Five School of Medicine faculty were among the recipients of funding from the inaugural Duke Science and Technology (DST) Launch Seed Grant Program. The Duke Office for Research & Innovation awarded grants to eight interdisciplinary projects, selected from among 61 finalist proposals for high-impact projects that could lead to additional external funding. “The quality of innovative ideas our faculty have for advancing collaborative research projects continues to set Duke apart,” said Jenny Lodge, Duke’s vice president for Research & Innovation. “This year’s DST Launch Seed Grants winners represent the strength of our different schools’ and distinct disciplines’ scientific research — each with the potential of making significant contributions to the region and nation.” Projects involving School of Medicine faculty that received DST Launch Seed Grants were: Engineering + Medicine PIs: Jonathan Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine Aaron Franklin, PhD, Addy Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Fan Yuan, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering This team will study an electronic “tattoo” device to continuously deliver drugs to treat type 2 diabetes through the skin. The printed device will be tested on skin samples to demonstrate its functionality. Global Health + Medicine + Public Policy + Social Sciences PIs: Sara LeGrand, PhD, Associate Research Professor of Global Health Carly E. Kelley, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine Kathryn Whetten, PhD, Professor of Public Policy Gabriel Rosenberg, PhD, Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies Expanding on an initial infrastructure built under previous funding, this multidisciplinary team is going to assess structural inequities faced by transgender and non-binary people as they seek health care, including gender-affirming care. A patient population built from Duke Health and the Mayo Clinic will be regularly assessed to answer long-term mental and physical health questions about this population. The hope is that this resource can attract further funding and expand once it has been built. Engineering + Medicine PIs: Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, Mary and Deryl Hart Distinguished Professor of Surgery Jessilyn Dunn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics This team will use wearable devices to monitor up to 50 patients before and after surgery to track surgical recovery. Inexpensive, unobtrusive monitoring of post-operative physiology may help identify early complications after surgery and reduce costly hospital readmissions. To learn more about the Duke Science and Technology (DST) Launch Seed Grant winners, visit research.duke.edu/dst-launch-seed-grant-opportunity. ShareTerms and Conditions medschool.duke.edu | duke.edu | dukehealth.org @2022 Duke University and Duke University Health System. All rights reserved.