News and Events

This week’s Faculty Spotlight shines on pediatric cardiologist Michael Camitta, MD. Camitta talks to us about how he first became interested in pediatric cardiology as an intern at Duke where he worked with his first research mentor who later became his mother-in-law(!); his insights into the current challenges and opportunities in the field of pediatric cardiology, specifically developing new ways to use technology; and the knowledge he gained from his most significant mentor, Dr. J. Rene Herlong.

The Duke Department of Pediatrics has received a Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) from the National Institutes of Health entitled Duke Center for Advancement of Child Health (CAtCH). Duke CAtCH will be under the leadership of Principal Investigators Ann Reed, MD, Samuel L. Katz, MD Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Rheumatology, and Corinne Linardic, MD PhD, associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology.

Aimee Chung, MD, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics has been recognized with a 2021 Golden Apple Award in the clinical faculty category by the Duke School of Medicine medical students.

Josie Dunnigan became one of the first children in the United States to have what’s known as a double-switch procedure to re-direct blood flow and re-assign the left ventricle with the task of pumping blood out to the body. Since her first heart surgery in 2001 at the age of one and a half, Josie and her family had moved to North Carolina and her mother sought out Dr. Piers Barker for her daughter’s continued care. From 2006 onward, Dr. Barker has served as Josie’s primary cardiologist, seeing her through a total of six heart surgeries by the age of 21.

The 2021 Department of Pediatrics Research Retreat will be held on Tuesday, April 20. This annual event offers the opportunity for all members of the department to engage in collaborative discussions and showcase current research.

This week’s Faculty Spotlight shines on Timothy Driscoll, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Transplant and Cellular Therapy. Driscoll talks to us about how he became interested in medicine as early as elementary school and how he became interested in pediatric transplant and cellular therapy in particular. He also shares his reflections on the biggest current challenges and opportunities in the field and his work outside of Duke with medical missions to the impoverished people of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The School of Medicine faculty and staff were among the recipients of Duke University’s prestigious 2020 Presidential Awards, which recognizes individuals and teams from the University and Health System who best demonstrate the values that define and shape Duke as an institution: respect, inclusion, excellence, trust and discovery.

Duke University School of Medicine rose to No. 3 among 122 medical schools in the nation for research – tying its highest standing – in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of graduate programs released today. 

Twin 9-year-old girls at Duke Health became the first in the United States to participate in a Pfizer and BioNTech Phase 1 study to evaluate safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in preventing COVID-19 among healthy children below the age of 12.

Three new scholars, including Rachel Cason, MD, a first-year nephrology fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, have been accepted to the Duke CTSA TL1 Post-Doctoral Training Program. The TL1 Program provides two years of funded time to support the research training of outstanding junior scientists.