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
- Incyte INCB39110-214
- Advanced Immunobiology Traning Program for Surgeons
- Unified Program for Therapeutics in Children
- Improving Lung Transplant Outcomes with Coping Skills and Physical Activity
- Transplant Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Training Grant (TIDIRTG)
- Duke CTSA (TL1)
- Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program - NIAID
- Proof of Concept Treatment Interventions in a Rodent Model of the Rare Disease Bronchiolitis Obliterans
- Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NHLBI
- Club Cells and CCSP in the pathogenesis of CLAD/spatial transcriptomics
- Cell-free DNA in the Blood and Lung Allograft Fluid: Understanding Association with Acute Rejection in Lung Transplant Recipients
- CTOT Long-Term Extension Study
- The Lung Transplant Clinical Trials Network (LT-CTN)
- Interdisciplinary Training Program in Lung Disease
- Long Term Follow up of the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group Cohort
- Postdoctoral Training in Genomic Medicine Research
- Immune Profiles to Better Understand Chronic Allograft Dysfunction and Successful Long-term Clinical Outcomes after Human Lung Transplantation
- Integrated Biostatistical Training for CVD Research