EDI News & Op-Eds

The Sensory Friendly Film Series, an initiative created through a partnership between the Carolina Theatre of Durham and the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, provides a safe and welcoming cinema experience for autistic individuals and others in need of sensory accommodations.

The NC Trauma-Informed Communities Project team held a retreat in Pine Knoll Shores, NC, on September 23-25. The gathering was an opportunity for those working in the trauma-informed space to elevate their equity-focused, community-led approaches and to build community and enhance connection amongst themselves through relational power and restorative justice practices.

In this AAMC Viewpoint article, Damon Tweedy, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and New York Times best-selling author, argues that curtailing training in diversity, equity, and inclusion risks ignoring the shadow of history that still haunts many Black patients.

Assistant professor Tyson Pankey, PhD, MPH, has been named vice chair for equity, diversity, and inclusion for the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, effective August 1, 2024. A clinician, researcher, and educator, Pankey specializes in culturally responsive behavioral health and education among minority patients, including those with intersecting cultural identities and backgrounds.

Duke University School of Medicine’s Black employee resource group held its third annual Juneteenth celebration on June 20. The event featured keynote speaker Damon Tweedy, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Several Duke CTSI experts on best practices for inclusive community-engaged research—including Duke Psychiatry's Dane Whicker, PhD—joined the panel for “Building Inclusion into Research: Language Matters,” a virtual Research Town Hall hosted by the Duke Office of Scientific Integrity.

In this month's School of Medicine EDI Spotlight, Sarah Wilson, PhD, assistant professor in psychiatry & behavioral sciences, shares about several programs she’s working on and provides a glimpse into her world outside of Duke—including performing as a Prince impersonator.

Pilot award recipients from the Duke CTSI and Children’s Health & Discovery Initiative (CHDI) Child Health Equity Program, funded by the Translating Duke Health Initiative, presented their research projects during a meeting of the Program’s Advisory Council in May. Duke Psychiatry faculty members John Mitchell, PhD, and Jessica Lunsford-Avery, PhD, were among the presenters.

While a Duke psychiatry resident, Heather Kim, MD, partnered with associate professor Marla Wald, MD, to create a gender care psychiatry elective. Kim is now a psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital whose practice focuses on gender-affirming care.

The increased inclusion of samples from individuals from minoritized communities in biomedical research will help mitigate health disparities that stem from a medical enterprise founded in racism and exclusion. In the May 20, 2024, issue of Nature Neuroscience, Benjamin et al. investigate how genetic ancestry influences the expression of genes in the brain, an effort supported by community leaders who raised funding, partnered in shaping research questions and had a central role in the interpretation and communication of the study’s findings. In this commentary, Duke Psychiatry's Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD, and colleagues outline the public and social context that motivated these efforts towards ensuring equitable access to the benefits of science for all.