Samantha Spellicy, MD, PhD, is the latest Duke Neurosurgery resident to join the Robert J. Lefkowitz Society at Duke University.
“Getting to train at Duke still feels a little surreal some days. Being welcomed into the Lefkowitz Society, alongside some of the most accomplished physician-scientists in the country, is a genuinely humbling next step,” said Spellicy, a fifth-year resident. “It's a reminder that the path I've been on for over a decade now, working to become a neurosurgeon-scientist, has led somewhere real. I am very grateful to be in a program and institution that robustly supports neurosurgeon-scientists.”
Spellicy said that surgeons have a unique – and privileged – position in their ability to move basic science forward thanks to direct access to tissues and samples from patients.
Models have limitations on how well they can replicate human disease. That has effects on the interpretation of data and the translational research potential.
“I’m excited to develop better models of human disease using direct access to patient tissue to close the therapeutic gap between the bench and the bedside,” Spellicy said.
Spellicy’s focus is on cerebrovascular disease, particularly stroke and she plans to spend her time in the lab chasing therapies for stroke patients who are ineligible for current interventions.
“I’m hoping one day we will have life- and function-saving therapeutic options for all patients who experience a stroke and not just those who fit certain criteria,” Spellicy said.
The Lefkowitz Society provides a home for MD and MD/PhD postgraduate trainees in the Duke University School of Medicine who are pursuing careers as physician-investigators with a primary focus on basic and translational research. Through both formal and informal mentoring relationships, the Society helps members identify research mentors, build investigative teams, and develop the skills needed for a successful academic career.