Duke University Medical Center (DUMC) is a nationally recognized academic medical center with superb clinical and laboratory resources coupled with an intellectual environment that is supportive and conducive to the development of innovative procedures, devices, drugs and approaches to transplantation in addition to participation in national and international registries to track patient outcomes.
In clinical, basic and translational research, our investigators study improved surgical procedures, develop new anti-rejection medications (immunosuppressive medications), and study how to improve outcomes and care for people who need transplants. Research also focuses on finding alternative therapies for people who may not need a transplant. Further, studying diseases deeply — even at the cellular or molecular level — frequently leads to the discovery of new drugs and therapies.
Our transplant teams also perform groundbreaking clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of new treatments and approaches to care. To maximize our potential to accelerate discovery and ultimately improve care of transplant patients, purposeful synergies have been established between our pre-eminent adult and pediatric transplant programs, allowing us to leverage unparalleled resources for our young patients.
Learn more about the research within each of our transplant specialties:
- Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Research
- Pediatric Heart Transplant Research
- Pediatric Intestinal and Multi-Visceral Transplant Research
- Pediatric Kidney Transplant Research
- Pediatric Liver Transplant Research
- Pediatric Thymus Transplant Research
- Pediatric Transplant Infectious Diseases Research
Leading the Nation
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the US government responsible for biomedical and public health research. Only the top researchers in any field can successfully compete for these research funds, which are allocated based on the most outstanding scientific ideas and projects.
Notably, the Duke Department of Pediatrics ranked #2 in the US in NIH research funding in 2017– offering the very best in clinical care and access to the most current research findings and studies. The Duke Department of Surgery ranked #4, and the Duke Department of Medicine also ranked #4 in the US NIH rankings. This is collectively a higher ranking than that of any other major transplant program in the country, which is further evidence of Duke’s dedication to offering the best possible research opportunities to benefit every child and patient.