Allen Named DUHS Vice President for Cancer Services
Published
Peter Allen, MD, in the surgical suite
Peter J. Allen, MD, has been named Duke University Health System Vice President for Cancer Services, effective June 1, 2023. Allen will oversee clinical cancer care for Duke, working closely with Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) Executive Director Michael Kastan, MD, PhD.
Allen was recruited to Duke in 2018, and currently serves as the chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. He specializes in gastrointestinal cancer surgery in his clinical practice, and his research lab focuses on pancreatic cancer.
Allen was recently named the David C. Sabiston Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery for his achievements in scholarly excellence and, as Owens noted, "is known by colleagues nationwide as an accomplished surgical oncologist, researcher, medical educator, and mentor."
Prior to joining Duke, Allen served as vice chair of operations within the Department of Surgery and associate director of the Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) where he had also completed his surgical oncology fellowship. Prior to joining MSK, he completed his internship and residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Peter Allen, MD (left) with some of the members of The Allen Lab (left to right): Austin Eckhoff, MD (Resident); Beth Bronson (Clinical Research Coordinator); Ashley Fletcher, MSc (Bioinformatician & Lab Manager)
We are pleased to announce that David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will join Duke Health as executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), effective October 31, 2026.Dr. Tuveson, a preeminent cancer biologist, is currently the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research and director of the National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He is also the chief scientist for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.Dr. Tuveson is known for developing the first mouse and organoid models of pancreatic cancer and identifying subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts. Since developing the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer in 2002, discoveries by his lab team have revealed the molecular drivers of this disease and have led to promising new treatment options. Their approaches include designing new organoid model systems of disease and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for rapid evaluation in preclinical and clinical settings.In honor of his groundbreaking research, Dr. Tuveson was awarded the Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the Luminary Award from the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Lustgarten Foundation, and the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence. In 2022, he was on Clarivate’s list of the most cited researchers. Dr. Tuveson was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was elected to the AACR Board of Directors in 2018, and he served as AACR president from 2021 to 2022.As executive director, Dr. Tuveson will lead the DCI, one of the nation's premier cancer centers and a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. For more than 50 years, the DCI has been at the forefront of cancer research and care, bringing together more than 400 researchers and physicians to advance discoveries and treatments that improve the lives of patients across North Carolina and beyond.We want to again express our profound gratitude to Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, DCI’s inaugural executive director and William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Dr. Kastan’s visionary leadership during his 13 years at the helm of DCI helped transform the institute into a national model for cancer programs while expanding research, multidisciplinary care, and community impact.Following Dr. Kastan's service, Erik Sulman, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, assumed leadership of the DCI as interim executive director. We are grateful for Dr. Sulman's steady leadership in guiding DCI through this transition and maintaining momentum across its missions.We are also grateful to the search committee, led by Kathleen Ann Cooney, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Medicine, whose thoughtful work helped identify an exceptional leader through a national search.We are excited to begin this next chapter for DCI under Dr. Tuveson’s extraordinary research innovation and leadership. Please join us in welcoming him to the Duke Health community.
We are pleased to announce that David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will join Duke Health as executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), effective October 31, 2026.Dr. Tuveson, a preeminent cancer biologist, is currently the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research and director of the National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He is also the chief scientist for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.Dr. Tuveson is known for developing the first mouse and organoid models of pancreatic cancer and identifying subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts. Since developing the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer in 2002, discoveries by his lab team have revealed the molecular drivers of this disease and have led to promising new treatment options. Their approaches include designing new organoid model systems of disease and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for rapid evaluation in preclinical and clinical settings.In honor of his groundbreaking research, Dr. Tuveson was awarded the Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the Luminary Award from the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Lustgarten Foundation, and the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence. In 2022, he was on Clarivate’s list of the most cited researchers. Dr. Tuveson was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was elected to the AACR Board of Directors in 2018, and he served as AACR president from 2021 to 2022.As executive director, Dr. Tuveson will lead the DCI, one of the nation's premier cancer centers and a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. For more than 50 years, the DCI has been at the forefront of cancer research and care, bringing together more than 400 researchers and physicians to advance discoveries and treatments that improve the lives of patients across North Carolina and beyond.We want to again express our profound gratitude to Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, DCI’s inaugural executive director and William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Dr. Kastan’s visionary leadership during his 13 years at the helm of DCI helped transform the institute into a national model for cancer programs while expanding research, multidisciplinary care, and community impact.Following Dr. Kastan's service, Erik Sulman, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, assumed leadership of the DCI as interim executive director. We are grateful for Dr. Sulman's steady leadership in guiding DCI through this transition and maintaining momentum across its missions.We are also grateful to the search committee, led by Kathleen Ann Cooney, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Medicine, whose thoughtful work helped identify an exceptional leader through a national search.We are excited to begin this next chapter for DCI under Dr. Tuveson’s extraordinary research innovation and leadership. Please join us in welcoming him to the Duke Health community.
