David Casarett, MD, will join the Duke Health community as the chief of Palliative Care Services for Duke University Health System, and chief of the Section of Palliative Care within Division of General Internal Medicine, effective September 1, 2016.
"After a multidisciplinary national search, Dr. Casarett was selected unanimously to lead our efforts around Duke Palliative Care, and we are confident with his leadership our Duke Palliative Care clinical, education, and research programs will continue to thrive and lead nationally in this important field," said Tom Owens, MD, vice president for medical affairs and chief medical officer.
Casarett is professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, where he is a faculty member of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, and director of Hospice and Palliative Care.
"David is a nationally recognized leader in clinical palliative care and an accomplished health services researcher," said Mary Klotman, MD, chair of the Duke Department of Medicine.
Casarett's work focuses on improving systems of care for people with serious, life-threatening illnesses. He is the author of more than 100 articles in journals including JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine, and his writing has appeared in print and online in Salon, Esquire, Discover, and Wired.
Casarett is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to researchers in the early stages of their careers.