Announcements

DCI Chief Patient Experience and Safety Officer Thomas LeBlanc, MD, has been named an ASCO Advocacy Champion and chair of the ASCO24 Annual Meeting Education Program Committee.

Peter J. Allen, MD, has been named Duke University Health System Vice President for Cancer Services, effective June 1.

Of 27 faculty from the School of Medicine awarded distinguished professorships this year, 10 are members of Duke Cancer Institute.

Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD, DCI epidemiologist and associate director, COEE, has received Duke funds to research climate change, radon exposure & lung cancer.

This year's annual gala to celebrate 31 years of Caring House. Donald & Mary McDonnell to be honored for more than a decade of support.

The 2022 Web of Science citation index of Most Cited Scientists — nearly 7,000 authors worldwide — includes 30 researchers at Duke.

Lee Zou, PhD, has been named the new chair of the Duke Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology (PCB). Zou comes to Duke from Harvard Medical School where he's a professor.

Congratulations to David Kirsch, MD, PhD, whose NCI Outstanding Investigator Award to study radiation and sarcoma biology has been renewed for another 7 years.

DCI radiation oncologist Christine Eyler, MD, PhD, was awarded an NCI Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award for rectal cancer and chemo-radiotherapy research.

Stefanie Belanger, MHA, CCRP, has joined Duke Cancer Institute as associate director of Research Operations. She previously served as assistant director of the Clinical Protocol Office. 

Trudy G. Oliver, PhD, has joined DCI from the Huntsman Cancer Institute as a Duke Science and Technology Scholar. Her research focuses on subtypes of lung cancer.

The Division of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotheranostics was named a Comprehensive Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence; one of only 14 in the U.S.

Duke University Hospital in Durham ranks #22 on the list of Best Hospitals for Cancer in the nation and has the highest ranked cancer program in the Southeastern U.S.

David Darr has been named Associate Director of Administration and Senior Director for Research Strategy and Operations for DCI, effective August 15.

Ramona Basnight, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, has been appointed associate chief nursing officer for DCI Oncology Services, Wake County.

Certified community interpreter and employment specialist Liza Butler joined DCI Human Resources as an HR manager this week.

DCI surgeon scientist Tammara Lynn Watts, MD, PhD, role is strategic oversight of EDI across DCI’s clinical and academic workforce.

Christopher Counter, PhD, associate director of Basic Research, is a member of a group receiving an international Cancer Grand Challenges Grant to investigate origins of cancer.

DCI cancer disparities and healthcare delivery researchers Steven Patierno, PhD, and Nadine Barrett, PhD, are part of national efforts to mitigate cancer health disparities.

Whether you’re a cancer survivor, friend, loved one, or medical professional, this is a day for everyone.

DCI pathologist Jeffrey Marks, PhD, has been named "Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Experimental Surgery."

DCI member Christopher Willett, MD, has been named the Mark W. Dewhirst Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology.

Duke Cancer Institute member Paul Modrich, PhD, chose Duke in 1976 and the next 46 years was history.

DCI member Raphael Valdivia, PhD, has been named the Nanaline Duke Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.

DCI member and physician-scientist Sandeep Dave, MD, MS, has been named the Wellcome Clinical Distinguished Professor of Medicine.

DCI surgical oncologist and researcher Sabino Zani, Jr, MD, specializes in cancers of the liver and pancreas.

Three DCI faculty and physician leaders are utilizing their talents in new roles to ensure DCI patients continue to have the safest and best-quality care possible.

The Duke Cancer Institute is excited to announce the establishment of the Duke Sarcoma Center, a center of excellence for sarcoma treatment and research.

An endowed professorship for David Harpole, Jr., MD, will support his ongoing translational and clinical research in lung cancer.

The risk of dying from cancer continues to drop at an accelerated pace. Some of this drop appears to be related to lung cancer patients living longer after diagnosis.

The U.S. Senate confirmation of Robert Califf, MD, as FDA Commissioner was hailed by his colleagues in the world of clinical research and academic medicine.

Susan Dent, MD, FRCPC, associate director, Clinical Research, DCI Breast Cancer Disease Group, has joined the Duke IBC Consortium as clinical director.

New NCCN cervical cancer patient guidelines were released in December. Junzo Chino, MD, is on the guidelines panel.

Duke Cancer Institute's Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, will lead patient support to improve lives of cancer patients.

Special "Drivers for a Cure" license plates are now being offered in South Carolina. Proceeds benefit DCI and  MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research.

The $50,000 grant will support research by Chuan-Yuan Li, DSc, into the ability of cholesterol-lowering drugs to boost cancer-drug immunotherapies.

Jacob Keller, MHA, has joined DCI as administrative director for Hematologic Malignancies & Cellular Therapies, effective January 1.

Gerald Grant, MD, returns to Duke from Stanford University, where he's an endowed professor and chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Cancer can change how you look and feel about yourself as you go through treatment and into survivorship. DCI's self-image program can help.

POSTPONED Annual Benefit Gala to celebrate 30 years of Caring House. Donald & Mary McDonnell to be honored for more than a decade of support.

Furong Huang PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Wang Lab, received a Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Early Investigator Award.

Looking for a great read on how to develop, integrate, & implement a comprehensive cancer center? A new open-access book co-authored by Nelson Chao, MD, MBA, is now available.

Holly Dressman has been named director of Duke’s Sequencing and Genomic Technologies (SGT) Core Facility. Nicolas Devos, PhD, has stepped down from his role as SGT director.

Community outreach & engagement teams from DCI, Wake Forest and UNC cancer centers have launched an initiative focused on the cancer-related health needs of American Indian communities.

Haley Moss, MD, MBA, will work to expand access to care for women veterans through teleoncology and clinical trials in new role at the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

Former Blue Devil Maggie DiNome, MD, a breast surgical oncologist, joined Duke from UCLA as medical director of Wake County Breast Cancer Services and as a professor of Surgery.

In his new NIH role, Ginsburg will help direct the national scientific research agenda to improve health and accelerate research using precision medicine.

Among her many roles, LeAnn Hinson, RN, MSN, served DUHS and DCI as a CHRO and worked as a gynecologic oncology nurse and Life Flight nurse.

Executive director of talent management for Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs Jeff Chitester, MS, MA, named DCI CHRO, effective 11.3.21.

Sydnee Crankshaw, MPA, has been named Senior Research Program Leader for DCI’s "Cancer Prevention and Control" and "Cancer Risk, Detection, and Interception" programs.