Highlights:

Victor J. Dzau, MD, was named the new chancellor for health affairs of Duke University and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System effective July 1, 2004. Dzau succeeded Ralph Snyderman, MD, who stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the Duke health enterprise.

The School of Medicine announced it would institute significant curriculum changes beginning in 2004 to better prepare its graduates to cope with the rapid advance of medical science and to address such major issues as emerging diseases, the obesity epidemic and economic pressures in health care.

The School of Medicine ranked #5 in National Institutes of Health funding among the nation's top medical schools in fiscal year 2003—its highest ranking since 1973.

September 2003 saw the creation of the $45-million Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense (SERCEB), a consortium of investigators from six regional universities that will work to develop vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests against emerging infections such as SARS, and for defense against organisms that might be used in bioterrorist attacks. Funded by the federal government, SERCEB is led by and centered at Duke.

Other major funding for School of Medicine research endeavors in fiscal year 2003-2004 included a $9.8-million Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant for breast cancer research, $8 million for a program to uncover the genetics of asthma, a $4.75-million grant to continue work as a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center in Communication Disorders, $4 million for a regional genomic medicine project targeting cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders, and a $3.4-million grant to establish an Autoimmunity Center of Excellence.

In December 2003 the Duke Board of Trustees approved construction of a new $64-million Medical Sciences Research Building II. The 165,000-square-foot building will house researchers from a number of centers and programs within the medical school.

Awards and recognition:

Nancy B. Allen, MD, professor of medicine and chair of the Duke University Academic Council, received the Leonard Palumbo Jr., MD, Faculty Achievement Award for compassionate patient care and excellence in the mentoring of young physicians.

Rebecca H. Buckley, MD, James Buren Sidbury Professor of Pediatrics and professor of immunology, Paul L. Modrich, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry, and Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, PhD, director of the Duke Center for Human Genetics and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, were appointed to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Robert M. Califf, MD, Donald F. Fortin, MD Professor of Cardiology and director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, was presented with the American College of Cardiology's Distinguished Scientist Award for clinical research.

R. Phillips Heine, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and chief of the division of maternal-fetal medicine, and Kenneth H. Wilson, MD, professor of medicine and associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, were appointed to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Sheri A. Keitz, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and vice-chair of diversity in the Department of Medicine, Lawrence B. Marks, MD, professor of radiation oncology, and Richard D. Mooney, PhD, associate professor of neurobiology, received Master Clinician / Teacher Awards for superlative accomplishment and service in the areas of clinical care and teaching.

Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, was awarded the Scientific Grand Prize of the Institut de France for his seminal research on seven-transmembrane-spanning receptors.

Anthony R. Means, PhD, chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Pharmacology, Keith M. Sullivan, MD, James B. Wyngaarden Professor of Medicine, Marilyn J. Telen, MD, Wellcome Clinical Professor of Medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology in the Department of Medicine, and Samuel A. Wells Jr., MD, professor of surgery, were selected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Ralph Snyderman, MD, chancellor emeritus and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, became the inaugural recipient of the Bravewell Leadership Award, which recognizes innovators of integrative medicine for their efforts to transform the culture of health care.

Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Professor of Experimental Surgery and associate professor in molecular genetics and microbiology, received the Ruth and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Faculty Research Prize for his innovative research in the field of rational drug design.

Raphael H. Valdivia, PhD, assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, was chosen as a 2004 Pew Biomedical Scholar, a program supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

More faculty awards (PDF)

Faculty and staff appointments:

• Ron E. Banks, DVM, director, Animal Welfare Assurance Office
• Ann J. Brown, MD, associate dean for Women in Medicine and Science
• Anna Mae Diehl, MD, chief, division of gastroenterology
• Patricia Dieter, PA, MPA, director, Physician Assistant Program
• Pamela S. Douglas, MD, chief, division of cardiology
• Victor J. Dzau, MD, chancellor for health affairs, Duke University
• Paul C. Kuo, MD, chief, division of General Surgery in the Department of Surgery
• Joseph R. Nevins, PhD, director, Center for Genome Technology
• John N. Norton II, DVM, PhD, director, Division of Laboratory Animal Sciences
• Richard Payne, MD, Colliflower Director of the Institute on Care at the End of Life
• Dale Purves, MD, director, Center for Cognitive Neurosciences
• Christopher G. Willett, MD, chair, Department of Radiation Oncology

• Francis Ali-Osman, DNSc, PhD, Margaret Harris and David Silverman Professor of Neuro-Oncology Research
• Haywood L. Brown, MD, Roy T. Parker Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Joseph B. Heitman, MD, PhD, James B. Duke Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
• Herbert Kim Lyerly, MD, George Barth Geller Professor for Research in Cancer
• Joseph R. Nevins, PhD, Barbara Levine University Professor of Breast Cancer Genomics
• Mark F. Newman, MD, Merel H. Harmel Professor of Anesthesiology
• James A. Nunley II, MD, J. Leonard Goldner Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
• Edward F. Patz, Jr., MD, James and Alice Chen Professor of Radiology
• Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, George Barth Geller Professor for Research in Cardiovascular Diseases
• William M. Thompson, MD, Reed and Martha Rice Professor of Radiology
• Huntington F. Willard, PhD, Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

New appointments and promotions to the rank of professor: 34
New appointments and promotions to associate professor with tenure: 20
Other new faculty appointments: 342

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School statistics:

• School of Medicine: 389
• PhD Programs in Basic Sciences: 697
• Allied Health Programs:
• Physical Therapy: 100
• Physician Assistant: 93
• Pathologist's Assistant: 12
• Clinical Leadership Program (MHS degree): 10
• Clinical Research Program (MHS degree): 106
• Clinical Pastoral Education: 17
• Ophthalmic Medical Technology: 3

Graduate Medical Education: 841 residents and fellows

Faculty: 1,505 (including 930 with MDs, 477 with PhDs, 98 with MD-PhDs)

Major gifts:

$10 million from the C.J. Mack Foundation to fund construction of a new facility for the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine.

$1 million from the late Clarence C. Butler, MD (a Duke medical alumnus), and Sarah T. Butler of Columbus, Ga., to establish the Clarence and Sarah T. Butler Lead Trust Benefiting the Davison Club of Duke University School of Medicine.

$986,000 from the Josiah Macy Foundation of New York to establish the Model Instructional Program on Physician Fatigue and Impairment and Patient Safety.

A $3-million appropriation over three years from The Duke Endowment to fund construction of a new headquarters facility for the Duke School of Nursing.

A $10-million bequest commitment from nursing alumna Bettye Martin Musham of New York City for endowed professorships at the Duke University School of Nursing.

$2.1 million from Aileen Todd of Hendersonville, NC, for Alzheimer's disease research in the division of neurology.

$1.5 million from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for a collaborative effort to increase diversity in America's health professions workforce.

A $1.25-million anonymous gift to create the new RPS Geriatrics Education and Training Program.

$1 million from Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, Inc., for brain tumor research.

$1 million in memory of the late Nancy Emerson from E. Fulton Brylawski for the E. Fulton Brylawski Associate Professorship in Women's Health.

$1 million from Robert Machemer, MD, former chairman of the Duke Eye Center, to establish the Robert Machemer, MD, Professorship in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery. Matched with funds from the Nicholas Faculty Leadership Initiative for a total of $1.5 million.

$1 million from the estate of Paul H. Sherman, MD, a Duke medical alumnus, to establish the Paul H. Sherman, MD, Associate Professorship in the Department of Surgery.

$1 million from the Guidant Foundation to establish The Richard Sean Stack, MD/Guidant Foundation Professorship in the Division of Cardiology. Matched with funds from the Nicholas Faculty Leadership Initiative for a total of $1.5 million.

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