News

Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which could include challenges with inattention or compulsive behaviors, first arise in childhood. Check out this video to learn more about ADHD, a condition affecting how the brain grows and develops, and when to seek help—and what Duke's Center for Girls & Women with ADHD is doing to support this population's particular needs.

An artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by Duke researchers accurately predicted when adolescents were at high risk for future serious mental health issues before symptoms become severe. Unlike prior models that primarily rely on existing symptoms, the AI model identified underlying causes, such as sleep disturbances and family conflict, that could be used to prescribe interventions. Duke Psychiatry's Jonathan Posner, MD, was senior author of the study.

Maggie Sweitzer, PhD, has been named director of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences’ Clinical Research Unit (CRU). She'll be responsible for ensuring the integrity, financial accountability, regulatory compliance, quality, and academic productivity of clinical and translational human subject research within the unit. 

Psychological distress is a significant yet often underrecognized issue among veteran patients with lung cancer. Duke Psychiatry faculty members and Duke Cancer Institute affiliates Katherine Ramos, PhD, and Laura Porter, PhD, recently published these findings—and suggested approaches for providers—in the journal "Psychological Services."

Henry Edmonds, an outreach program coordinator at the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center since 2022, takes pride in his success with increasing African American participation in the center’s studies. Prior to his current role, he served for 20 years in a similar position with the Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in the Department of Neurology.

Jeffrey Baker, MD, a professor of pediatrics and medical historian, and Damon Tweedy, MD, a professor of psychiatry and author of “Black Man in a White Coat,” have launched “Unhealed,” a new seven-episode podcast exploring the story of Matheus Avery, a 24-year-old Army veteran who suffered severe brain injuries in a car wreck near Mebane in 1950 and died shortly after he was turned away from care at Duke—and why his story still matters today.

Inspired by his transformative experience as an undergraduate at Duke, an alumnus donated $250,000 to support the Duke Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Use Treatment (CAST).

On January 24, Courtney McMickens, MD, MPH, MHS, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, gave the plenary address at Duke’s 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet. The event, hosted by Duke’s chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA)—a student-run organization for medical students of color—was held at the Hilton Durham. 

Emily Aarons, MD, a third-year psychiatry resident, received this year’s James H. Carter, Sr. Community Service Award. Carter was the first Black full professor of psychiatry at Duke, and the award was established in honor of his dedication to serving the underserved.

Medicine too often acts as if physical and emotional health exist in separate worlds, argues acclaimed author and Duke Psychiatry professor Damon Tweedy, MD. He offers ways to weave them together to better serve future physicians and the patients who sorely need their help.