News

Duke professors Terrie Moffitt, PhD, and Avshalom Caspi, PhD, invented technology that measures aging based on biomarkers from a person’s organ systems. The inventors hope it will be used in clinical trials for treatment that’s meant to improve health or slow aging.

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.

Research into the effects of climate change on brain development is in its early stages. But Duke experts, including Duke Psychiatry's Edward Levin, PhD, are finding that changes to the environment because of climate-related events are affecting how the brain develops – resulting in neurodevelopment disorders.

The Duke Autism Clinic has offered assessment and therapy services to families for more than 10 years. One of the most commonly delivered services is a naturalistic developmental behavioral approach called the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), where intervention strategies are included in play-based activities and daily routines to support growth in child social, communication and other abilities.

At a recent event sponsored by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law, panelists highlighted the role of public and private sector cultures in addressing gun violence, the need for better data analysis and reporting for all people, and the importance of addressing the root causes of gun violence, such as mental health issues and socioeconomic disparities. Duke Psychiatry's Jeff Swanson, PhD, moderated the panel.

To support young adult cancer survivors during the vulnerable period after their treatment ends, Duke Psychiatry's Caroline Dorfman, PhD, has designed a 10-week program that aims to give them the tools they need to navigate physical and emotional symptoms and learn how to successfully manage their new lives as cancer survivors.

Embedded in electronic health record (EHR) data are the stories of thousands of late-talking children and how their communication abilities develop over time, what co-occurring conditions they may have, and which services they may be accessing.

According to a revised and updated report by the Medical Director Institute (MDI) of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, mass violence continues to escalate in the U.S. The findings build on a 2019 report by the MDI and a diverse team of policy and medical experts to examine contributing factors and actionable solutions to mass violence in the U.S. through the lens of behavioral health. Duke Psychiatry's Jeff Swanson, PhD, served on the expert panel, and the report cites more than 10 papers co-authored by Swanson and other Duke Psychiatry faculty members.

In the summer of 2023, a Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences team was selected to participate in a new yearlong pilot program, “Shifting the Paradigm: Restorative Justice as a Framework for Workforce Well-Being.” Offered through the Office for Faculty, in partnership with the School of Medicine’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the program aimed to help address burnout, compassion fatigue, and harms, while promoting workforce wellness and satisfaction in the School of Medicine community.

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.