Loretta Que, MD, will assume the role of Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, effective December 1, 2022.
Dr. Que is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at Duke and has been serving as the Interim Director for the division since July 2021. She is an internationally recognized physician-scientist who studies mechanisms by which oxidative stress regulates airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness.
“I am delighted and humbled to be able to continue as Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine," says Que. "We have an outstanding group of faculty, fellows and staff with whom I look forward to sharing an exciting and rewarding future for our division.”
Over the past 15 years, Dr. Que has developed a successful translational research program that allows her lab to identify and test novel therapies in murine models of experimental allergic asthma and then validate these findings using samples isolated from well-phenotyped patients with asthma. In addition to her basic/translational research, she actively participates in clinical trials research in asthma and COPD as the Duke site PI for the American Lung Association-Airways Clinical Research Center. She has also served on a number of NIH study sections and federal advisory committees related to her research in asthma/airway diseases.
Dr. Que has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting and mentoring her colleagues and training the future generation of physician-scientists, and previously served as the Duke Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship program director. She was recently awarded the Neil L. Spector Art of Medicine Award in recognition of her exceptional mentorship in clinical/translational research.
"Dr. Que's steady leadership over the past 18 months has been greatly appreciated as the faculty in this division have managed a large number of patients with COVID-19 in the ICUs," says Kathleen Cooney, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine at Duke. "Under her continued leadership, I look forward to seeing the division continue to advance high-quality clinical care for those in need, educate the next generation of clinicians, and advance science that will lead to future treatments for those with allergy, respiratory and critical care diseases."
Dr. Que earned her M.D. from the University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine here at Duke. She joined our faculty after training and has been a member of this department for 26 years.