The following message was sent to members of the Department of Medicine from Dr. Kathleen Cooney, MD, MACP, chair of the Department of Medicine.
It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Christopher Holley, MD, PhD, as the next Vice Chair for Academic Affairs and Christina Wyatt, MD, as the Associate Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, effective July 1.
Dr. Holley is an Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. He joined the Department of Medicine faculty in 2015 as an assistant professor. Dr. Holley has held several leadership positions with Duke, including Associate Director for the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, Associate Program Director for the Cardiovascular Disease and AHFTC Fellowships, and Assistant Program Director for the Physician-Scientist Training Program in Medicine.
As a cardiologist and advanced heart failure specialist, he treats patients who are awaiting or have already received heart transplantation, as well as patients who are being supported with ventricular assist devices (VADs) and other forms of mechanical circulatory support. As a basic and translational scientist, Dr. Holley’s research has focused on how small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and RNA modifications influence health and disease. Ongoing work in the Holley Laboratory involves efforts to develop RNA therapeutics for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases.
Dr. Holley graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program with a PhD in Pharmacology. He completed an internal medicine residency and fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He has received numerous awards and honors during his tenure at Duke, including the 2024 Duke School of Medicine Early Career Mentoring Award in Basic and Translational Science, the 2024 Department of Medicine Excellence in Education Award, the 2020 Cardiology Fellowship Mentoring Award, and the 2017 Duke Strong Start Physician-Scientist Award.
Dr. Wyatt is a Professor in the Division of Nephrology, having joined the Department in 2019 as an Associate Professor. She has held several leadership positions at Duke, including as Associate Program Director for the Nephrology and Duke Clinical Research Institute fellowship programs and as Interim Chief of the Division of Nephrology. Her clinical interests include chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and kidney stone disease. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Wyatt’s research has focused on improving the health of patients with and risk for kidney disease, with a specialized focus on people living with HIV. At the Duke Clinical Research Institute, she also is involved in leadership of coordinating center for large clinical networks.
A 1999 Duke University School of Medicine graduate, Dr. Wyatt continued her medical education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she completed her internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship and served as chief resident. While a faculty member at Mount Sinai, she held several leadership roles, including as Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency, Associate Director of Medical Student Research, and Associate Chair of Medicine for Clinical Research.
I want to thank Dr. Karen Welty-Wolf and the search committee members for their dedicated time and effort in the selection process. I also extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Andrew Alspaugh who has served as the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs since 2019 and has continued to do so throughout our search process. His leadership has been instrumental in reshaping the department’s processes for appointments, promotions, and tenure.
Please join me in congratulating Drs. Holley and Wyatt on their new roles. We look forward to their leadership in this area as we continue to elevate the standard of excellence in scholarship across the department.