Rising Star Award

This award recognizes exceptional early-career clinical faculty whose actions and activities consistently exemplify enthusiasm, commitment, professionalism, and leadership.

See our Past Clinical Excellence Award Winners

The 2024 Winner:

Elaine L. Duryea, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Dr. Elaine Duryea is not simply a Rising Star; she is the North Star to her colleagues, trainees, and patients. Serving as an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern and the Service Chief of Obstetrics at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dr. Duryea oversees and is responsible for more than13,000 deliveries annually – a birth rate that surpasses that of some states.

“Dr. Duryea is the primary faculty called upon to staff the most difficult cases in obstetrics,” said a fellow physician who nominated her for the Rising Star Award. “There are numerous examples of Dr. Duryea providing exceptional care – almost too many to count!”

She has coordinated and led multidisciplinary teams to provide lifesaving care to pregnant patients with cancer and other rare conditions. She is always willing to tackle difficult conversations and ensure patients have access to fair and equitable care. But Dr. Duryea’s success is not limited to the clinical side. She has accumulated a long list of honors and accolades for her work in academia.

In March 2023, she was named a dual-Principal Investigator of an $18 million funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to improve health outcomes among high-risk postpartum patients, particularly women of color with lower incomes. This project is built on knowledge gained from previous work by the extending Maternal Care After Pregnancy (eMCAP) program, which seeks to reduce postpartum mortality rates by increasing equitable access to medical care. Dr. Duryea was “instrumental in building the infrastructure and reporting for the eMCAP study,” which ultimately won a 2022 John M. Eisenberg Award from The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum, said another physician who also nominated Dr. Duryea.

“Dr. Duryea is unassuming and unflappable,” this nominator said. “She is well respected across service lines and ensures patients, trainees, and co-workers are cared for and covered. She is dedicated to both her work and home family.”

Even with a full workload and her numerous responsibilities, Dr. Duryea finds time to serve on more than 15 organized committees and lead nearly 10 quality and safety improvement projects at Parkland Health. When she was Medical Director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic, she streamlined care and implemented protocols that cut patient wait times and standardized patient care. What’s more, her work evaluating post-cesarean section pain relief helped reduce the number of opioids entering Dallas County by 90,000 pills annually.

Dr. Duryea’s generosity with her time, leadership skills, and health informatics training have been a great benefit to her team and patients. Her nominator noted that when the CrowdStrike software glitch brought down IT systems nationwide in July, she was at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 3 a.m. to ensure the labor unit continued running safely.

Her impact can also be felt by the multitude of medical students, residents, fellows, and other trainees who view her as a role model. In Dr. Duryea’s first full year on faculty, residents honored her with the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, and more recently in 2022, the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology recognized her with the National Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education.

“We are fortunate to have such a talented physician leader in Dr. Duryea,” one of her nominators added. “Her wealth of knowledge, clinical expertise, and administrative leadership skills are the ‘shining example’ for our campus.”

In her words: I began my journey in medicine at UT Southwestern as a medical student, and quickly fell in love with Parkland Obstetrics and the missions of both institutions. I am so grateful for the opportunities and the guidance I have received from my mentors during my time in residency, fellowship, and as a faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I am privileged to work with a family of colleagues who make every day feel more like a passion than an effort. Working with our resident and fellow trainees, with their tireless dedication, constantly renews my love for the field, as do the daily displays of grace, kindness, and gratitude from our patients. I am thankful to have a husband and family who have always understood that what I get to do is a calling, not a job, and have supported me through every stage of my career. UT Southwestern has given me so much, and I am incredibly honored by this recognition.