Student Speakers Selected for Commencement Ceremony
Denis’ English honors thesis, "Bastards & Butterflies: Theorizing the Hip-Hop Epic During the Woke Era," earned him Highest Distinction, the department’s Most Original Thesis Award, and a nomination for the Bascom Headen Palmer Literary Prize. During his time as Duke, he performed with Hoof ‘N’ Horn, United in Praise, and Speak of the Devil. He also held executive board positions in Black Student Alliance, Black Men’s Union, and the Alpha Alpha Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. After graduation, he will join Billboard as a staff writer.
Eiger, who is graduating from the School of Medicine with a combined M.D. and Ph.D., was nominated for his research contributions and his efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in his field. “Dylan is simply one of the most extraordinarily effective students and human beings whom we have had the privilege to educate,” one of his nominators wrote.
A “triple Dukie” who received his B.A. in chemistry from Duke in 2016, Eiger has mentored undergraduates interested in careers as physician-scientists. While completing his Ph.D. in the Department of Biochemistry, Eiger focused his research on G protein-coupled receptors, the target of 33% of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Following graduation, Eiger will begin his Internal Medicine Residency training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston.