Index of Named Professorships T-Z

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Walter L. Thomas Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

GIVEN BY THE F. BAYARD CARTER SOCIETY OF OBSTETRICS AND  GYNECOLOGY

In 1951, 15 former residents of Duke’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology organized the F. Bayard Carter Society to honor the first chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Today the Society consists of trainees, fellows, and faculty at Duke, and seeks to promote scientific knowledge in the field. The Society has established several endowments including this professorship to honor Walter L. Thomas, a physician and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke from 1937 until the mid-1960s.

Walter L. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Medicine

Josiah Charles Trent Professor of the History of Medicine

GIVEN BY MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS AND JAMES H. SEMANS

This professorship was established by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, trustee emerita of Duke University, and her husband, James H. Semans, MD, professor emeritus of urology, in loving memory of Josiah Charles Trent, MD. Trent was Mary Seman’s first husband. An associate professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, he was also an authority on medical history and a writer who strove to humanize his profession and to narrow the gap between medicine and literature. The endowment has been supplemented over the years by gifts from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.

Josiah Charles Trent Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine, in the School of Medicine

Josiah Charles Trent Scholar of Medical Humanities

GIVEN BY MARY DUKE BIDDLE TRENT SEMANS AND JAMES H. SEMANS, MD

This professorship was established in 2005 by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, trustee emerita of Duke University, and her husband, James H. Semans, MD, professor emeritus of urology, in loving memory of Josiah Charles Trent, MD. Trent, who died in 1948, was Mary Seman’s first husband. An associate professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, he was an authority on medical history and a writer who strove to humanize his profession and to narrow the gap between medicine and literature. The endowment has been supplemented over the years by gifts from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.

Professor of Medicine

James R. Urbaniak Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

GIVEN BY FRIENDS OF JAMES R. URBANIAK AND DUKE UNIVERSITY

James R. Urbaniak, MD, has spent his entire career at Duke University, earning his medical degree, completing his residency, and serving on the faculty. A world-renowned hand and microvascular surgeon, he was chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery from 1985 to 2002 and is currently the Virginia Flowers Baker Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery. He received the Duke Medical Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award and the William G. Anlyan, MD, Lifetime Achievement Award. His friends, family, and colleagues, together with Duke University, established this professorship in his honor in 2006.

James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery

Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Professors of Ophthalmology

GIVEN BY FRIENDS OF DUKE’S DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

Joseph Wadsworth, MD, was a 1939 graduate of Duke University School of Medicine and the first chair of Duke’s Department of Ophthalmology. Wadsworth spearheaded the development of Duke Eye Center into a leading research and treatment center, and one of its clinical facilities is named in his honor. A grant from the Brown Foundation and other donors established this endowment.

Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology
Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology
Joseph A.C. Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology

A. Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Chair

GIVEN BY AN ANONYMOUS DONOR

The anonymous donor who established this Presidential Distinguished Chair in 2021 wished to support superb science and to honor Chancellor for Health Affairs A. Eugene Washington, MD, and his wife, Marie. During Chancellor Washington’s eight-year tenure as chancellor, he transformed and elevated the academic and research enterprise across Duke Health, launching a number of major initiatives and sustaining and expanding Duke’s role as an internationally renowned biomedical research institution. Chancellor Washington will step down as chancellor on June 30, 2023. Presidential Distinguished Chairs maximize the university’s ability to recruit and retain exceptional faculty in a wide range of disciplines, including those aligned with the Duke Science and Technology (DST) initiative. These chairs support faculty who will make transformative discoveries, push the boundaries of science and improve human health, and support intellectual vision and innovative energy to inspire educational collaboration across the Duke community.

A. Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Professor

Charles D. Watts Professor

EPONYMOUS

Charles D. Watts, MD, was a pioneering African-American surgeon and community advocate in Durham. Dr. Watts earned a medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine and completed surgical training at Freedman’s Hospital. As a young physician, he first joined the staff of Lincoln Hospital in Durham, one of the few American hospitals at the time that granted surgical privileges to African-American physicians. Dr. Watts was instrumental in fighting for one integrated public health care facility in Durham, which led to the creation of Durham Regional Hospital in 1967. In 1970, he founded Lincoln Community Health Center, a modern free-standing clinic, which continues to provide medical and dental care to Durham residents. He also served as chief of surgery at Lincoln Hospital, adjunct clinical professor of surgery at Duke, and director of student health at North Carolina Central University. Dr. Watts died in 2004, and Duke University established this eponymous professorship in his honor. Eponymous professorships are created by Duke University to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the history of the institution.

Charles D. Watts Distinguished Professor of Medicine

Wellcome Clinical Professor of Medicine

GIVEN BY THE BURROUGHS WELLCOME FUND

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund established this endowment to honor the late R. Wayne Rundles, MD, a Duke University School of Medicine alumnus and former chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Rundles collaborated with 1988 Nobel Prize winners and Burroughs Wellcome scientists Gertrude Elion, PhD (Hon.), and George Hitchings, PhD, in clinical investigations of compounds now routinely used in cancer chemotherapy.

Wellcome Clinical Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Wellcome Clinical Distinguished Professor of Medicine in Honor of R. Wayne Rundles, M.D.

Robert H. Wilkins and Gloria Wilkins Professor of Neurosurgery

GIVEN BY MICHAEL I. WILKINS AND SHEILA M. DUIGNAN

Robert H. Wilkins, MD, completed an internship and neurosurgical residency at Duke, and was chief of the Division of Neurosurgery from 1976 to 1996. He was founding editor of the journal Neurosurgery and served on numerous national professional boards. Mike Wilkins, the son of Robert and Gloria Wilkins, is co-founder and manager of Kingsford Capital Management LLC. He and his wife, Sheila Duignan, established this endowment to honor his parents.

Robert H., M.D. and Gloria Wilkins Professor of Neurosurgery, in the School of Medicine

Michelle Winn, MD Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science

EPONYMOUS

Michelle Winn, MD joined the Duke faculty in 1999, becoming an Associate Professor of Medicine the Division of Nephrology in 2010. She conducted her research in the Center for Human Genetics and was a founding faculty member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. Her research was focused on the kidney disease known as focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) She was a driving force behind studies in FSGS genetics, with a focus on families with multiple cases of this potentially devastating disease. Her breakthrough discovery was the identification of a gene variant of TRPC6 that causes a hereditary form of FSGS. Today, several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are evaluating potential new therapies for glomerular diseases as a direct result of her discovery. Throughout her career, Dr. Winn was a strong advocate for advancing the careers of women and underrepresented minorities in medicine and science. She chaired the Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee for the department of medicine at Duke and won the university’s Blue Ribbon Diversity Award. A beloved mentor and caring clinician, Dr. Winn passed away in 2014. Eponymous professorships are created by Duke University to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the history of the institution.

The Michelle Winn, MD Professorship in Psychiatry and Behavioral Science is vacant. The School of Medicine looks forward to filling this professorship in the near future.

James B. Wyngaarden Professor of Medicine

GIVEN BY FRIENDS OF JAMES B. WYNGAARDEN

James Wyngaarden, MD, was an associate professor of medicine at Duke with a joint appointment in biochemistry from 1956 to 1967. In 1967, he was named chair of the Department of Medicine and the first Frederic M. Hanes Professor of Medicine. He served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1982 to 1989, more than doubling federal funding for the NIH during his tenure. Among other honors, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of the Duke Medical Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award and William G. Anlyan Lifetime Achievement Award. His friends established this endowment in his honor.

James B. Wyngaarden Distinguished Professor of Medicine
James B. Wyngaarden Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine