This January, thirteen members and colleagues of the Duke Neurology Department from across all areas of service received nominations. January’s Neurology All Star Award winners include Dylan Ryan, Birgit Frauscher, residents Roshni Dhoot, David Fear, Maria Minor, and Andrea Linares-Lopez; Advanced Practice Providers Kelly Blessing and Natalie DuPuy; and many more! Read the nominations below to learn more about our most recent All Stars, or nominate yourself or a colleague for an All-Star Award here.
Dylan Ryan
“In addition to being an always reliable All Star himself for any questions related to our fellowship program or stroke service, Dylan "Rhino" Ryan has been a wonderful ambassador for our All Star Award, helping to spread the word about the superlative work of our trainees.”
Nominated by Rich O'Brien & Will Alexander
Birgit Frauscher
“When Dr. Frauscher decided to come to Duke in July 2023, 9 members of her international lab decided to follow her to Durham. That speaks to how respected and admired she is among colleagues, peers, students, and all she meets. She is incredibly humble; she motivates her team to excel in their fields and supports them at all levels. Since her arrival, she has gotten her ANPHY lab set up while continuing her own research, supporting the research of others, participating in speaking engagements around the world, and starting clinical service in the US. She strives to advance her field - the number one thing on her mind is always how to best care for patients and improve their lives. We are fortunate to have such a motivated and accomplished individual here at Duke University.”
Nominated by Alyssa Ho & Maria Perrone
Roshni Dhoot, MD and Natalie DuPuy RN
“Dr. Dhoot and Natalie went above and beyond to care for an actively suicidal patient in the neurology resident clinic. Despite juggling a busy clinic, they coordinated transport, made sure the patient was safe, and accompanied the patient to the emergency room to provide a warm handoff to emergency room physicians. They both took the time to show compassion and empathy for this struggling patient to get him the care he needed.”
Nominated by Kyle Mitchell
David Fear
“David was able to help coordinate an interventional transfer case where upon arrival the case was not paged out. David's leadership in this situation as a second-year resident helping coordinate this patient's care after surprise arrival helped ensure the patient was able to get to interventional care in a timely manner. Was very proud to be able to staff this case with him and continue to see his growth. I hope he continues to be interested in being a stroke neurologist.”
Nominated by Dylan “Rhino” Ryan
Maria Minor
“Maria set up an educational curriculum with the emergency medicine academic chief to have neurology residents, fellows, and attendings contribute to the EM neurology lecture series. It has been a great way to exchange knowledge, answer their neurology-specific questions, and build camaraderie between EM and neurology residents.”
Nominated by Tasnim Mushannen
Andrea Linares-Lopez
“I was staffing stroke codes with Andrea. We had a patient come in within the tPA window. Andrea's communication to make our stroke process more efficient through work with the CT techs, pharmacy, nursing, and ED team to ensure the patient was weighed and tPA was ready to be given in the scanner. Her work helped this patient get her intervention quickly while still being thorough. I was very proud to be able to work with Andrea on the case and valued her leadership on this case and in our program.”
Nominated by Dylan “Rhino” Ryan
Kelly Blessing & Michael Garcia (CPAP coordinator/ Sleep clinic Tech)
“I saw one of my patients, a 74-year-old lady in the clinic last week. She was taking a nap when I walked in the room. She stated her CPAP has been broken and she has not used it for a few weeks. She thought the appointment was with her sleep provider (Kelly) & brought her CPAP with her (I definitely don’t know how to fix that problem!). I went to Kelly Blessing, but she was fully booked that day and unable to see the patient. She recommended I contact Michael, who came to the exam room right away and checked the CPAP. The CPAP was fixed, and the patient also received a new mask. She was scheduled with Kelly in a few weeks. The patient and I were so appreciative of the prompt action to fix the problem. They deserve All Star Awards!.”
Nominated by Hillary Yu
Alicia Giddiens (ED Case Manager), Lynn Miles (Neurology triage nurse), & Sheila Schwartz (patient care coordinator)
“I want to nominate Alicia R. Giddiens, Duke ED case manager, Lynn Miles, Duke Neurology triage nurse and Sheila Schwartz, patient care coordinator for Duke clinics for All Star Awards for working hard to get Fycompa for a patient who lost his insurance and was not eligible for Medicaid due to his income being too high for Medicaid threshold.”
Nominated by Vishal Mandge
Tessa Chandler (MRI tech)
“I've been working with Tessa throughout my training, as she had seen me many times during my early career with overnight and early AM WAKE-UP stroke codes. This past week, a complicated ICU patient developed focal symptoms with contraindications for iodinated contrast while also having a pacemaker. Tessa quickly and efficiently coordinated an urgent MRI Brain and MRA on this patient, who was potentially an interventional candidate. Throughout my time at Duke, Tessa has always gone above and beyond for acute stroke patients, and I am so appreciative of the care she provides in these difficult cases. We are very lucky to have her on our team during these situations and I feel she is more than worthy of this recognition.”
Nominated by Dylan “Rhino” Ryan