Welcome from the Vice Dean for Research

• Duke researchers in both basic science and clinical departments are engaged in a wide range of basic science research, studying cell biology, immunology, neurobiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology and genetics in organisms from bacteria to man. 
  
  Duke provides rich opportunities for trainees interested in basic research projects, including graduate students working towards Ph.D degrees in our 12 biomedical graduate programs, third year medical students who engage in research, M.D. Fellows and postdoctoral fellows. About 15 percent of Duke Medical students are enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program, which leads to both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Created to train highly qualified students as physician-scientists, the program has graduated more M.D./Ph.D.s than any such program in the country and is highly regarded nationally. 
  
  Duke offers a collaborative research environment where scientists at all levels work to address scientific problems of fundamental importance. To foster the success of its investigators, Duke offers a variety of core facility services, seminar series, and professional development programs. We hope that you will find the information in these webpages useful for accessing these and other features of the basic research enterprise at Duke.
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• Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D.
• Vice Dean for Research
  
  

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• Featured Researcher
  

• John York, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and cancer biology, professor of biochemistry and HHMI investigator, is reluctant to overstate his research results. “I’m a half empty kind of guy, a cynic from years of doing experiments I think will win the Nobel Prize only to find out they didn’t work,” he jokes. His modesty hides what has thus far been a noteworthy career in basic science. York is known for elucidating cellular communication networks required for cellular survival and organismal development; utilizing a discovery-based multidisciplinary research approach with the goal of yielding improved therapeutics and target identification in human disease states; and investigating the action of lithium, a drug used to treat mental illness. York admits that basic science can often be a slow process. But he says the incremental nature of the scientific process often masks its inherent value for non-scientists. “I think a lot of people erroneously believe all scientists do is play around with puzzles and are not interested in how they are relevant.” In fact, basic scientists are devoted to problem solving. “By understanding these cellular processes, we can in turn understand what occurs when these processes go awry,” he explains.  Ultimately, this greatly impacts applied research, identification of drug targets and treatment of disease.

  
  

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  Duke Research Publications