Month: January 2025

Carol Colton, a distinguished professor in neurology and pathology and a member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, is renowned for her groundbreaking research on the immune response’s role in the onset and progression of brain diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She is a firm believer in using animals such as mice for scientific…

Duke Associate Professor of Anesthesiology Andrea Nackley is a kind, passionate scientist, although her most notable quality is determination.  As a first generation college student, a mother of two teenagers, and a triathlon athlete, she is nothing but dedicated. She challenges herself not only in a professional environment, but strives for personal and physical growth…

“My passion for what I do saved my life.” Meet Ke Dong, a biology professor at Duke University. She’s a lover of nature, a great cook, and a Lupus survivor. About 20-25 years ago, she developed Lupus during her research years at Michigan State University. Her time with this autoimmune disease was not kind. “The…

Science fiction may seem an unlikely source for research inspiration. But for Duke University Provost Alec Gallimore, it has been just that: inspiration for a career’s worth of electric propulsion research. Gallimore said it was stories from science fiction authors like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov that piqued his interests for fusion and other…

Duke professor Vidyalakshmi Chandramohan is a pioneering neuro-oncologist whose work is redefining the future of glioblastoma (GBM) treatment. As a researcher in the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke, she is driven by a profound commitment to improving patient outcomes and providing new hope for those battling one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.…

Dr. Akankshi Munjal is a developmental biology researcher at Duke University, who studies the development and mutations of inner ear tissue in zebrafish, and how that may be caused by genome disorders.  From a young age, Munjal has been fascinated by watching things being built and developed. Her grandfather was a civil engineer, and she…

“The beauty of research is freedom,” says assistant professor of pharmacology and cancer biology Zhao Zhang, when asked what drove him to research transposons and circular DNA at Duke. Though he is now a prominent researcher, Zhang reveals that he didn’t develop an interest in the research field until his senior year of college. It…

Meet a trailblazer in the realm of neurocritical care and emergency medicine: Dr. Katharine Rose Colton, MD. Balancing roles as a clinician, researcher, and educator, Colton serves as an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Duke University. Her dedication to understanding and treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) exemplifies her commitment to improving the lives…