Dr. Palmer leads a successful program of clinical, basic and translational research in transplantation and advanced lung diseases. He currently directs the pulmonary research program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and serves as Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Palmer has over 150 peer reviewed publications, received numerous awards, including election into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in 2012, chaired many sessions at national and international meetings, serves regularly on NIH study sections, and is on the editorial board of many prominent journals. He is also Associate Director of the Clinical Research Training Program at Duke and has personally mentored over 40 pre-and post-doctoral trainees, many of whom are now engaged in their own successful research careers.
His scientific accomplishments include the first human studies to demonstrate the importance of innate immunity in transplant rejection and completion of a prospective multicenter study that improved CMV prevention after lung transplantation.
Current basic projects in the lab are studying the role of the matrix in the activation of innate immunity in pulmonary transplant rejection, and epithelial injury and repair in the development of toxin induced bronchiolitis obliterans. Translational and human projects are studying predictors of lung transplant survival in the UNOS database, immune monitoring to predict CMV infection and acute rejection after lung transplantation, and the use of novel inhaled antibiotics in lung transplantation. The lab is also using cutting edge whole exome genetic sequencing to identify genetic predictors of transplant rejection.
Dr. Palmer also leads trials coordinated through the DCRI that study the natural history and investigate new treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic lung transplant rejection, and posttransplant cytomegalovirus infection.
Education and Training
- Fellow, Pulmonary Medicine, Medicine, Duke University, 1996 - 1999
- Medical Resident, Medicine, Duke University, 1993 - 1996
- M.H.S., Duke University, 2000
- M.D., Duke University, 1993
Grants
- Transplant Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Training Grant
- Duke CTSA (KL2)
- Duke CTSA (TL1)
- Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NIAID
- Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NHLBI
- Dissemination and Implementation Science in Cardiovascular Outcomes (DISCO)
- Postdoctoral Training in Genomic Medicine Research
- Immune Profiles to Better Understand Chronic Allograft Dysfunction and Successful Long-term Clinical Outcomes after Human Lung Transplantation
- Impact of patient specific factors on CF lung transplant outcomes
- Interdisciplinary Training Program in Lung Disease
- Thermo Lumos Tribrid High-Resolution Accurate-Mass Tandem Mass Spectrometer
- UNC-Duke Collaborative Clinical Pharmacology Postdoctoral Training Program
- The Lung Transplant Clinical Trials Network (LT-CTN)
- Integrated Biostatistical Training for CVD Research
- Molecular Atlas of Lung Development - Data Coordinating Center