News

The School of Medicine Office for Faculty recently announced the 2022 ALICE participants, including Monica Lemmon, MD, associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neurology.

Jeffrey Russ, MD, medical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Division of Neurology, has been selected to receive a 2022 Physician-Scientist “Strong Start” award.

Monica Lemmon, MD, has recently been awarded the highly competitive 2021 Philip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award by the Child Neurology Society.

The Duke Center for Research to Advance Healthcare Equity has named the recipients of its 2021-2022 Research Education and Training Subcore Awards, including Purnima Valdez, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neurology.

Duke pediatric epileptologists are combining existing virtual and augmented reality technology to create a mixed reality experience to improve surgical accuracy and taking a new look at an established dietary therapy to help improve outcomes for children and adolescents with hard-to-control epilepsy.

RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, and Duke University, with funding from Muscular Dystrophy Association and Sarepta Therapeutics, have partnered to implement screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and related neuromuscular conditions for newborns in North Carolina.

A new drug offers hope for young boys with the progressive neuromuscular disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by potentially offering an alternative to high-dose glucocorticoids that have significant side effects. Interim results from a 24-month clinical trial at Duke Health and other institutions suggest that the drug, vamorolone, may retain or improve the effects of current steroid treatments but reduces health risks associated with long-term steroid use. 

Lauren Chamberlain, DO, had always been interested in the brain, but a rotation in medical school convinced her that pediatric neurology was the field for her. Now she’s spending  a year with the Duke Neurology Department as part of her residency training. In this week’s Spotlight interview, Chamberlain talks to us about residency during the era of COVID-19, her experience as a competitive gymnast, and her plans to focus on epilepsy and sleep medicine in the future.

The Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI) has awarded a $50,000 2020 RFA Innovation Award to Muhammad Zafar, MBBS, assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neurology, Matthew Vestal, MD, MBA, assistant professor of neurosurgery, and Abhi Kapuria, MD, chief resident in the Adult Neurology Residency Program for their project entitled, "Transforming epilepsy surgery with augmented reality."

Sujay Kansagra, MD, decided to focus on neurology and pediatric sleep as a medical student, both because of the room the field offered for research and education.