News

The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) has given its 2022 Public Recognition Award to Richard Bedlack, MD, PhD. This award honors public figures, celebrities, or entities that have made extraordinary contributions toward increasing public awareness of muscle and nerve disorders.
 

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to eight articles and two correspondence letters published in peer-reviewed journals this July.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Duke University Hospital as the top hospital in North Carolina and the 23rd best across the nation for neurology and neurosurgery in its 2022-2023 hospital rankings. The annual rankings, which assessed more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide, analyze and integrate dozens of medical and surgical services.

This June, members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles as well as two new book chapters. Among other findings these studies uncovered retinal differences that may one day act as early biomarkers for cognitive impairment, population-based studies that will improve treatment for stroke and other conditions, and investigations of hydrogel scaffolds as potential therapies.

This week’s Spotlight interview shines on Samantha Lowenberg, a registered nurse at our Morreene Road Clinic. Lowenberg talks to us about the joys and challenges of her work helping patients with ALS, dementia, and other conditions. She also shares her hobbies of painting, playing music, and traveling when she’s not at Duke.

Fifteen years ago, Amanda Beaty, DPT, who was managing a human genotyping core facility, had only experienced physical therapy as an occasional patient. Now , as physical therapist she’s combining her loves of physical movement with her interests in health and science while helping patients with neurological and other conditions at Duke. For this week’s Spotlight interview, Beaty talks to us about her professional journey from the laboratory to helping patients with neurological conditions.

May is Stroke Awareness Month, and members of the Duke Neurology Department were off to an early start. They contributed to six new peer-reviewed journals investigating stroke this April, bringing our total stroke-related articles published this year to more than 20. In addition to this research, our faculty, trainees, and advanced practice providers authored or co-authored 10 other studies and contributed to books advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s and dementia, brain tumors, epilepsy, and other conditions.

Clinical research is an integral part of developing, testing, and refining new therapies. As one of our Clinical Research Coordinators Vera George is responsible for making sure dozens of these studies at Duke run smoothly and efficiently. For this week’s “Spotlight” interview, George talks to us about the joys of helping current and future patients with myasthenia gravis, movement disorders, and other conditions.

Shruti Raja, MD, MHS, assistant professor of neurology in the Duke University School of Medicine, has been named Faculty Director of the Duke Early Phase Research Unit (DEPRU). 

This February, new research from members of the Duke Neurology Department advanced our understanding of the treatment of stroke, brain tumors and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as well as the genetics and origins of Alzheimer’s disease. The 13 journal articles written or co-written by members of our faculty include publications in JAMA, Neurology, the British Medical Journal, and other publications. Read summaries of those studies, and find links to the original articles, in the paragraphs below.