News

Trudy Oliver, PhD, DCI member and professor of in the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, received the Vicky Amidon Innovation in Lung Cancer Research Award from the Lung Cancer Initiative (LCI). The award recognizes and provides research funding for innovative lung cancer projects that will improve the lives of those diagnosed with lung cancer in North Carolina. Since 2008, LCI has funded more than $4.2 million in lung cancer research through programs like the research fellowship grant, health disparities in lung cancer grant in partnership with the V Foundation for Cancer Research, Career Development Award, and the Vicky Amidon Innovation in Lung Cancer Research Award.

One of the reasons cancer cells are so dangerous is their ability to shift between distinct “cell states,” a trick that helps them spread, survive treatment, and come back even after therapy initially works. Researchers from Duke University School of Medicine have discovered a new vulnerability that appears during the brief moments when cancer cells switch from one state to another. They also identified a way to exploit this weakness, opening a potential new path for cancer treatment.

Read the Duke Graduate School Alumni Profiles Series with PCB alumna Raquel Yba

Zhao Zhang is among faculty in the School of Medicine who have been promoted or appointed to the rank of associate professor.

Nora Madaras, a PhD student in the lab of Laura Wingler, PhD in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, has been awarded a 2026 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship. This fellowship provide funding for stipend and project support for two years. 

Two PCB-affiliated faculty have been recognized for their "significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research:"

Congratulations to the following faculty members for receiving these sponsored research awards:

The Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology held its annual retreat in October 2025 in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, bringing together faculty, trainees, and staff for two days of scientific exchange and recognition. Five faculty members and eleven trainees presented their work during three scientific sessions, and nearly 60 trainees showcased their projects in a judged poster session.

Read the Duke Graduate School Alumni Profiles Series with PCB alumna Julie Neubauer.

Nana Acheampong, a Pharmacology PhD student in the lab of Laura Wingler, PhD, and Patrick Prochazka, a Molecular and Cancer Biology PhD student in the lab of Christopher Counter, PhD, have been awarded Graduate Diversity Enrichment Program Awards by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. These competitive two-year, $5,000 awards provide "opportunities for greater science and research enrichment experiences."