Duke HPM Fellowship Alumni Spotlight: Christopher Jones, MD
Christopher Jones, MD, MBA, HMDC, FAAHPM
Fellowship Year: 2010-2011
Current role: Duke PC; Clinical Vice Chief and Director of Outpatient Palliative Care
Duke Palliative Care Global Health - KCMC Palliative Care Intensive
It's a rare opportunity to be reminded of how fortunate we are and to appreciate all of the health care resources that we take for granted. I was granted that opportunity in December, spending a week working with the palliative care program at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania. One of the top hospitals in the country, KCMC recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and serves as a thriving academic medical center and primary referral hospital in the Kilimanjaro region.
Recap: First Annual Proud To Be GIM Celebration
The division of General Internal Medicine held their first annual Proud To Be GIM Celebration on Thursday, October 26, at the GIM offices in downtown Durham. This was our first in-person division-wide event held since the pandemic.
The Patient Perspective: Goals of Care Conversations Make a World of Difference
Phil and Margaret Hinesley loved life passionately. Married for 53 years, the Pinehurst, North Carolina couple were known for their community involvement and they shared many interests. But life changed for the Hinesleys in 2019 when Phil died and Margaret was diagnosed with vascular dementia. The paths each took over the course of their illnesses could not have been more divergent.
Mother-Daughter Doctors Navigate Cancer Journey Together with Goal Concordant Care
Dr. Shanaz Mian knew something was wrong before she diagnosed herself with ovarian cancer in May 2021. From her own training and decades of work as an obstetrician and gynecologist in her native Pakistan, she also understood what the diagnosis meant in terms of the many major health care decisions that lay ahead for her and her family.
Meet the New Chief Residents
The beginning of each new academic year is exciting and unique in its own way. One of the highlights for the Department of Medicine is welcoming our new Chief Residents as they assume their roles. This year is no exception with a talented, new team of emerging leaders that includes Ann Cameron Barr, MD, Michael Cosiano, MD, Courtney Dominguez, MD, and Nathan Hirshman, MD. Learn more about them in our special Meet the New Chiefs Spotlight.
Duke Interprofessional Education (IPE) Clinic Seeking Clinic Preceptors
The School of Medicine is seeking clinical faculty to serve as Interprofessional Education Clinic Preceptors for the upcoming academic year. Along with other interprofessional faculty, clinic preceptors will be responsible for seeing patients with ambulatory care complaints, such as might be seen in an outpatient clinic or in urgent care.
Duke Palliative Care celebrates 25 years
The 25-year celebration for Duke Palliative Care took place on May 19 and brought out hundreds of people to the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center to celebrate the achievements and partnerships of Duke Palliative Care, bid farewell to the retiring Dr. Tony Galanos, and share a vision for the future of the Duke Center for Palliative Care.
In the words of Dr. Galanos, founder of the service in 1998, “We have gone from making the case to being the case”.
Dr. Kimberly Johnson Receives State of Science in Palliative Care Research Mentoring Award
Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, MHS, Brenda E. Armstrong, MD Distinguished Professor of Medicine, has been selected by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to receive the 2026 State of the Science in Palliative Care Research Mentoring Award for her groundbreaking contributions to palliative care research and mentorship.
The Long Game: Dr. Anna Mae Diehl is Changing the Understanding of Liver Disease
After decades of persistence, researcher Dr. Anna Mae Diehl is transforming the understanding of liver disease and offering therapeutic promise for millions living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and other forms of liver injury.
Duke Investigator to Co-Lead NIH Award Establishing National Palliative Care Research Consortium
Duke is among a handful of research institutions to receive a National Institutes of Health (NIH) five-year, $64 million grant to establish and lead the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium to advance innovative, high-quality research to improve care for people living with serious illness and their caregivers.
Dr. Cara McDermott: Taking NEXT STEPs to Move Patient Care, Geriatric Research Forward
Cara McDermott, PharmD, is taking big steps to impact care for all patients while advancing geriatric research with her work in building the continuum of care for people with COPD — a leading cause of death in the United States after cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
Thirteen Medicine Faculty Members Receive 2025 Excellence in Education Awards
The Department of Medicine recognizes 13 faculty members with 2025 Excellence in Education Awards in recognition of their outstanding work and dedication to the education of its fellows, residents and students.
Personalized Deprescribing: Advancing AI Research to Manage Older Adult Polypharmacy
Dr. Juliessa Pavon is the principal investigator on a new $2.8 million, five-year National Institutes of Health Research Grant (R01) to help clinicians and older adults make safer, data-driven decisions about stopping medications.
Noon Conference Hits a High Note with Dr. Kate Lee’s Music Therapy Performance
When senior resident Kate E. Lee, MD, MS, picked up a flute for the first time in third grade, she never imagined that one day as a physician she would use it as a therapeutic tool to soothe critically-ill ICU patients waiting for heart transplants.
2023 Fellowship Match: Incoming Duke Fellows
On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, the Duke Department of Medicine (DOM) celebrated another successful fellowship match day.
Continuing Medical Education: A Pathway to Collaboration and Inspiration
The Duke Department of Medicine (DOM) has long been at the forefront of advancing medical knowledge and fostering collaboration through its Continuing Medical Education (CME) efforts. With a focus on two pivotal programs— Medicine Grand Rounds (MGR) and the Learning Education and Discussion Series (LEADS) —the department not only ensures the maintenance of professional licenses but also cultivates an environment of shared learning, innovation, and inspiration.
MGR: A Legacy of Innovation
Duke Reaches Halfway Mark for Goals-of-Care Conversations with Seriously Ill Patients
More than 10,000 Duke patients die each year. Ideally, all of those patients should have the opportunity to discuss their goals in the last six months of life, a target that Duke University Health System and palliative care leaders set in 2021 as part of the Goal Concordant Care Initiative. Eighteen months later, the system is well on the way toward meeting target, and more than half of all Duke Health patients have a goals-of-care conversation documented in the last six months. It’s a win-win—for patients and providers.