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First delivered in Italy in 1938, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was introduced at Duke University in 1940. Duke was the first academic medical center in the U.S. South—and among the first in the country—to offer ECT, which remains one of the most effective psychiatric treatments. Over the past 85 years, Duke University has been conducting groundbreaking ECT research, delivering top-notch ECT clinical services, and training Duke learners and clinicians across the world in ECT best practices.

As an author or editor of 40 books, 200 book chapters, over 500 peer-reviewed articles, and more than 190 published abstracts, Dan Blazer, MD, PhD—the J.P. Gibbons Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry in the Duke Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences—has demonstrated a steadfast dedication and desire to help and support others. That common thread has driven his five-decade career in research and teaching.

The North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) program was established in 1974 to address concerns with the supply, distribution, and retention of health care professionals. NC AHEC is comprised of nine regional AHEC programs throughout the state and Duke AHEC, which subcontracts with Southern Regional AHEC to deliver programs and services primarily in the Fayetteville area. Duke Psychiatry's Marvin Swartz, MD, has led Duke AHEC since 1996.

Zarrin Brooks, CRA, has spent 10 of her 32 years at Duke in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, with more than two decades separating her two very different roles in the department. A grants and contracts manager in the department since 2019, Zarrin and her team help identify, prepare, submit, and manage research grants for the department’s faculty investigators. Read on to learn more about her career and get some insight and advice about working at Duke.

A unique partnership between the Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry took root in 1946, when Duke’s clinical psychology PhD program was established—just three years after the Department of Psychiatry was founded. Nearly 80 years later, the clinical, education, and research collaboration has continued to thrive. 

Kim G. Johnson, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology, is the division chief of the Memory Disorders program at Duke’s School of Medicine. She is also a co-leader of the clinical group at the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, a collaboration funded by the National Institutes of Health. Johnson and her colleagues are on the cutting edge of research and treatment to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. She leads trials on gene therapy for patients with genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and new treatments that may prevent the disease.

Teresa Fisher is celebrating 39 years at Duke and 24 years as part of the Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences staff. As a financial management analyst II, she works on Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) payroll and budgets, University financials, faculty compensation, and special projects.

Jeannie Beckham, PhD, came to Duke Psychiatry in 1989 as a postdoctoral fellow in pain management. Thirty-five years later, she's a tenured professor conducting research in the department and the Durham VA, with nearly 50 grants and 450+ publications to her name. Beckham also co-leads the department's Division of Behavioral Medicine.

Duke Psychiatry's Kaf Dzirasa, MD, PhD, and his team focus on how genetic variants interact with environmental factors to lead to mental illness. He's also interested in how mechanisms in neural circuits underpin emotional behavior. He aims to design a pacemaker for the brain that can regulate the electrical signals underlying mental disorders.

As a research administration specialist, Drusilla Russell assists with managing awarded funds for sponsored projects. Over her 32-year Duke career, she's worked in a variety of roles spanning the School of Medicine, Duke University Hospital, and the main campus.