1927
Dean Selected
Dr. Wilburt Cornell Davison elected first Dean of the Duke University School of Medicine and Hospital on 21 January.
1927-1960
1930
DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINE AGAINST EQUINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS
Joseph Beard, MD, and his wife and research partner Dorothy developed a killed-virus vaccine for horse encephalitis, AKA "blind staggers," using ultracentrifuges and chick embroyos. The vaccine saved hundreds of thousands of horses and protected humans, which also helping establish the notion that killed virus is effective and safe as a vaccine.
1965
DUKE ESTABLISHES FIRST PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAM
Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr., then-chairman of the Department of Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine, started the nation's first physician assistant educational program, a two-year curriculum to train people to fill a societal need for more medical practitioners, and expand the prior education and experience of ex-military corpsmen.
1981
JANE RICHARDSON’S RIBBON DIAGRAM PUBLISHED
Duke biophysicist Jane Richardson’s ribbon diagram, a method of representing the 3D structure of proteins, is first published.
Science's 'Mother of Ribbon Diagram' Celebrates 50 years at Duke