News

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 14 new peer-reviewed articles published this July, improving our understanding of neuroscience, charting a course for research in a post-COVID-19 world, and offering opportunities for advancing patient care. Simon Gregory, PhD, and Yong Chen, PhD, respectively co-authored articles offering new therapeutic avenues for muscle repair and chronic pain treatment. Wuwei “Wayne” Feng, MD, MS, was part of a consortium examining the impact of COVID-19 on the NIH’s StrokeNet and offering a vision for resuming clinical trials.

New research from the Duke Neurology Department advanced our understanding of neurological diseases and patient care at the basic science, translational, and clinical levels. Among other topics, our faculty, trainees, and staff found evidence for virtual reality’s potential in neurorehabilitation, tested a wearable device that can help better identify seizures, and reviewed how our understanding of the hippocampus has evolved over the past generation.

The Molecular Genomics Core of Simon Gregory, PhD, was among the first 45 international members selected for participation in 10x Genomics Visium Clinical Translational Research Network (CTRN). The first members were selected from 185 total applications and represent a diverse range of studies that are taking place around the world. Members are focused on research in oncology, immuno-oncology, neuroscience, infectious disease, inflammation and fibrosis, COVID-19, including Dr.

Ornit Chiba-Falek, PhD, and Simon Davis, PhD, both recently received new grants for multidisciplinary research to advance our understanding of Alzhiemer’s disease.

In May 2020, members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to nine new peer-reviewed journal articles. At the clinical level, a new study protocol will test the safety of a promising drug for reducing the consequences neural inflammation, while another shares more than a decade of knowledge about improving patient engagement in ALS research. Other studies, meanwhile, answered questions about how our brains and minds function, such as a NeuroImage study that found older and younger adults used different regions of the brain when performing the same task.

Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD, and Al La Spada, MD, PhD, have been awarded distinguished professorships from Duke University. Duke University awarded distinguished professors to 28 faculty members this year, with 12 coming from the School of Medicine. Distinguished professorships are awarded to faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health. 

Within the lab of Ornit Chiba-Falek, PhD, Julia Gamache, PhD, is investigating the origins of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)--both the exact genes and cell types in the brain that lead to development of AD, as well as the specific ways that aging contributes to the process. For this week’s “Spotlight” interview, Gamache talks to us about how her research may lead to the development of new therapies to prevent or slow the condition.

Two undergraduate students working in labs in the Duke Neurology Department were joint recipients of Duke’s 2020 “Outstanding Senior Thesis in Neuroscience” award. Kunal Shroff worked for three years in the lab of Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD, where he studied the molecular mechanisms underlying DYT1 dystonia. Vivian Chen worked in the lab of Ornit Chiba-Falek, MD, PhD, where she helped examine the genetic processes underpinning Alzheimer’s and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Julia Gamache, PhD, was one of four new scholars welcomed into the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Award’s (CTSA TL1) programs this April. Gamache, a postdoctoral associate in the Chiba-Falek lab, will use the two-year award to study the origins of Alzheimer’s disease and investigate novel therapeutic strategies for the condition. The Duke CTSA TL1 postdoctoral program is a 2-year training program aiming to provide 2 years of funded time to support the research training of outstanding junior scientists.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department continued to advance the fields of clinical and translational neuroscience this April. Our faculty contributed to the first major systematic review of self-management programs for epilepsy, helping to answer questions about what makes these programs more or less effective. Another article discussed the benefits of CN-105, a therapeutic agent that may help reduce the harmful neuro-inflammatory response associated with stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other conditions.