Willett Named Dewhirst Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology (2022)
Published
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Duke Cancer Institute member Christopher Willett, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, has been named the Mark W. Dewhirst Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology.
Willett has advanced the field and improved the care of patients with gastrointestinal cancers through his innovative research and his training of radiation oncologists.
In 2016 he received the American Society for Radiation Oncology Gold Medal Award, the highest honor presented by the world’s largest radiation oncology society.
During his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he wrote a series of seminal articles on radiation therapy for colon cancer, and he has continued his influential scholarly activities, authoring more than 400 scientific papers and reviews. He has been involved in developing clinical protocols for gastrointestinal cancer and intra-operative radiation therapy, areas in which he is recognized as an international expert.
Willett’s commitment to teaching, training, and mentoring is reflected in honors including the Teacher of the Year Award from the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology and the Radiation Oncology Teaching Award at Duke.
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.
