Summary

Ralph Corey, MD is known as the founding director of the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health, and during his career, was an accomplished clinical researcher and clinician/educator. His research focused on large clinical trials involving skin and skin structure infections, community and hospital acquired pneumonia, post-surgical infections, prosthetic joint infections, intra-abdominal infections, urinary tract infections, and blood stream infections. Dr. Corey’s primary areas of interest included S. aureus infections and infective endocarditis as well as resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. He guided the initiation of the Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Group (SABG), which prospectively identified, followed and databased more than 2000 patients over 15 years. In addition, Dr. Corey co-founded the International Collaboration on Endocarditis (ICE), which prospectively identified, followed, and databased more than 5,000 patients from 61 sites in 30 countries over 8 years. Dr. Corey has over 290 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Corey is the Gary Hock Distinguished Professor of Global Health, Emeritus. In 1985, Dr. Corey began the International Health Program at Duke University Medical Center. The Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health was established in November 2004 as a result of Dr. Corey’s commitment to global health issues and the generosity of the Hubert, Yeargan and Hock families. His vision led to the development of the innovative medical center-wide Global Health Pathway as well as clinical research in diseases of the developing world. For 18 years, he was the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at Duke University Medical Center where he created innovative programs involving training in clinical epidemiology and global health as well as the combined programs in medicine/pediatrics and medicine/psychiatry. He served as the Vice Chair of Education and Global Health for the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Corey earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Duke University, his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his internship, residency, chief residency and fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. He has been honored with numerous awards including the Golden Apple Award, the Eugene A. Stead Teaching Award, the Palumbo Award, the Distinguished Faculty Award, and Duke’s Research Mentor Award.