CTSI News

When Joshua Carino started in the Clinical Research Equity Scholars program in 2022, he hoped the program would serve as a stepping stone on his path toward a career in research. Now, Carino is embarking on his first full-time position as a research assistant for the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

A community outreach event hosted by the Duke Research Equity and Diversity Initiative (READI) brought together middle and high schoolers with speakers and resources from across Durham and Duke to learn about clinical research and careers in STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

Support from the Duke CTSI Transformative Award has helped Bruce Sullenger, PhD, and his team develop a more potent, rapidly reversible antiplatelet agent for stroke patients.

The Biomarkers to Advance Clinical Phenotypes of Low Back Pain (BACk) project will build on a successful pilot study completed by Duke Ortho and CTSI in August. Like the pilot, recruitment for the BACk study will take place in Durham and Kannapolis, where CTSI operates the Duke Kannapolis research site on the North Carolina Research Campus. 

Analysis of a COVID-19 research study based at CTSI’s Duke Kannapolis site found that education level, household income, and baseline intention were associated with longer times to vaccination, and the most common reasons for not being vaccinated were safety concerns, side effects, and vaccine effectiveness.

Scholars from this year’s Clinical Research Equity Scholars cohort presented their capstone projects and discussed what they learned during their time as scholars.

When Roger Neighborgall was asked during a recent transplant checkup if would consider joining OneDukeGen, a precision medicine study that will analyze DNA from 150,000 consented Duke patients, he didn’t hesitate. "Before it even came out of their mouths,” Neighborgall said, “I knew I was going to join.” 

The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is pleased to announce the launch of the Center for Precision Health (CPH), a collaboration that will harness the power of genomic, biomarker, and health data to transform patient care and population health.

Duke CTSI is proud to announce the appointment of Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, PhD, MPH, and Joe McClernon, PhD as faculty associate directors of the CTSI. Zimmerman will serve as the associate director of Engagement and Health Translation, and McClernon will serve as the associate director of Partnerships and Integration.

This article originally appeared on the Duke School of Medicine website.