLASS NOTES 44 OBITUARIES DukeMed ALUMNI NEWS • 1 COVID-19 NEWS RESEARCHERS SEEK TO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE INFECTED WITH CORONAVIRUS FARE WORSE When infected with SARS-CoV-2, why do some people—such as smokers and older adults— have extreme respiratory and cardiovascular distress while others have no symptoms at all? A multi-disciplinary Duke team including a virologist, pulmonologist, and a pediatrician are working to answer this question by studying a surface molecule found on the thin layer of epithelial tissue that lines the lungs, heart and most other organs in the body. The molecule, called angiotensin-converting SHAWN ROCCO enzyme 2 (ACE-2), is primarily known for lower- Cameron Oswalt, MD, Karina Mora Massad, MD, Daniel Rosenkrans, MD and respiration therapist ing blood pressure; however, it is also a known William Poorboy check monitors in Duke University Hospital ICU. entry point into cells for SARS-coronaviruses. The team is investigating whether this molecule and the partners it interacts with inside the cell DCRI Expedites Study of COVID-19 are expressed differently in populations who often have extreme COVID-19 symptoms. Prevention for Health Care Workers “The hypothesis we are working on is that, The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Insti- whose board of governors approved up to $50 in smokers, the receptor is expressed at higher tute has funded up to $50 million to evaluate million to support the program. The program levels compared to non-smokers, which would hydroxychloroquine as a preventive drug for the will engage the powerful PCORI-funded PCOR- give the virus additional ‘ports of entry’ and novel coronavirus. net®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Re- therefore facilitate its spread from one cell to search Network, which is an established health A new rapid-response study designed and led another,” said virologist Maria Blasi, PhD, assis- research network involving more than 850,000 by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) tant professor of medicine clinicians and hundreds of health systems across seeks to engage health care workers across the and a member of the the U.S. The study results will be shared widely nation to understand the impact of COVID-19 Duke Human Vaccine with the health care community.