Duke Neurosurgery

Our own Katy Peters, MD, PhD, sat down with Ryan Reynolds to talk about his dad's experience with Parkinson's disease and the effect it had on his family.

Check out the latest episode of the Brain and Life Podcast to hear more about the Parkinson's symptoms that are less well-known, care partner fatigue, and how Reynolds takes care of his own brain health.

https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/ryan-reynolds-father-parkinsons-disease-hidden-symptoms

Join us for a free hydrocephalus education event on Saturday June 6 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.!

Learn: Drs. Alexa Bramall, Gerald Grant, and Robert Kellogg will talk about the latest in hydrocephalus research and care.

Share: An intergenerational panel made up of parents and teens will share their personal stories about hydrocephalus.

Connect: Meet other individuals living with or caring for someone with hydrocephalus.

Register for free at https://www.hydroassoc.org/event/free-hydrocephalus-education-day-raleigh-durham/.

For nearly 25 years, Juli Brockmann, 58, had debilitating facial pain that brought her once fulfilling life to a grinding halt.

Thanks to spinal cord stimulation, "I am Juli again."

Read more about her story and spinal cord stimulation at Duke: https://neurosurgery.duke.edu/news/spinal-cord-stimulation-relieves-rare-agonizing-facial-pain

April is Awareness Month - and registration is open for the Triumph Over Tremors Pickleball Tournament!

Duke is one of the only centers in North Carolina that offers high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to reduce involuntary shaking caused by essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease.

Every registration helps the Be Still Foundation help cover the costs of HIFU treatment for Duke patients in need.

Register and learn more here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-still-foundation-pickleball-tournament-co-hosted-with-duke-health-tickets-1983296567422?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

This tournament is co-hosted by Duke Health, Be Still Foundation, and Joola Pickleball.

It's been one week since ! Get to know our incoming residents:

https://neurosurgery.duke.edu/news/duke-neurosurgery-celebrates-match-day-2026

March is Awareness Month - and registration is open for the Triumph Over Tremors Pickleball Tournament!

Duke is one of the only centers in North Carolina that offers high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to reduce involuntary shaking caused by essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease.

Every registration helps the Be Still Foundation help cover the costs of HIFU treatment for Duke patients in need.

Register and learn more here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-still-foundation-pickleball-tournament-co-hosted-with-duke-health-tickets-1983296567422?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

This tournament is co-hosted by Duke Health, Be Still Foundation, and Joola Pickleball.

Welcome to Duke Neurosurgery! Say hello to our 2026 interns:

Alyssa Bartlett, Duke University School of Medicine
Alex Devarajan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai
Barbara Hanna, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine

We can't wait to see them scrub in and shape the future of neurosurgery. Congratulate them in the comments! 💙 🧠

On International Women's Day, Duke Neurosurgery celebrates the lasting impact of women from our past, present, and future.

Your leadership, compassion, and commitment to shaping a better tomorrow is inspiring.

The Waitkus Lab has found identified a new therapeutic vulnerability in IDH-mutant astrocytomas and other gliomas.

“Collectively, these efforts will help guide the development of future anti-cancer drugs targeting SMARCAL1 to exploit this vulnerability in brain tumors,” Waitkus said.

Read more:

Waitkus Lab identifies a new therapeutic vulnerability for brain tumors Researchers in the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke have identified a new therapeutic vulnerability in IDH-mutant astrocytomas and other gliomas.