December 2023

Registration is now open for the seventh Social Mission Alliance (SMA) National Conference, to be co-hosted for the first time by a school of nursing, the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON), from April 8-10, 2024, in Durham, N.C.

Themed "Equity Amplified: Uniting Toward Social Mission Transformation," the conference will feature programs, abstracts, and nationally-recognized expert speakers, all focused on advancing the "social mission" of advancing health equity,  and promoting workforce diversity, and reducing the effects of harmful social determinants of health. 

SMA (previously Beyond Flexner), is a national movement founded in 2012 that brings together educators, administrators, clinicians, trainees, and students to transform health profession education in pursuit of health equity. 

Through a collaboration designed to advance research in health equity and social drivers of health, the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Center for Precision Health have partnered with the Center for Nursing Research at the DUSON to bring more than 20,000 biological samples and linked data from a community-based registry at Duke Kannapolis to investigators at DUSON.

The new DUSON-MURDOCK Biorepository includes de-identified samples and ...

DUSON Assistant Professor Brandon Knettel, PhD, was recently awarded a grant by the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), where Knettel holds a secondary appointment as assistant research professor, to fund travel for East African scholars partnering with each other and Duke to impact mental health care in the region.

The year-long grant will allow scholars from the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in Tanzania, Moi University in Kenya, and Makerere University in Uganda to attend workshops at each of those institutions to learn about focused areas of expertise.

The two-day workshops will include a combination of didactic training; visits to research and clinical sites to learn about existing services; collaborative planning for capacity building and funding opportunities; and professional networking.

Third-year DUSON PhD student Shewit Jaynes, MSPH, BSN, RN, recently received a F31/NRSA grant from the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for her research on “Gendered Racism, Resilience and High Risk Pregnancy among Black Women.” Below, Jaynes presents her work at Eastern Carolina University College of Nursing's Emerging Scholars Symposium held in November. 

Duke University School of Nursing