Chief’s message: Beginning of March
Hope everyone had a good weekend for the start of March – a month at Duke synonymous with tournaments and the beginning of Spring. Below you will see the continued work from our many groups to increase our impact on our community and our scientific mission. This last week we had an attempt to break the world record for CPR training – with the RACE CARS trial getting 19,000 people trained. A great turn out with the world record something we will still shoot for. We also have updates with great work by our departments and school with regards to our NIH funding, and in upcoming weeks our presentations at the upcoming American College of Cardiology meetings at the end of the month. For those attending the ACC meeting – please note the time and location of DCRI/Duke Heart Reception on Saturday with our research colleagues and partners. Thanks to all the teams working to help make sure we continue to serve our community, our residents/fellows, and each other.
Highlights of the week:
More Than 19K People Trained in Hands-Only CPR
A team led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute’s RACE-CARS Trial this week attempted to set a world record for the number of people trained in hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in one day. The goal was to train 30,000 people. Although the event did not set a new world record, participating teams trained more than 19,000 people in how to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest and how to perform hands-only CPR.
EMS agencies from 30 counties across NC participated in the event, which was held on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. Participating counties included Buncombe, Cabarrus, Chatham, Cleveland, Cumberland, Currituck, Davidson, Forsyth, Franklin, Hoke, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Onslow, Orange, Perquimans, Person, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, Warren, Washington-Tyrrell, and Wayne.
The RACE-CARS Trial is led by principal investigator Dr. Christopher Granger and co-investigators, Drs. Monique Starks, James Jollis, Sana Al-Khatib. The world-record attempt was spearheaded by Tyler Cope, community coordinator for the trial.
Way to go, team!
Duke Surgery Leads AMC Surgery Departments in NIH Funding for Fifth Consecutive Year
The Duke Department of Surgery ranked first in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among U.S. medical school surgery departments for the fifth straight year in 2025, according to a report compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
Underscoring Duke Surgery’s standing as a national leader in surgical science, the department received $47.2 million in NIH funding.
“This funding enables us to advance innovative research that seeks to answer some of the world’s most complex biomedical problems, helping to save lives and improve quality of life for countless people,” said Duke Surgery Chair Peter J. Allen, MD. He added, “We’re grateful for our team of phenomenal investigators, surgeon-scientists, research administrators, and staff for their contributions to this accomplishment. I would also like to recognize the leadership of our former Chair, Allan Kirk, MD, PhD, and Vice Chair for Research Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, whose tireless commitment to the academic mission helped enable our success.”
The Duke University School of Medicine ranked ninth in total NIH funding across all disciplines, with $514.5 million received in 2025.
Congratulations to all!
McVeigh Delivers Duke APP Grand Rounds
Todd McVeigh, one of our cardiology APPs, delivered Duke APP Grand Rounds on Thursday, Feb. 19.
The title of his talk was “Outpatient Heart Failure Management at Duke.”
Excellent job, Todd!
ACC Scientific Sessions Annual Reception
Please join us on Saturday, March 28 at the Duke Annual Reception at the 2026 ACC Scientific Sessions. We’ll be having an NCAA Elite Eight Watch Party as well… join us from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., CT, in Gravier A & B of the New Orleans Marriott, Warehouse Arts District. For questions about the event, please reach out to Elizabeth.evans@duke.edu or natalie.sayewich@duke.edu.
REMINDER: A Duke Guide to Advocacy from Duke Government Relations
The School of Medicine Office of Strategic Communications and Duke Health Government Relations would like to remind you of Duke’s Policies for Political Activity, Engagement with Government Officials, Lobbying, and Voting.
Duke recognizes and supports faculty and staff’s engagement as private citizens in public policy and the political process and does not restrict such interactions. Certain forms of government interaction involving Duke, however, are subject to federal and state regulation, e.g., attempting to influence legislative or executive action; therefore, faculty and staff must be transparent when participating in political activity in a personal capacity.
Employees (faculty and staff) should only use personal e-mail, social media, or other online accounts (and not duke.edu accounts or other Duke electronic resources) to communicate with state and federal policymakers about legislation and legislative proposals or to circulate or distribute petitions and similar material.
When participating individually in political advocacy, faculty and staff must:
Clearly distinguish individual, personal political activities from your Duke role, including not using Duke resources, e.g., Duke email or Duke electronic resources.
Faculty and staff should use personal e-mail, social media, or other online accounts:
- to communicate with state and federal policymakers regarding Executive Orders, federal or state legislation/regulations, and regulatory/legislative proposals
- to author op ed articles
- to circulate participation in rallies, or similar events
- to circulate or distribute petitions and similar material
Faculty and staff should use off-hours or PTO to participate in political activities
Faculty or staff who are identified (by themselves or with others) using their Duke titles or affiliations must indicate that their comments are purely personal and not made on Duke’s behalf.
- A disclaimer should be added, noting that “titles and affiliations are provided for identification purposes only and that any views expressed by the individual are theirs alone and do not reflect the views of Duke University or any of its constituent institutions.
Please reference these resources for additional information:
- Policies for Political Activity, Engagement with Government Officials, Lobbying, and Voting – Government Relations
- Duke Health Social Media Policy
If you have any questions, please contact govrelations@duke.edu.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
March 4: ECG Review with Neil Freedman. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
March 6: HF Conference with Jonathan Taylor-Fishwick. Noon, Zoom only.
March 11: DHP Case Review with Dorothy Avoke. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
March 13: Cath Lab Math with Tom Bashore. Noon, Zoom only.
March 18: HF/TX Case Review with Rebecca Steinberg. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
March 20: AFib 101 with Jonathan Piccini. Noon, Zoom only.
March 25: ECG Review with Neil Freedman. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
March 27: NO CONFERENCE/ACC Annual Sessions
Upcoming CME Activities:
2026 Duke Heart CMEs
The dates for the following 2026 Duke Heart symposia have been set. We will announce others as they are added.
- June 6: Duke Heart Failure Symposium — Course directors are Marat Fudim, Rob Mentz, Richa Agarwal, and Stephanie Barnes. Location: Durham Convention Center, Durham, NC.
- October 30: 18th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium – Course directors are Terry Fortin, Sudar Rajagopal, and Jimmy Ford. Location: Durham Convention Center, Durham, NC.
Please save the dates!
Have news to share?
If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call me with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.
Duke Heart in the News:
February 13 — Brittany Zwischenberger
Memesita
Women & Heart Surgery: Higher Death Risk Than Men – Study
February 23 — Robert Califf
The Star
AI is making doctors answer a question: What are they really good for?
