Bass Connections Health Policy and Innovation Theme

Bass Connections in Health Policy & Innovation uses an interdisciplinary approach to confront complex challenges in health and healthcare in the U.S. – from the need for new and better treatments and the high cost of care, to the factors that cause persistent health disparities, to the rapid spread of misinformation and growing obstacles to effective development of public health strategies at the local, state and national levels. 

• Vertical Integration: Bass Connections teams bring together faculty, postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates to tackle complex societal challenges in interdisciplinary research teams. 
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Brings together faculty and scholars from multiple backgrounds.
• External Collaboration: Many project teams collaborate with partners outside Duke, including companies, nonprofits, universities, school systems, hospitals and government agencies. 
• Research Output: Many teams leverage their Bass teamwork through grants, theses and other opportunities at Duke and beyond.

Duration: 2 semesters, & some include a summer component. Academic credit and summer funding are available. Students can apply to up to three project teams.

General Timeline

• New project teams are announced each January at the start of the spring semester for the coming academic year. 
• The Bass Connections student application cycle generally runs from mid-January through mid-February each year.

Current Projects for 2024-2025- please visit the Bass Connections HPI Theme Page for more information about the projects

1. Children’s Complex Care Coalition of NC (4CNC)
2. Closing the Gap on Health Disparity and Outcomes in Hypertension  
3. Community for Antepartum Patients (CAP): Establishing an Inpatient Model for Group Prenatal Care at Duke 
4. Data Science in Clinical Care
5. Data Science to Optimize Cardiovascular Disease Prevention *
6. Developing a Roadmap for Goals of Care Conversations at Duke Health 
7. Discovering AI Applications for Traumatic Brain Injury Care *
8. Equitable Access to Monoclonal Antibodies for Low-and Middle Income Countries*
9. Policy Strategies for Child Maltreatment Prevention 
10. Promoting Wellness Across Lifespan for Cancer Survivors 
11. Spine Surgery Patient Navigators
12. Reproductive Health Care Post Roe
13. Tracing the Roots of Nutrition Access, Implementation & Policy *
14. Understanding Disparities to Follow up Care in Head and Neck Cancer*
15. Virtual Reality for Health Education Advanced Learning (VR HEAL)

*indicates teams are co-funded with another theme

Learn More

• Check out how Bass project teams work.
• Consult the Bass' Student FAQs.
• Learn about the project team experience through stories from students.