News

The world's top stroke and brain health scientists, including members of the Duke Neurology Department, are gathering in Dallas today for the start of the 2023 International Stroke Conference. This year our faculty, trainees, and Duke University medical students specializing in neurology are contributing to the following 19 presentations, abstracts, and posters.

Oral Presentations

Members of the Duke Neurology Department got the new year off to a fast start this January, contributing to 10 new peer-reviewed journal articles. Rick Bedlack, MD, PhD, was the senior author of three new publications investigating potential new therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

For as long as she can remember, Jamila Minga, PhD, CCC-SLP, has been something of a contrarian. “If most people are going left, I have a tendency to go right,” she says. So when as a graduate student she found that most research on stroke rehabilitation had ignored how damage to the right side of the brain affected language and communication, she saw an opportunity. After earning her doctorate on the subject, she’s a leading expert in the topic.

The final month of 2022 saw the release of 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles written or co-written by members of the Duke Neurology Department. Highlights of our most recent publications include an evaluation of a training program designed to improve the delivery of epilepsy care in Uganda, a review of recent advances in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, and a discussion of treatment options for the autoimmune condition known as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

The Duke Neurology Department continued to build on its success in the second half of 2022. The final six months of 2022 saw Duke University Hospital receive national rankings for neurology and neurosurgery, our first endowed professorship dedicated to help treat and understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and recognition as the country’s second national center of excellence for dystonia among other achievements.

The Duke Neurology Department continued to grow and advance its missions of patient care, research, and training the next generation of neurology providers in 2022. Highlights from the first half of our calendar year include national and Duke-wide awards recognizing our faculty’s contributions to the field of diversity, inclusion, and neurology as a whole. The same period also saw the growth of the new Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and three of our neurologists don helmets and get in their racing care.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department advanced the fields of clinical and translational neuroscience this November, contributing to 16 new peer-reviewed studies.

For as long as she can remember, Elizabeth (Liz) Gesse, MSN, enjoyed both science and helping people, so nursing was a natural career path. She came to Duke as an RN before becoming a nurse practitioner, and then joined the Stroke Unit of Duke University Hospital. In this week’s Spotlight interview, Geese talks to us about how she uses her master’s training in her daily work and shares some of the patient-provider interactions that she loves about her job.

In the suburbs of Damascus, where Ahmad Zamzam, MD, grew up, a local expression translates to English roughly to “Stroke? Don’t even bother with treatment.” Disturbed at the lack of options reflected in this phrase, Zamzam decided he wanted to make a difference. Now, Zamzam is acting as a “pre-tending” member of our stroke service as one of our vascular neurology fellows.

This October, members of the Duke Neurology Department advanced the fields of clinical and translational neuroscience, contributing to 14 new peer-reviewed studies and one book chapter. Highlights from our recent research include validation of new automated measures that evaluate handwriting for dystonia symptoms, a discussion of the effects of blood pressure on head and facial pain, and a discussion of presentations of a neuroimmune disorder known as MOGAD.