In the 10 years since, Duke Neurosurgery has continued to be a leader in clinical practice, and an innovator in global health, research, and education.
See 10 milestones from the first decade below.
2015
Duke Neurosurgery Becomes a Department in the School of Medicine
From our early beginnings in 1937, Duke Neurosurgery has advanced our commitment to patient care within a culture of research collaboration and innovation. Our legacy is founded in caring, teaching, and leading with the humility and respect equal to the enormous responsibility we have been given to care for our patients and their families.
On day one as a department in the School of Medicine, Duke Neurosurgery was home to approximately 126 faculty and staff. Ten years later, we have grown to 288 faculty and staff, continuing our mission of world-class, patient centered care, research, and education with a commitment to excellence and innovating the treatments of tomorrow.
2016
Poliovirus trial given breakthrough status by FDA
A therapy using the poliovirus to attack glioblastoma is granted breakthrough status by the Food and Drug Administration in 2016.
The treatment is the creation of Matthias Gromeier, MD, who re-engineered the virus.
In 2018, a Duke study shows that the therapy for recurrent glioblastoma has a 3-year survival rate of 21%. This study is named one of the most mentioned of 2018.
2017
Establishment of the Division of Neuro-Epidemiology
In 2017, Duke Neurosurgery establishes the Division of Neuro-Epidemiology.
Duke becomes the site of the Data Repository and Analysis Center for the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the U.S. (CBTRUS). Faculty member Quinn Ostrom, PhD is senior author of the CBTRUS and becomes one of the most highly cited researchers in the country multiple years in a row.
2017
Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis established
The Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts who seek new answers for patients whose primary cancer has spread to the brain or spine. Specialists from neurosurgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and palliative care all work together seamlessly to design cutting edge treatment plans, tailored to each patient.
In 2020, the center begins offering clinical trials to patients.
2017
Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology celebrates 10 years
Since 2007, Duke neurosurgeon Michael Haglund, MD, PhD, has twice-yearly led humanitarian and training missions to the African country of Uganda. The purpose of the trips is to provide care for patients, equipment for hospitals, and training for neurosurgery residents there.
Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology's collaboration with Mulago Hospital/Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda, builds neurosurgical capacity. Ugandan residents spend one month at Duke as part of their residency. The graduates of this program are then required to work practice in Uganda post-graduation.
2020
Duke neurosurgeon is one of the first to offer awake spine surgery
In 2020, neurosurgeon Muhammad Abd-El-Barr, MD, PhD becomes one of the first surgeons in the U.S. to offer awake, robotic spine fusion surgery.
This novel approach means a quicker recovery and less time in the hospital. It is especially beneficial to patients can’t tolerate general anesthesia.
2020
Duke neurosurgeons receive three Cushing awards in four years
Multiple Cushing awards in a single department is a rare achievement. Allan Friedman, MD is awarded the Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in 2020.
Christopher Shaffrey, MD receives the same award in 2022 and the Cushing medal in 2024.
2023
Duke offers HIFU for essential tremor
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an option for some patients for whom medication is not doing enough to control their involuntary shaking. Duke begins offering this treatment in 2023.
With HIFU, high-energy ultrasound waves are focused on a specific spot in the brain, heating it up and disconnecting the circuit causing the tremor. This FDA-approved treatment requires no incisions and can reduce severe tremors by about 70%.
2023
Duke neurosurgeon initiates first-in-human studies of cell therapy for epilepsy
In 2023, Duke is one of the first sites in the United States to treat a patient in a pioneering study that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of NRTX-1001, an investigational cell product.
NRTX-1001 transplantation is being tested in adults with temporal lobe epilepsy, a common cause of drug-resistant seizures. Derek Southwell, MD, PhD, leads the study.
In 2024, Southwell receives the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award — only the fifth such award given to a neurosurgeon. The grant will fund his project, “Exploring cortical inhibitory circuit design in the human brain."
2024
New therapy for glioma receives FDA approval
In 2024, the FDA approves a new targeted drug specifically for brain tumors called low-grade gliomas. The drug, vorasidenib, was shown in clinical trials to delay progression of low-grade gliomas that had mutations in the IDH1 or IDH2 genes.
Duke brain tumor researchers are part of earliest collaborations that led to the development of vorasidenib, shown to more than double progression-free survival.