Duke Cancer Institute has named five DCI faculty to new leadership roles.
Cancer Genetics
Andrew Berchuck, MD, and Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS, have been named co-directors of Cancer Genetics at DCI.
They replace breast surgical oncologist Carolyn Menendez, MD, who has a new role as director of Clinical Cancer Genetics, National Oncology, Precision Oncology, and TeleOncology Programs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (based in Durham).
Berchuck, a gynecologic oncologist, is chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology. He is the James M. Ingram Distinguished Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Plichta, a breast surgical oncologist, is director of the Duke Breast Risk Assessment Clinic. She is an associate professor in the Departments of Surgery and Population Health Sciences and is a BIRCWH scholar.
The aims of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Program include advancing cancer genetics research, establishing a carriers clinic and expanding point-of-care across all disease sites.
Neuro-Oncology Research Program
Gerald Grant, MD, has been named co-leader of the NCI-designated DCI Neuro-Oncology Research Program. Grant replaces David Ashley, PhD, FRACP, MBBS (Hons), who has decided to step down from this role. Grant joins Kyle Walsh, MD, current co-leader of the program.
Grant, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, is chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and a pediatric neurosurgeon.
Radiation Oncology and Imaging Research Program
Chuan-Yuan Li, DSc, has been named co-leader of the NCI-designated DCI Radiation Oncology and Imaging Research Program.
Li joins Nimmi Ramanujam, PhD, and Manisha Palta, MD, current co-leaders of the program. Li replaces David Kirsch, MD, PhD, who was recently named director of the Radiation Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Li, a professor in the Departments of Dermatology and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, is the vice chair for research in the Department of Dermatology and an affiliate member of the Duke Regeneration Center, Regeneration Next Initiative. Li has previously served as co-chair of the DCI’s Scientific Review Committee.
DCI Scientific Review Committee
Kris Wood, PhD, has been appointed co-chair of the DCI Scientific Review Committee, replacing Chuan-Yuan Li, DSc, who's been named co-program leader for Radiation Oncology and Imaging.
Wood, an associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology and Cell Biology, is a member of the DCI Precision Cancer Medicine and Investigational Therapeutics Research Program. He is also core faculty with Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
