The above video was produced by Jim Rogalski, Duke University School of Medicine
On November 9, E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, was honored by the Duke Medical Alumni Association with a 2023 Distinguished Faculty Award.
Hwang, an accomplished breast surgical oncologist and research scientist, is director of the Breast Cancer Disease Group at Duke Cancer Institute, vice chair of Research in the Department of Surgery, The Mary and Deryl Hart Distinguished Professor of Surgery, and a professor in the Department of Radiology.
Hwang joined Duke a decade ago after an impressive career at the University of California, San Francisco.
In 2016, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people for her work in re-framing the problem of pre-invasive breast cancer. Her work continues on this front and she remains a national leader in this area of breast cancer research and treatment.
Gayathri Devi, PhD, MS, is the recipient of this year’s Award for Addressing Health Equity Through Partnership and Innovation from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS).“These award winners and their work represent the values and mission of ACTS for innovation, team science and community involvement applying principles of translational science,” said ACTS President Allan R. Brasier, MD.Devi received the award this week in the iconic International Ballroom of the historic Washington Hilton during the Translational Science 2025 meeting in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes investigators who translate their findings from bench to bedside to curbside."The Translational Science meeting is vital to the community because it provides opportunities to engage and learn about innovative, collaborative approaches to research, like those of Dr. Devi, which seek to improve health outcomes,” said ACTS Executive Director Kim Stelmaszak, CAE.Devi is a professor of surgery at the Duke School of Medicine and the program leader of the Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She received this award in recognition of the work conducted by the Rare 2 Care team. Rare 2 Care is a multidisciplinary, global partnership to develop innovative disease models, therapeutic strategies and community engaged research with providers and advocates to dismantle barriers to health care for patients with rare cancers.“Our team has made significant strides in addressing rare breast cancer care and health disparities, particularly in aggressive subtypes like triple-negative breast cancer and inflammatory breast cancer,” Devi said. “The initiative that started in 2015 has grown into a multifaceted rare cancer collective driven by the "Bench to Bedside to Curbside and Back" ethos, integrating clinical and laboratory findings with community-driven research. This holistic strategy ensures that scientific discoveries have real-world applications that benefit both patients and the broader community.”
Gayathri Devi, PhD, MS, is the recipient of this year’s Award for Addressing Health Equity Through Partnership and Innovation from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS).“These award winners and their work represent the values and mission of ACTS for innovation, team science and community involvement applying principles of translational science,” said ACTS President Allan R. Brasier, MD.Devi received the award this week in the iconic International Ballroom of the historic Washington Hilton during the Translational Science 2025 meeting in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes investigators who translate their findings from bench to bedside to curbside."The Translational Science meeting is vital to the community because it provides opportunities to engage and learn about innovative, collaborative approaches to research, like those of Dr. Devi, which seek to improve health outcomes,” said ACTS Executive Director Kim Stelmaszak, CAE.Devi is a professor of surgery at the Duke School of Medicine and the program leader of the Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She received this award in recognition of the work conducted by the Rare 2 Care team. Rare 2 Care is a multidisciplinary, global partnership to develop innovative disease models, therapeutic strategies and community engaged research with providers and advocates to dismantle barriers to health care for patients with rare cancers.“Our team has made significant strides in addressing rare breast cancer care and health disparities, particularly in aggressive subtypes like triple-negative breast cancer and inflammatory breast cancer,” Devi said. “The initiative that started in 2015 has grown into a multifaceted rare cancer collective driven by the "Bench to Bedside to Curbside and Back" ethos, integrating clinical and laboratory findings with community-driven research. This holistic strategy ensures that scientific discoveries have real-world applications that benefit both patients and the broader community.”