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Welcome to Elevate, a monthly newsletter from the Office for Culture, Engagement, and Impact. Elevate is distributed to faculty, staff, and students in the Duke University School of Medicine. In this issue, we feature Danny Benjamin, MD, PhD, MPH, who is working to improve access to clinical research in rural areas. We also share recent news stories, resources, and coming events. |
| For most of rural America, access to clinical research addressing rural health — and to physician-researchers focused on this area — is extremely limited. According to Danny Benjamin, MD, PhD, MPH that’s simply not sustainable for long-term health in most of the country. He is working to address this shortage by leading a program designed to develop future researchers through hands-on experience and mentorship. | | | His goal: to bring high-quality clinical trials to rural communities and improve access to medical research for areas with limited health care resources. A new multi-institutional partnership is bringing him closer to that goal. | | | | |
The Durham community came together to celebrate “Pride: Durham, NC,” a three-day festival hosted by the LGBTQ Center of Durham. The event took place in September on Duke’s East Campus and downtown Durham, bringing together several groups from Duke, local residents, and others for a celebration of identity and community. Duke Health served as a presenting sponsor for this year’s festival, which had the theme “We Are the Rainbow.”
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The School of Medicine's employee resource group (ERG) called ¡DALHE! is seeking a bold, visionary leader to drive its mission, ignite Latiné/Hispanic employee engagement, and serve as a prominent voice for the ERG across Duke. This role provides an extraordinary platform to shape strategy, amplify impact, and expand your professional network. Employees from all backgrounds who are passionate about championing Latiné/Hispanic excellence are encouraged to apply. Deadline: November 12. For questions, contact Raquel Ruiz at raquel.ruiz@duke.edu.
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Durham Early College for Health Sciences Celebrates Opening with Ribbon Cutting
Durham Public Schools, Durham Tech, and Bloomberg Philanthropies joined Duke leaders in September in celebrating the ribbon-cutting of the new Durham Early College for Health Sciences. Located in Research Triangle Park and made possible through a $29+ million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the school is a collaborative effort to position Durham and the Triangle as a model for preparing the next generation of health care providers.
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Creating Welcoming Spaces for Women to Move
The reasons why some women hesitate to exercise in public spaces aren’t always a lack of time or motivation. For some, it comes down to fear of racism and discrimination. That’s according to early findings from researchers at Duke University School of Medicine. The study found that these fears, along with harassment, keep many women, especially Latinas, from moving freely in their own communities.
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Join the Rural Health Equity Community of Practice
The Rural Health Equity Hub — an interdisciplinary initiative that aims to address the disproportionate chronic disease burden facing rural North Carolinians — recently launched a new Community of Practice (CoP). Anyone interested in rural health or health equity is invited to join the CoP to share best practices, lessons learned, and emerging trends in rural health. Register to attend the CoP Hub’s inaugural meeting on November 11.
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November Holidays and Observances
All month: Native American Heritage Month
November 11: Veterans Day
November 17: National Employee Resource Group (ERG) Day
November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance
November 27: Thanksgiving
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Caring for Our Patients, Our Students, Our Colleagues, Ourselves: The Power of Narrative
November 11 • Noon-1 p.m.
Register for location and streaming
At this event, Hedy Wald, PhD, clinical professor of family medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, will discuss how interactive (guided) reflective writing and literature deepens understanding of the patient's illness experience. Sponsored by the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine.
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The Role of Medicine During the Holocaust and its Contemporary Relevance
November 11 • 5:30-7 p.m.
Westbrook 0016
Hedy Wald, PhD, clinical professor of family medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University Hedy Wald comes to Duke for a special lecture on "The Role of Medicine During the Holocaust and its Contemporary Relevance: Sustaining Our Moral Compass." Cosponsored by the Provost's Initiative on the Middle East, the School of Medicine and the Trent Center, and the Center for Jewish Studies.
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2025 Harriet Cook Carter Lecture
November 13 • 4-5 p.m.
Pearson Building, Room 1014-Auditorium
Join the Duke University School of Nursing for the 2025 Harriet Cook Carter Lecture featuring speaker Veronica Barcelona, assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Nursing. Barcelona, a public health nurse and a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist, will present "Biosocial Pathways to Maternal Health Equity."
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Is It Thursday Yet?
November 14-15 • 7:30 p.m.
Reynolds Industries Theater
125 Science Drive
A stunning tapestry of dance, live music, and home video footage that invites audiences into dancer and choreographer Jenn Freeman’s life following her autism spectrum disorder diagnosis at age 33.
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