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Alexander Tan Limkakeng Jr.

Professor of Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine
2301 Erwin Road Box 3096, Durham, NC 27710
2301 Erwin Road, Box 3096, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Dr. Alexander T. Limkakeng, Jr., MD, MHSc, FACEP is a Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Director of the Acute Care Research Team, and Director of the Resident Research Fellowship for the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Limkakeng has served as chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Research Committee, and been the Course Director of the ACEP Research Forum from 2016-2018, the largest emergency medical research platform in the nation. He is also the Director of ACEP’s Research Academy course. He was elected to the Nominating Committee of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine.

As a researcher, Dr. Limkakeng has led multiple clinical trials and interdepartmental sponsored projects and is author on over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. These include studies in emergency conditions such as COVID-19, traumatic brain injury, hypertension, heart failure, thrombosis, stroke, envenomations, and septic shock. His research has been funded by grants and contracts totaling over $9 million dollars. He has lectured internationally on acute coronary syndrome, responsible conduct of research, design of clinical trials, and precision medicine in emergency care. He has led Duke’s involvement in NIH-funded research networks and in industry-funded work that led to FDA approval for multiple high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays and point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic tests. He has served as Co-PI for the Duke U24 Hub in the NIH Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) (1U24NS114416) and now serves as a co-PI on the Duke U24 Hub award (1U24NS129498) in the NIH Strategies to Innovate Emergency Care Clinical Trials (SIREN) Network and in the NIH NINDS Strokenet network (1U24NS135250)

His personal research interest is finding new ways to diagnose acute coronary syndrome. In particular, he is interested in novel biomarkers and precision medicine approaches to this problem. The common element throughout this work is a focus on time-sensitive health conditions.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Emergency Medicine · 2021 - Present Emergency Medicine, Clinical Science Departments

In the News


Published May 1, 2023
Duke Emergency Medicine Comes into Its Own
Published February 4, 2019
Blood Test Could Detect Early Risk Factors for Heart Disease
Published July 11, 2017
These Kits Will Save Lives, But There Is Much More Work Ahead to Stem the Opiate Epidemic

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Recent Publications


N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and B-Type Natriuretic Peptide-to-Troponin - Ratios for Differentiating Type 1 From Type 2 Myocardial Infarction: A HIGH-US Substudy.

Journal Article Crit Pathw Cardiol · December 1, 2025 BACKGROUND: Differentiating type 1 myocardial infarction (T1-MI) from type 2 MI (T2-MI) remains a diagnostic challenge, even with the availability of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays. This study explored whether N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Pe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Factors influencing the recruitment of diverse populations into pain research: findings from a qualitative study with underrepresented participants.

Journal Article Pain · October 1, 2025 The inclusion of diverse populations in pain research is crucial to obtaining a complete understanding of how the biopsychosocial experience of pain is seen through the lens of different populations. Traditionally, individuals who identify as Black/African ... Full text Link to item Cite

Precision acute medical care through "-omic" analyses: a scoping review.

Journal Article Per Med · June 2025 BACKGROUND: -Omics technologies - including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics - are increasingly used in acute care settings. However, the current extent of this research has not been systematically assessed. OBJECTIVES: To characteri ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


OtoNexus Advanced Otoscope Design and Human Factors Evaluation Protocol

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by OtoNexus Medical Technologies, Inc. · 2025 - 2030

2/3 CTSA K12 Program at Duke University

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030

Eastern North Carolina and southern Virginia regIonal Stroke trIal cONsortium (ENVISION)

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · 2023 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2012 M.H.S.
University of Pennsylvania · 2001 M.D.