News and Events

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Kevin Hill, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology. Hill talks to us about his clinical responsibilities in the cardiac cath lab and pediatric cardiac ICU. He also explains how he become interested in pediatrics and cardiology, in particular. Hill describes the significance of one of his latest research projects funded by the Children’s Health and Discovery Initiative and offers advice for trainees.

The DCRI has been selected by Technical Resources International, Inc. (TRI), a clinical research organization based in Bethesda, MD, as the U.S. Coordinating Center for ACTIV-1, a master protocol that will initially examine three immune modulators that may prevent the overactive immune response that occurs in some severe COVID-19 cases.

The Cardiac Safety Research Consortium (CSRC) recently announced the establishment of a first-in-kind national database of pediatric cardiac screening information aimed at advancing the ability to discover potentially dangerous pediatric cardiac conditions and preventing sudden cardiac arrest or death in young people (SCDY). This database is being developed through a multidisciplinary partnership formed by the CSRC with support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the goal of identifying and overcoming barriers to effective pediatric cardiac screening.

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.

Heather Van Mater, MD, was recently named chief of the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Pediatrics, effective November 1, 2020.

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.

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Brian Smith, MD, MPH, MHS, associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology and Quantitative Sciences. Smith talks to us about his research as principal investigator of the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Coordinating Center. He also discusses his perception of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the field of neonatology. He talks about his two greatest mentors and offers advice for trainees.

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), in partnership with the Center for Health Equity Research at UNC-Chapel Hill and Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, has received an $80 million award to serve as the coordinating and data collection center for a four-year program that will overcome barriers and increase uptake of testing among underserved and vulnerable populations across the U.S. 

In this week’s Spotlight interview, Heather Van Mater, MD a pediatric rheumatologist, talks about her role as co-director of the Pediatric Autoimmune Brain Disease (ABD) program, where she works closely with colleagues in neurology and psychiatry. She also talks about how she became interested in medicine and her current research focused on autoimmune brain diseases. She shares what she most enjoys about her work as well as her passions outside of Duke and offers some advice for trainees.

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.