Valdivia Named Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Duke Cancer Institute member Raphael H. Valdivia, PhD, a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology and former vice dean of basic science in the School of Medicine, has been named the Nanaline Duke Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.
Valdivia is notable in the field of microbiology for his interdisciplinary studies applying genetics and cell biology to study obligate intracellular pathogens, and for developing new approaches to study the microbiome. He was the first to develop, optimize, and apply fluorescent proteins for use in studying bacterial pathogens.
Valdivia has made significant advances in understanding how the pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis infects and replicates within human hosts.
An elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is a leader in addressing the lack of diversity in biomedical sciences and disparities in opportunities available for underrepresented minorities in academia. He works to create inclusive environments where scientific excellence and diversity are recognized as integrated values to be celebrated at all stages of academia.
Angelo Moore, PhD, MSN, RN, NE-BC, director of the DCI Community Outreach, Engagement, and Equity program Office of Health Equity, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Moore, along with four other nurses at Duke, is among 253 new fellows selected from across 40 states, the District of Columbia, and 13 countries.
Beyond one's achievements within the nursing profession, fellows are recognized for "engaging with health leaders nationally and globally to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science."
As a U.S. Army Non-Commissioned Officer, Moore served during three Gulf War campaigns. After subsequently attending, then graduating from Winston-Salem State University, he joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. All told, he served more than 25 years on active duty in multiple leadership roles from Germany to Hawaii — earning several service medals, commendation medals, service ribbons, and three bronze service stars. During this time Moore also completed a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in nursing.
Moore retired from the U.S. Army in 2015 as a Lieutenant Colonel, but his service continued in civilian life with his commitment to serve historically underserved communities in the U.S.
Moore joined DCI in May 2019. He oversees, coordinates, and helps design DCI's community impact-projects to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes for patients across North Carolina and beyond.
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Read this 2020 profile of Moore: "In Service to Others: On the Battlefield & In the Community."
The Academy will induct the new class of fellows during its annual Health Policy Conference in October. With this honor comes the Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing "FAAN" credential.
The other Duke inductees are: Mariam Kayle, PhD, RN, CCNs ; Mitchell Knisely, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, PMGT-BC;Staci Reynolds, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CNRN, SCRN, CPHQ; Ryan Shaw, PhD, RN, ACHIP.
This spring, the "Andrew Berchuck, MD, Gynecologic Oncology Endowed Lectureship" was established in celebration of Dr. Berchuck's "remarkable legacy to the subspecialty of gynecologic oncology and to training the next generation of physicians dedicated to research, education, and patient care."
Andrew Berchuck, MD, the James M. Ingram Distinguished Professor of Gynecologic Oncology, is the third and current chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology (2005 to present) in the Duke Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. An accomplished gynecologic oncologist and researcher, he also directs the Duke Cancer Institute Gynecologic Cancer Disease Group, and is co-director, with Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS, of Cancer Genetics at DCI.
Berchuck joined the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center (now DCI) in 1987. Since day one he’s led a research program focused on the molecular-genetic alterations involved in the malignant transformation of the ovarian and endometrial epithelium. He maintains a clinical practice in surgical and medication management of individuals with ovarian, endometrial, and lower genital tract cancers.
Along the way, he's had the privilege to train about 40 fellows and some 250 residents. And while Berchuck has been at Duke long enough to witness some medical students become residents, then fellows, and eventually partners, the focus of the endowment, he said, is to re-establish and maintain connections with former Division fellows who are no longer at Duke and bring them back to learn about their work and how the training they received at Duke has served them in their careers through the annual oncology lectureship and possibly other events.
It was in that vein that the Division's second chief Daniel Clarke-Pearson, MD, a Duke resident and fellow in the 1970s who went on to lead the Division of Gynecologic Oncology from 1987 to 2005 — was invited to deliver the inaugural "Andrew Berchuck, MD, Gynecologic Oncology Endowed Lecture" on May 31.
Said Ob/Gyn Department Chair Matthew Barber, MD, before introducing the speaker that morning, "As I was thinking about this endowment and Andy, the one word that kept coming to mind was impact. And he has had just an incredible impact on this institution, on the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, on the Duke Cancer Institute, on the field of gynecologic oncology, and on the thousands of patients that he's had the opportunity to care for, as well as (his impact on) many medical students, residents, and fellows, and he's done it in so many ways — as a compassionate caregiver, as an extremely skilled surgeon, as an innovator, as a scientist, as a mentor, as a teacher, as a leader. And, in fact, I would say that Dr. Berchuck really is the archetype of the Triple Threat."
