Christopher Lindsell, PhD, has been appointed vice dean for data science and AI at the Duke University School of Medicine, while Laine Thomas, PhD, has been appointed director of data science and biostatistics at the DCRI. Both appointments are effective April 1, 2026.

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) has been awarded a competitive renewal to lead the Pediatric Trials Network (PTN), extending a program that has reshaped how medicines and medical devices are studied and approved for use in children since its founding in 2010. The network, now entering its third iteration as PTN 3.0, spans more than 100 clinical research sites across the country and has enrolled more than 13,500 participants in 54 studies.

Kidney stones can cause some of the most intense pain people ever experience, affecting daily life and leading many to hospital emergency visits. It affects 1 in 11 people in the U.S., and almost half will experience a recurrence. A major new study from the USDRN, coordinated by the DCRI, tested whether a behavioral program could help people drink enough fluids to prevent stones from coming back.