Elevate is a newsletter from the Office for Culture, Engagement, and Impact that is distributed six times a year to faculty, staff, and students in the Duke University School of Medicine. In this issue, read about ¡DALHE!’s celebration of culture and careers at last month’s Hispanic Heritage Month event. We also share recent news stories, resources, and coming events.

Special note: Elevate is moving to a new schedule. Beginning with this issue, the newsletter will arrive every other month, while continuing to highlight the people, programs, and resources that help the School of Medicine community thrive.

Celebrating culture and inspiring careers

How do culture and life experiences shape a career? During a Hispanic Heritage Month panel hosted by ¡DALHE! last month, three Duke leaders shared how family, identity, mentorship, and unexpected opportunities influenced their professional journeys.

Covering topics from patient care and health communication to supporting international students, Iris Padilla, PhD, MBA, MSN, APRN; Kevin D’Arco, PhD; and Stephanie Lopez highlighted the value of building meaningful connections and leading with empathy. They also shared advice for students and professionals navigating their own journeys. Their message: stay curious, seek mentors, embrace change, and remain open to possibilities.

Stephanie Lopez, Kevin D’Arco, and Iris Padilla standing next to each other in a lobby

News and Resources

essica Oxendine, Ikenna Anusionwu, Monty Junejo, Sarah Wolfe, and Megan Mukenge from Duke Dermatology, share sun-protection resources at Pride: Durham, NC 2026

Duke Health celebrates Pride in Durham

The Durham community came together recently to kick off a week of celebration during Pride: Durham, NC 2026. Hosted by the LGBTQ Center of Durham, this year’s event centered on the theme, "Always Forward, Never Straight: Preserving History, Coming Home." Duke showed its support at the event’s Pride Vendor & Food Truck Rodeo held at Durham Central Park on September 27.

Classroom of people sitting around round tables and looking towards the screen at the front

Inspiring future clinical research professionals at NCCU

The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute's Clinical Research Professionals Roadshow made its latest stop at North Carolina Central University on September 11, introducing students to career opportunities in clinical research. The initiative, launched this spring by the CTSI Workforce Development team, connects students with professionals working in areas such as clinical research coordination, biostatistics, and regulatory affairs.

How mentorship shapes a legacy

A teacher’s influence can reach far beyond a single classroom or generation. For Samuel DuBois Cook, that influence came from Benjamin E. Mays, the Morehouse College president whose mentorship helped shape his commitments as a scholar and educator. The first African American professor to join Duke’s faculty, Cook was a trailblazer who inspired students and younger faculty just as he had been inspired by Mays. Learn how that legacy lives on through the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity during a November 12 screening of the documentary, The Legacy of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays.

Request for applications: Duke AI Health Collaborative to Advance Clinical Health Equity

The Collaborative to Advance Clinical Health Equity (CACHE) at Duke Health is soliciting applications for innovative projects that leverage CACHE’s infrastructure and capabilities to identify, address, and eliminate disparities in healthcare. Selected projects will receive substantial analytics, informatics, community engagement, quality improvement framework didactic training, QI engineering support, and mentorship. Letter of intent due: January 15, 2027.

Antisemitism 101 Training for Faculty & Staff

November 6 • 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Freeman Center for Jewish Life

Designed for Duke faculty and staff, this in-person workshop explores Jewish identity and diversity and dives into the roots of antisemitism and how it manifests today. Facilitated by Jewish Life at Duke.

Discrimination and Harassment Prevention

November 19 • 9:30-11 a.m.

Smith Warehouse

This in-person interactive session focuses on institutional compliance, including strategies to support alignment with the provisions of the Duke Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct. Sponsored by the Office for Institutional Equity.