News and Events

Malcolm Henderson Rourk, Jr, MD, died on Friday, September 4. Dr. Rourk was an assistant professor of pediatrics from 1971 - 2002 and an assistant professor of family medicine and community health from 1994 – 1995 at Duke University Medical Center.

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.

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 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, in partnership with the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI), the coordinating center role for the newly established Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) network. The CREID Coordinating Center will serve as the network’s operational hub to streamline and accelerate research response to emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

Agnes Chao, MD, third year Neonatology fellow; Ben Cocanougher, MD, PL-1; Cesar Lopez Angel, MD, PL-1; and Ashley Stark, MD, PL-3 were recently invited to join the Robert J. Lefkowitz Society. 

Sameer Kamath, MD, MBBS, has been named chief medical officer for Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center, effective September 1.

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Annabelle Chua, MD, associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology. Chua talks to us about how she ultimately decided on a career in medicine due to the diligent care and support her mother received following a cancer diagnosis. She talks about how her love of children drew her to pediatrics and specifically, pediatric nephrology. She describes her primary research interests and her most significant mentor, Dr. Shashi Nagaraj. She also shares some advice for trainees as well as her passions outside of work.

Translating Duke Health and the Children’s Health and Discovery Initiative are pleased to announce the four investigators selected as members of the inaugural TDH-CHDI Faculty Fellows Program. These awards will support Duke researchers in the development of R01-level grant applications to fund research that investigates early life origins of disease. 

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Sharla Rent, MD, medical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology. Rent talks to us about how she ultimately decided on a career in neonatology due to her love for the combination of intensive care and forming long-lasting relationships with families who are in the ICN for months. She also talks about her primary research interest in global health. Notably, she worked in Ethiopia and Ghana to explore provider perceptions of viability and decision making during newborn resuscitation. She also shares what she learned from her most significant mentor as well as her passions outside of work.