News

Last March, concerned local physicians, nurses, researchers, educators, and community advocates formed a group—"Latinx Advocacy Team & Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19,” or simply LATIN-19—to address disparities and support the Latinx community. Meet four Duke faculty members—Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, Dr. Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti, Dr. Leonor Corsino, and Dr. Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda—who have been instrumental in this effort as they talk about how their backgrounds, expertise, and passions positioned them to fight for Latinx health equity in a time of crisis.

Duke Ob/Gyn, Duke Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke Pediatrics, Duke Health and Duke University Hospital have collaborated with community organizations to produce educational videos in Spanish about COVID-19 for Latinx patients.

All Babies and Children Thrive (ABC Thrive) has awarded seed grants of up to $40,000 to four interdisciplinary teams of Duke faculty, including one co-led by Richard Chung, MD, associate professor of pediatrics in primary care and Scott Kollins, PhD, professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Following a national search, Aditee Narayan, MD has been named the new associate dean for curricular affairs for the Duke University School of Medicine, effective immediately.

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Brian H. Eichner, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Primary Care. Eichner talks to us about his research in primary care as well as his involvement in resident and student education, continuing education, and advocacy in the area of gun violence prevention. Notably, he has most recently become involved in a partnership aiming to improve school outcomes in Latinx patients with ADHD. In this interview, Eichner also discusses his perceptions of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the field of primary care today as well as his most significant mentor—Dr. Jeff Baker.

Duke State Relations and Duke University Communications hosted a virtual briefing for North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday, October 1 to discuss a variety of COVID-19 related issues. Over 20 legislators and legislative staff attended the briefing.

Duke Children’s Healthy Lifestyles Clinic, a comprehensive weight management program, partnered with the Eastern and Central NC Food Bank to address food insecurity among children.

Duke medical doctors write an article in the USA Today about how blaming young people for covid outbreaks is unfair and undermines opportunities to engage young people’s intrinsic strengths to push back against the pandemic on their campuses and in our communities.

This week’s Faculty Spotlight shines on primary care specialist Rushina Cholera, MD, PhD. Cholera talks to us about how she joined Duke’s first cohort of National Clinician Scholars to experience a rigorous, mentored experience that would allow her to hone the research skill set she had developed during her PhD in epidemiology, how she became interested in pediatric primary care, her interests in the social needs of children in immigrant and refugee families, and her reflections on her relationships with her mentors, students, and patients.

Edward G. Buckley, MD, vice dean for education in the School of Medicine, recently announced the appointment of Joseph Jackson, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, and Leonor Corsino, MD, associate professor of medicine, as associate deans for student affairs and advisory deans for the Doctor of Medicine program in the School of Medicine.