Duke Medicine Timeline

The McGovern-Davison Children’s Health Center opens, bringing all of Duke’s pediatric specialties under one roof. The $32.5-million facility is completely paid for through philanthropy.

The $200-million Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy is founded. The Institute represents Duke University's comprehensive response to the broad challenges of the Genomic Revolution.

R. Sanders Williams is appointed as dean of the School of Medicine.

Duke is the first hospital to establish a center dedicated exclusively to Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Just for Us launched, part of Lincoln Community Health Centers in partnership with Duke Division of Community Health, Dept. of Community and Family Medicine, and City of Durham Dept. of Social Services. Founded in response to increasing concerns about health care access, cost, and quality, Just for Us is an in-home care program for low-income, frail elderly, and disabled individuals.

A new 18-month Accelerated Bachelor of Nursing (ABSN) program for students who already have a bachelor's is established in response to the national nursing shortage.

Duke & St. Joseph’s Home Care is sold to Liberty Home Care.

A $45-million federal grant establishes the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense (SERCEB), a consortium of investigators from six regional universities who work to develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests against emerging infections such as SARS, and for defense against organisms that might be used in bioterrorist attacks. SERCEB is led by and centered at Duke.

Duke neurobiologists report that they have developed a system that allows monkeys to control robot arms via brain signals. In 2008, Miguel Nicolelis and the Japan Science and Technology Agency will use the brain activity of a monkey to control the real-time walking patterns of a robot halfway around the world. 

Lyon Park Clinic opens, part of Lincoln Community Health Center in partnership with Duke Division of Community Health, Duke Dept. of Community and Family Medicine, and Duke School of Nursing.

Duke University Medical Center and the National University of Singapore partner to establish that country's first graduate medical school. The new school will be based on Duke's medical school curriculum and the U.S. model where students enter medical school after earning their baccalaureate degree.

Raleigh Community Hospital changes its name to Duke Health Raleigh Hospital. Along with announcing the new name, Duke Health Raleigh Hospital introduces Wake County residents to newly expanded services including a cardiovascular center and cancer center.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering, Medicine, and Applied Sciences (CIEMAS) opens, expanding the collaboration between the Pratt School of Engineering and the School of Medicine.

Dr. Victor J. Dzau, M.D., is appointed Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and CEO of the Duke University Health System effective July 1, 2004

Duke is tapped by the National Institutes of Health to lead the $300-million Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), a consortium of universities and academic medical centers dedicated to solving major problems in HIV vaccine development and design.

Duke University Medical Center and the National University of Singapore partner to establish Singapore's first graduate medical school. The new school is based on Duke's medical school curriculum and the U.S. model in which students enter medical school after earning their baccalaureate degree.

Walltown Neighborhood Clinic opens, part of Lincoln Community Health Center, partnership with Duke. The clinic serves the Walltown neighborhood and greater Durham, primarily low-income patients.

Researchers at Duke and Vanderbilt universities discover the first major gene known to determine an individual's risk for developing age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of visual impairment and legal blindness in the elderly. Also in 2005, the Albert Eye Research Institute opens.

After a three-year application and evaluation process, Duke University Hospital is named a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Association, a distinction held by less than 4 percent of U.S. hospitals. Durham Regional achieves Magnet status in 2008; Duke Raleigh follows in 2009.

Duke School of Nursing admits its first class of students into its new doctoral degree program.

The FDA approves the drug Myozyme as the first treatment for Pompe disease. This lifesaving treatment for a previously fatal genetic disorder is the result of the efforts of YT Chen and Priya Kishnani. 

The Duke Global Health Institute is established. The institute fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across the many areas that influence health.

Alexander Hartemink and others create the first human genome map of imprinted genes, revealing four times as many imprinted genes as had previously been identified.

Nancy C. Andrews, M.D., Ph.D. is named dean of the School of Medicine. She is the first woman to be appointed dean and becomes the only woman to lead one of the nation's top 10 medical schools.

The Duke Endowment sets a new record for the largest single gift to the medical center, with $50 million to help build a medical education facility and develop a state-of-the-art pediatric inpatient facility.

Duke Hospice's Hock Family Pavilion opens.

Holton Wellness Clinic opens, part of Lincoln Community Health Center, partnership with Duke Division of Community Health, Community and Family Medicine.