Duke Signature Care
The generous gifts from Puffin Foundation West, Ltd. will be used to support patient education opportunities for Signature Care members, such as the Duke Signature Care Conversation Series. These are a series of in person and virtual sessions featuring Duke Health physicians. On September 14, 2023, Dr. Cameron Wolfe gave a talk titled Vaccine Strategies for the Winter. This was presented both in person and virtually and was well-attended. Similar offerings will be planned throughout the next year.
Duke Human Vaccine Institute
The generous gift from the Puffin Foundation is being used to support the Duke Human Vaccine Institute’s (DHVI) effort to make second and third generations of new pancoronavirus vaccines. Pancoronavirus vaccines are those that can protect against many different types of coronaviruses. Development of the next generation of successful coronavirus vaccines is targeted both on protecting against transmission and/or disease from new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and on protecting against new animal coronaviruses that might jump to humans from animals.
Our newest generation of vaccine design that is to be supported by the Puffin Foundation is comprised of three different viruses (called SARS-CoV-2, MERS, and Bat virus SHC014). Duke is using cutting edge technology to address both the issues of protection from multiple types of emerging coronaviruses and protection from SARS-CoV-2. Vaccine construction animal protection studies are underway.
Duke Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Clinic
The Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Clinic advances the training of child diagnostic interviewers to optimize the care of maltreated children. These highly specialized interviews are used in medical care and court systems to protect children. We continue to train and mentor medical students, advanced practice providers, residents, and physicians to increase the pipeline of trained health care providers who can care for this vulnerable population. A notable deficiency of adequately trained healthcare providers in our country leads to adverse health outcomes for our children, delays in care, and risks safety. Your generous gift will allow us to coordinate with other colleagues in the community for years to come, expanding our reach throughout North Carolina.
