The Duke University School of Medicine comprises 24 clinical and basic science departments consisting of more than 2,500 faculty, 500 medical and 800 health professions students, more than 1000 residents and fellows, and nearly 600 PhD students. The school’s strong emphasis on research to improve clinical outcomes encourages collaborations among faculty members, departments, and other schools at the university and has resulted in the development of numerous centers and institutes.
Academic Departments
Basic Science Departments
Chair: Richard Brennan, PhD
Assistant: Peggy Wilkison
Business Manager: Esther Self
Office: 255B Nanaline H. Duke
Campus PO Box: DUMC 3711
Phone: (919) 681-8804
FAX: (919) 684-8885
The Department of Biochemistry is engaged in cutting-edge research that clarifies the molecular nature of biological processes with a vision of making key discoveries that will transform our molecular understanding of fundamental life processes and ultimately enhance human health. The department is composed of 18 primary faculty members and 12 secondary members from other departments throughout Duke University. Currently, there are 70 students in the Biochemistry Graduate Program and 22 postdoctoral fellows and research associates.
Chair: David Page
Assistant: Terry Hales
Senior Business Manager: Monica Elam
Office: 11072 Hock Plaza, Suite 1102
Campus PO Box: 2721
Phone: (919) 668-8828
FAX: (919) 668-7061
The Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (B&B) in the Duke University School of Medicine brings together a diverse group of faculty who are committed to improving biomedical research and human health through the application of quantitative science and the incorporation of innovative technologies. We engage broadly across the School, the Duke Health System, the University, our region and the world to transform healthcare by conceptualizing, designing and validating appropriate methods, algorithms, tools and applications, advocating for the appropriate application of quantitative science, and training and educating the next generation of informed, ethical leaders in biostatistics, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health data science. The department currently has more than 55 faculty members and offers four graduate programs, the PhD and Master of Biostatistics, the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) and the Master of Management in Clinical Informatics (MMCi).
Chair: Scott Soderling, PhD
Assistant: Jodi A. Belanger
Business Manager: Mollie Sykes
Office: 388 Nanaline Duke
Campus PO Box: 3709
Phone: (919) 684-8085
FAX: (919) 684-8592
The Department of Cell Biology focuses on research of the molecular structure and function of cells and their component parts with a vision of determining how cells interact to form embryos, tissues, and nervous systems; and to investigate their role in physiology, behavior, and tissue repair and regeneration. The department, which currently consists of 17 faculty members, 47 students and 43 postdoctoral fellows, seeks to prepare PhD and MSTP students and postdoctoral fellows for clinical, academic, and non–academic careers.
Chair: Michael S. Krangel, PhD
Assistant: Jennifer Goins
Business Manager: Todd Leovic
Office: 318 Jones Building
Campus Box: 3010
Phone: (919) 684-3578
Fax: (919) 684-8982
The Department of Immunology serves as the focal point for research and education in immunology at Duke. The department consists of 15 primary faculty members and 36 secondary faculty members drawn from a range of basic science and clinical departments. The department provides a robust training environment for 30 PhD students and 10 postdoctoral trainees. Collaboration between basic and clinical immunologists provides fundamental insights into immune system development and function and into pathologies such as immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, infectious disease and cancer.
Chair: Joseph Heitman, MD, PhD
Assistant: Melissa Palmer
Business Manager: Cynthia ‘Kris’ Mathews
Office: 322 CARL Building
Campus PO Box: 3546
Phone: (919) 684-2814 OR (919) 684-2824
FAX: (919) 684-5458
Research conducted in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (MGM) spans model and pathogenic organisms and the full spectrum of genetics from unicellular to multicellular eukaryotic organisms, including mice and humans. Existing areas of research strengths include: 1) microbiology (virology, mycology, bacteriology); 2) RNA biology and genomic expression analysis; 3) yeast genetics; 4) genetics of model systems and humans; and 5) chromosome structure, function, replication and repair. The department is currently composed of 29 primary faculty members, 33 secondary faculty members from multiple departments across the University, and 90 students.
Chair: Stephen G. Lisberger, PhD
Business Manager: Melissa Segal
Office: Bryan Research Building
Campus PO Box: 3209
Email: neurobio@duke.edu
The Department of Neurobiology aims to further our understanding of the brain and its role in health and disease through research and through fostering a collaborative community to educate the future leaders of neurobiology. Research topics include how neural circuits create behavior, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that make brain cells function and adapt, and the mechanisms of brain development. The department is composed of 20 primary faculty members and 51 secondary faculty members. The interdepartmental Graduate Training Program in Neurobiology provides a robust training environment for 66 PhD students. The department works closely with faculty from the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS), other basic science departments, and relevant clinical departments to mentor 68 postdoctoral associates.
Interim Chair: Colin Duckett, PhD
Assistant: Trena Martelon
Business Manager: Sharon Dowell-Newton
Office: C238A LSRC
Campus PO Box: 3813
Phone: (919) 684-5224
The Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology comprises 25 primary faculty, 75 graduate students and 39 postdoctoral fellows with complementary research interests and expertise. Ongoing research in the department addresses a myriad of important scientific questions relevant to cancer, metabolism, nervous system function, drugs of abuse, and environmental toxicants. One unifying theme is the use of pharmacological approaches to define the key regulatory steps in relevant pathways that may be amenable to pharmaceutical exploitation or whose dysregulation may be involved in the pathogenesis of disease.
Chair: Lesley Curtis, PhD
Assistant: Angelique Kosempa
Business Manager: Teri-Lynne Sennett
Office:
215 Morris St. 2nd Floor
The Imperial Building
Durham, NC 27701
Campus Box: 104023
Phone: (919) 681 6709
The Department of Population Health Sciences first launched as a center in February 2016, was designated as a School of Medicine department July 1, 2017, and now houses a multi-disciplinary team of 49 primary faculty from the fields of epidemiology, health services research and policy, health economics, health measurement and behavior, and implementation science, and 47 secondary faculty. The department works where biology, behavior, environments, society, and health care intersect using tools of discovery, measurement, evaluation, and implementation to generate insights that affect health. In addition to research, the department houses a MS and PhD program as well as several cores that collaborate with other groups to provide expertise in qualitative research, bioethics, implementation science, health measurement, and access to electronic health data.
Clinical Science Departments
Chair: Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA
Assistant: Melinda Macalino
Business Manager: John Borrelli
Office: 5692 HAFS Building
Campus PO Box: 3094
Phone: (919) 681-6646
FAX: (919) 681-2923
The Department of Anesthesiology is composed of 12 clinical divisions and eight centers and programs. The department’s mission is to provide extraordinary care through a unique culture of innovation, education, research, and professional growth. The department is fueled by the unfettered ambition of faculty, staff, and trainees at Duke University Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, clinics in Mebane, and the Davis Ambulatory Surgery Center.
Chair: Suephy C. Chen, MD, MS
Assistant: Tria Smothers
Business Manager: Virginia King-Barker
Office: 4044 Purple Zone, Duke South
Campus PO Box: 3135
Phone: (919) 684-3110
FAX: (919) 684-3002
The Department of Dermatology consists of 29 faculty members within in the areas of General Dermatology, Pigmented Lesions, Immunodermatology, Lasers/Wound Treatment, MOHS Surgery, and Hair Disorders. The department also has nine adjunct faculty members, fifteen residents, one fellow, and eight postdoctoral scholars. The department focuses on three key areas: caring for patients; investigating skin diseases; and preparing students, residents, and fellows to be the next generation of highly-skilled dermatology specialists.
Chair: Anthony Viera, MD, MPH
Assistant: Kaye Gardner
Business Manager: Ellen O'Briant
Office: Suite 400, Room 405, Erwin Square
Campus PO Box: 2914
Phone: (919) 681-3178
The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is a diverse, robust, interdisciplinary academic department with programs focused on education and training, patient care, community health, and research and scholarship. The department is home to the Number 1-ranked Physician Assistant Program. The department’s mission is to serve our patients, learners, communities, and each other in pursuit of better health for all.
Chair: Howard Wayne Francis, MD, MBA
Assistant: Irish Hamilton
Business Manager: Chris W. Tobias
Office: Room 3535, Blue Zone, Duke Clinics
Campus PO Box: BOX 3805
Phone: 919 -681-8069
The Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences currently comprises 36 faculty members involved in patient care, research, and education. Faculty members provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary, hospital-based care, including the regionally and nationally recognized clinical programs of the Duke Skull Base Program, Head and Neck Cancer Program with the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Voice Care Center, and Duke Hearing Center. The department has an equally strong focus on discovery and education. Research led by faculty in the division is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and industry. The department recently expanded its number of residents to 4 a year and expanded the number of fellowships to include Rhinology and Head and Neck Oncology. The department’s vision encompasses a continuum of discovery that advances the care of head and neck and communication disorders.
Chair: Kathleen Cooney, MD, MACP
Assistant: Elsie Souder
Chief Administrative Officer: Amy Porter-Tacoronte, MBA
Office: 1102 Duke North
Campus PO Box: 3703
Phone: (919) 668-1755
FAX: (919) 681-5400
The Department of Medicine, comprising 12 divisions, serves as the academic home for more than 2,000 faculty members, staff, residents, and fellows engaged in research, education, and patient care. The department’s outstanding clinical programs are dedicated to providing the best in evidence-based patient care across all disciplines in internal medicine. Research and clinical activities serve as the basis for training future leaders in medicine through the department's widely-recognized residency and fellowship programs, whose former trainees are prominent among leaders in academic, practice, and administrative medicine.
Chair: Richard J. O'Brien, MD, PhD
Assistant: Teikko Artis
Business Manager: JT Solomon
Office: 227-J Bryan Research
Campus PO Box: 2900
Phone: 919-684-0079
The Department of Neurology understands the impact of devastating neurological disorders on the patient and their families. Our physicians treat and research complex neurological disorders, including neuropathy, epilepsy, sleep disorders, myasthenia gravis, migraine, head and neck pain, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, ALS, Alzheimer's, dementia, stroke, and tumors of the brain and spinal cord. Our training programs in neurology attract high-caliber residents and fellows, and our faculty is nationally recognized leaders in neurological education. Faculty members from our Department are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their field of neuroscience research and attract more than $14 million of research funding each year in clinical and basic research grants and contracts.
Interim Chair: Allan Friedman, MD
Assistant: Tami Tuck
Business Manager: Kathy Tobin
The Department of Neurosurgery maintains a robust clinical practice with a national and international referral base and reputation. Our clinical service includes 28 staff neurosurgeons who are engaged in all clinical sub-specialties of neurosurgery. Our research team is led by a very productive group of clinically active neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, surgeon scientists, and PhD researchers, and has been awarded more than $13 million in grant support in 2019-20. The internationally recognized Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, recognized as a Program of Distinction within Duke, is housed within the department, as is our neurosurgical global health initiative. Our comprehensive residency training program is among the best in the country, and fellowships are offered in six multidisciplinary areas, including a recently added pediatric neurosurgery fellowship.
Chair: Matthew D. Barber, MD, MHS
Assistant: Laverne Alston
Business Manager: Jim Morgridge, MBA, CPA
Office: 203 Baker House
Campus PO Box: 3084
Phone: (919) 668-3948
FAX: (919) 668-5547
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology comprises 10 clinical divisions, nearly 90 faculty members, 33 residents, 16 sub-specialty fellows and 100 rotating medical students and physician assistant program students. The department is a multidisciplinary academic department dedicated to advancing the care of women through research, education, and patient care. We are at the forefront of women’s reproductive health care and making innovations to better our community, patients, trainees, faculty, and health care as a whole.
Chair: Edward Buckley, MD
Assistant: Michele Clifton
Office: 2351 Erwin Rd.
Campus PO Box: 3802
Phone: (919) 684-5846
FAX: (919) 681-6343
The Department of Ophthalmology is one of the leading ophthalmology programs in the country. The department is comprised of eight clinical divisions, more than 80 clinical faculty and 16 research faculty members, 23 sub-specialty fellows, 19 residents, and numerous rotating medical students. The department is dedicated to offering the latest in clinical eye care, innovation through basic research and translational discoveries, and training the next generation of comprehensive and sub-specialty ophthalmologists.
Chair: Ben Alman, MD
Assistant: Melanie Allen
Business Manager: Dara Purvis
Office: 311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710
Campus PO Box: 104002
Phone: (919) 613-6935
FAX: (919) 684-8280
The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery’s mission is to provide compassionate, cost-effective, and high-quality patient care to all patients. Faculty members perform cutting-edge research that translates into improved patient care at Duke and around the world. The department is dedicated to training the next generation of surgeons in an environment that challenges and educates them across a spectrum of disciplines including patient care, research, and academic pursuit.
Chair: Jiaoti Huang, MD, PhD
Assistant: Patricia Lea
Business Manager: Amy Orange
Office: M301 Davison Building
Campus PO Box: 3712
Phone: (919) 684-9929
FAX: (919) 681-0778
The Department of Pathology’s vision is to deepen the understanding of human illness and disease treatments through the use of technology and research. The department consists of 53 clinical and 17 research faculty, 25 residents, five fellows, 23 graduate students, and 16 Pathologists' Assistant students, all who strive to transform medicine and healthcare locally and globally through innovative scientific research, rapid translation of breakthrough discoveries, educating future clinical and scientific leaders, advocating and practicing evidence-based medicine to improve community health, and leading efforts to eliminate health inequalities.
Chair: Ann M. Reed, MD
Samuel L. Katz Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics
Physician-in-Chief, Duke Children’s
Assistant: Theresa Harris
Business Manager: Susan Kline
Office: T0901 Children's Health Center
Campus PO Box: 3352
Phone: (919) 681-4080
FAX: (919) 681-2714
The Department of Pediatrics comprises 19 divisions and includes 210 faculty members, 150 community pediatricians, 74 residents and 62 subspecialty residents and fellows, and 100 rotating medical students. The department is dedicated to providing world-class patient care to children of all ages in a family-centered atmosphere; educating future leaders in pediatric medicine; discovering treatments that will enhance the health care of future generations; and advocating for children, all while aiming to achieve these goals in a diverse and inclusive environment.
Chair: Moira Rynn, MD
Chief Administrative Officer:: Jennifer Ellis
Office: 4584 White Zone, Duke South
Campus PO Box: 3950
Phone: (919) 684-5616
FAX: (919) 681-5489
The Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences is an interdisciplinary leader in brain and behavioral health. The department’s 230 active faculty members are organized into three divisions:. behavioral medicine and neurosciences, child/family mental health and community psychiatry, and adult psychiatry and psychology. The department seeks to provide the best available care to patients and their families, while advancing science to improve mental health on a global scale and equipping its roughly 80 trainees to lead the future of mental health care.
Chair: Christopher G. Willett, MD
Assistant: Donna Wimberley
Business Manager: Joy Sprink
Office: 05143A Morris Building
Campus PO Box: 3085
Phone: (919) 668-5640
FAX: (919) 688-7345
The Department of Radiation Oncology consists of over 50 clinical and research faculty members, 12 residents and an esteemed Radiation Physics Division. As part of the Duke Cancer Institute, faculty work with colleagues in Surgical Oncology and Medical Oncology to facilitate a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the care of cancer. The department’s core missions are to provide expert, compassionate and prompt clinical service to patients; to generate new knowledge concerning causes, prevention and treatment of cancer; to transmit new knowledge from clinical and laboratory research; and to actively participate in and further the missions of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Health and Duke University.
Chair: Erik Paulson
Assistant: Maria Nelson
Office: 1527 Duke Hospital
Campus PO Box: 3808
Phone: (919) 684-7293
Fax: (919) 613-5716
The Department of Radiology is committed to providing the highest quality imaging services, reporting, safety, education and support of innovative laboratory and clinical research. We are comprised of nine subspecialty clinical divisions that include Abdominal Imaging, Breast Imaging, Cardiothoracic Imaging, Interventional Radiology, Musculoskeletal Imaging, Neuroradiology, Nuclear Medicine, Pediatric Radiology and the Raleigh Community Division. We have 75 subspecialty faculty, 32 research faculty, 48 residents and 35 fellows that serve 11 locations. Our residency is among the most competitive in the country and Radiology is a required clerkship for every Duke University medical student. Our radiologists work closely with referring physicians to provide state-of-the-art radiologic care and service to our patients.
Chair: Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, FACS
David C. Sabiston, Jr. Professor of Surgery
Assistant: Stephanie Belvin
Chief Administrator: Katherine Stanley
Office: 7690 HAFS Building, Duke North
Campus PO Box: DUMC 3704
Phone: (919) 681-3445
FAX: (919) 681-2779
The Department of Surgery is one of the leading surgery programs in the world, committed to Duke Health's mission of providing outstanding and compassionate patient care, training tomorrow's leaders, and conducting innovative research. The department consists of 328 clinical and research faculty, 160 house staff, and 576 staff members. There are 12 divisions in the department.