Gordon Ralph Corey

1946 - 2025

Gordon Ralph Corey

December 28, 1946 - March 24, 2025

Durham, North Carolina - Dr. Gordon Ralph Corey, singular physician-scientist, beloved educator, humanist, father of five and grandfather of three, died on March 24, 2025. He was 78.

Director of the Duke Internal Medicine Residency Program for 18 years and famous for his eidetic memory and command of medical literature, Dr. Corey was known for pulling out his copy of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine-a 4,000-page tome-and asking each resident, "can you find the most important passage in this book?" The residents were terrified. They never got it right.

Ignoring the chapters about diseases, treatments, and medications, Dr. Corey instead directed his students to the very first passage of the very first chapter-a passage unchanged since the book's publication in 1950:

No greater opportunity, responsibility, or obligation can fall to the lot of a human being than to become a physician. In the care of the suffering, he needs technical skill, scientific knowledge, and human understanding . . . . Tact, sympathy, and understanding are expected of the physician, for the patient is no mere collection of symptoms, signs, disordered functions, damaged organs, and disturbed emotions. He is human, fearful, and hopeful, seeking relief, help, and reassurance.

Dedicating 50 of his 78 years to the practice of medicine, Dr. Corey had no shortage of skill, knowledge, and human understanding. But he also had something more. As the Principles of Internal Medicine explain, "[t]he true physician has a Shakespearean breadth of interest in the wise and the foolish, the proud and the humble, the stoic hero and the whining rouge. He cares for people."

Dr. Corey was a true physician.

Born in Aurora Illinois, Dr. Corey attended college at Duke University and received his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine. He returned to Durham, North Carolina to complete his internship, residency, and fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. In 1980, Dr. Corey joined the faculty at Duke, where he remained until his retirement in 2020.

Dr. Corey's compassion, empathy, and drive to remedy his patients' maladies extended his work beyond the hours of a physician's conventional workday. Dr. Corey founded the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health, which spearheaded global health research and training collaborations across the world and transformed Duke University into a leader in global health. He acted as the lead investigator in landmark clinical trials that brought new antibiotic therapies to market. He served as director of Infectious Diseases at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, led the Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Group at Duke University Hospital, and co-founded the International Collaboration on Endocarditis. His scholarship includes more than 250 peer-reviewed publications-cited collectively more than 35,000 times. Though an infectious disease specialist by training, his research on endocarditis led to the adoption of new standards by the American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology.

Lecturing from Barcelona to Beijing, Dr. Corey's most significant contribution to the practice of medicine are the countless trainees across the world whose education he shaped. He received numerous awards for his teaching, including the Duke University School of Medicine's Master Clinician-Teacher Award, the Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Infectious Disease Society of America's Walter E. Stamm Mentoring Award. For his work developing a training program exchange with Chinese physicians, the People's Republic of China awarded Dr. Corey its Friendship Award-the Chinese's government's highest honor for foreigners who have made exceptional contributions to China.

Dr. Corey is remembered not only for his contributions to medicine but also for the charisma, adventurous spirit, and kindness he embodied. A loving father and mentor, Dr. Corey's family remembers his unwavering support and wisdom. He was an avid traveler - whether exploring the world on a motorcycle, skiing in the mountains, taking long walks along the shores of Emerald Isle, or cherishing annual fishing trips to Alaska with his father. A diehard Duke fan, he attended nearly every Duke Basketball home game since 1978. He loved history, nature, and sports, always sharing his passions with those around him. He was also deeply contemplative, often spending long hours on his back porch in quiet reflection. Dr. Corey was a natural storyteller with a quick wit and an endless supply of dad jokes. He lit up every room he entered, and his friends and colleagues remember him as a thoughtful, giving individual with a genuine curiosity about the world and an enduring commitment to others.

In 2020, Dr. Corey was diagnosed with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. He developed dementia and became a patient himself. As the Principles of Internal Medicine provide, however, Dr. Corey was "no mere collection of symptoms." He still experienced happiness. He loved movies. He loved dogs. He loved singing the words to his favorite songs. And to the delight of his newborn granddaughter, he loved rocking babies to sleep.

Dr. Corey is survived his daughters, Dr. Kathleen Corey, Dr. Kristin Corey, Kaitlyn Corey, and Megan Corey; his son James Corey; and his grandchildren Lucas Corey, Emory Corey, and Isla Warren.

A memorial service will be on May 19, 2025 at the Duke Chapel. Additional details will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health https://www.gifts.duke.edu/new?designation=3991573 or to Dr. Corey's dedicated neurologist, Dr. Joel Morgenlander's APP Fellowship Support Program at Duke University's Department of Neurology https://bit.ly/42dQPkP.