Division News

Heather Whitson, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics) and ophthalmology, will serve as the next director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Dr. Whitson will succeed Harvey Cohen, MD, the Walter Kempner Professor of Medicine and chair emeritus of the Department of Medicine.

Kathleen Cooney, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine, has announced that Cathleen Colón-Emeric, MD, MHS, FACP, AGSF, will assume the role of Chief of the Division of Geriatrics, effective January 1, 2019.

Toni Cutson, MD, and Jason Webb, MD, have earned the designation of Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The Academy is the professional organization for physicians who care for patients with serious illness. Advancement to fellowship status within the Academy honors dedication to and scholarship in the field of the hospice and palliative medicine.

Congratulations to the following Department of Medicine faculty who received promotions in the first half of 2018.

The recipients of the Department of Medicine faculty Excellence in Education Awards have been announced.

Kimberly Johnson, MD, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics), was the featured guest on WUNC's "The State of Things" on Mon., June 4.

Cathleen Colon-Emeric MD, MHSc, professor of medicine (Geriatrics), has been appointed associate dean for research mentoring for the School of Medicine.

Kenneth Schmader, MD, professor of medicine and Chief, Division of Geriatrics, is the 2018 recipient of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics William B. Abrams Award in Geriatric Clinical Pharmacology. 

Registration is open for the School of Medicine's Clinical Research Day from 4-7:30 p.m. on May 17 in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center.

The Duke Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health, led by Mitchell Heflin, MD, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics), and Sandhya Lagoo-Deenadayalan, MD, associate professor of surgery, published a study in JAMA Surgery on Jan. 3 that found with older patients, assessing risk and intervening before surgery leads to shorter hospital stays.