Lori J. Pierce, MD’85, has been named the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award by the Duke Medical Alumni Association in recognition of her pioneering work in advancing breast cancer treatment and her leadership in education and training.
Piece is a nationally recognized leader in radiation oncology, with a career dedicated to improving treatment for breast cancer patients, addressing health care disparities, and mentoring future generations of medical professionals.
She completed her residency and chief residency in radiation oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She later served as a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute before joining the University of Michigan faculty in 1992, where she is currently a tenured professor of radiation oncology. In 2005, she was appointed by the University of Michigan Board of Regents to serve as vice provost for academic and faculty affairs for the University, a position she held for 19 years until stepping down in 2024.
Pierce’s research focuses on the use of radiotherapy in breast cancer, including the study of radiosensitizing agents to decrease radiation resistance, the development of genetic markers to identify cancers requiring radiation intensification as well as those amenable to radiation omission, radiation techniques to minimize cardiac exposure, and outcomes in women with breast cancer associated with a pathogenic BRCA1/2 mutation. Her clinical research has resulted in improvements in the selection of radiation therapy modalities and precision therapies for cancer patients.
She directs the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium, a statewide initiative to improve cancer care through shared best practices. Other leadership roles include serving as President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and as a member of numerous national and international advisory boards, including the Steering Committee of the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group at the University of Oxford, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. She has published over 200 manuscripts and book chapters and has received multiple honors, including election to the National Academy of Medicine, the ASTRO Gold Medal, and the ASCO Excellence in Equity Award.
Pierce is also widely recognized for her dedication to mentorship and training. Her mentoring has been instrumental to the careers of dozens of scientists and clinicians, many of whom now hold faculty and leadership positions across the U.S.