MADE ONLY AT DUKE: The Aging Breakthroughs Series

By Megan Hujber

When Heather Whitson arrived at Duke as a young medical intern in 2001, her career stretched before her with limitless possibility. Simultaneously, her family was marked by an uncertainty that would come to define her purpose.

Her grandmother had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Over the next eight years, through medical school, residency and fellowship, Whitson watched the woman who once anchored her family slowly lose her memory, and eventually, even recognition of her granddaughter.

“That experience shaped everything,” she says. “When I think about why I get up in the morning and what I want to contribute before I go to bed at night, it’s finding ways to move us closer to preventing and curing Alzheimer’s disease.”

Whitson is now a geriatrician, the director of the Duke Aging Center and co-director of the Duke–UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Her leadership is rooted in that personal history. A framed photograph of her father and grandmother sits in her office, a daily reminder of both the urgency and the hope behind her work.

A Novel Approach

Many scientists who study Alzheimer’s disease come from neurology or psychiatry. Whitson’s path is different. She was drawn to geriatrics, the study of aging itself, and mentors encouraged her to come to Duke to work with Harvey Cohen, a pioneer in the field. That decision shaped her perspective: instead of viewing Alzheimer’s as simply a disease of the old, Whitson sees it as a disease of aging.

“By the time we see memory loss and confusion, the changes in the brain have been unfolding for decades,” she explains. “That tells us there are untapped opportunities in early and midlife to intervene.”

Her center is pioneering efforts to enroll participants as young as 25 in long-term studies. The goal: track brain health across the lifespan and discover strategies that may protect people long before symptoms appear. For Whitson, the vision is personal. She has two sons, and she hopes that by the time they reach her age, they’ll have proven therapies to reduce their risk of dementia.

Science Without Silos

Whitson credits Duke’s unique culture for shaping her career.

“At Duke, the walls just feel lower,” she says. “I can walk five minutes in any direction and collaborate with engineers, nurses, basic scientists or data experts. That kind of interdisciplinary access makes it possible to tackle problems as complex as Alzheimer’s.”

It’s a perspective she reinforces with her trainees. Whitson praises working with younger scientists, many from outside traditional medical disciplines. “I teach them what I know about aging, and they teach me what they know about engineering, anesthesiology or occupational therapy,” she says. “Those connections often spark the new directions we need.”

She is quick to point out that failure is part of the process. Early in her career, she and her statistician joked that she was “queen of almost statistically significant findings.” Those setbacks, she says, were essential: “Science is about learning what doesn’t work, so you can refine your questions and try again.”

A Human Connection

Though most of her time is now devoted to research, Whitson still spends a portion of her week with patients. She finds the encounters grounding. Participants in her studies donate time, energy, and often their very bodies—through blood, brain scans or spinal fluid—to advance knowledge that may never directly benefit them.

“To see them, thank them, and remember the human stakes of this work is incredibly meaningful,” she says.

One patient in particular stays with her: a woman she cared for during her geriatrics fellowship. Despite numerous health challenges, the woman’s humor, love of dogs, and zest for travel reminded Whitson of her own grandparents. “She taught me that late life can still be joyful,” Whitson recalls. “That spirit is worth preserving and it’s what motivates me to find ways to prevent disease earlier.”

Whitson’s vision for 2050 is bold but grounded. She hopes her sons, and their generation, will have both lifestyle guidance and new therapies to lower their risk of dementia. She hopes her scientific contributions will add at least one piece to the puzzle. And she hopes her colleagues will remember her not just for her research, but for her integrity, curiosity and commitment to building a collaborative community.

“I think a lot about legacy,” she says. “If I can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, even for some, that would be extraordinary. But I also want to be remembered for creating an environment where others could thrive because that’s how science moves forward.”

Check back weekly for new installment of MADE ONLY AT DUKE: Aging Breakthroughs, a new storytelling series illuminating Duke’s cutting edge research on the age-related diseases of our time.