The story of Duke is one of its people. Their accomplishments over the course of the first hundred years have propelled us to where we are today. Trailblazers are the faculty and staff leading us into the next century.
Our centennial coffee table book collects major moments and little-known stories of Duke’s history
During the height of the Zika epidemic, when pregnant women were urged to avoid being bitten by the mosquito vectors carrying the virus, microbiologist Carolyn Coyne was researching how the disease could break through the placenta and infect the fetus.
The director of the Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research, Whetten and team are turning around health disparities and inequities – locally to globally. Whetten has served as a driving force in the creation of the Duke Global Health Institute and its original educational programs, and moved forward numerous Duke University diversity, equity and inclusion committees.
A first-generation college graduate who earned her doctorate from Cornell University, Rose is a national leader in higher education scholarship and democracy. Her latest book is The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy. Last year, Rose deepened her higher education experience from another angle, as Duke’s Presidential Fellow.
Blake Wilson is a co-inventor and principal developer of the modern cochlear implant, a medical device that enables hearing for deaf or nearly deaf people. More than a million people worldwide have received cochlear implants for one or both ears, and nearly all of them are able to converse on telephones, without needing visual cues such as lipreading.
Stelfanie Williams, Duke’s vice president for community affairs, relishes the chance to create opportunities not only for neighbors and colleagues but also for the next generation.
Duke epidemiologist Tomi Akinyemiju is working to make sure that having a cancer diagnosis does not become a death sentence for the most vulnerable members of our society.