Duke Surgery has appointed Matthew Hartwig, MD, MHS, Professor of Surgery, and R. Keith Reeves, PhD, Professor in Surgery, to lead the department's research activities as Vice Chairs. The two will hold separate but complementary roles that have in the past been part of a single Vice Chair of Research position.
Dr. Hartwig will serve as Vice Chair for Clinical Research and Data Science. In this role, he will be the department's senior strategic and operational leader for clinical research and operations through data science and clinical research infrastructure. Dr. Hartwig has served as Director of the Surgery Office of Clinical Research (SOCR) since 2021, giving him direct research leadership experience. He is Surgical Director of the Duke Lung Transplant Program and the Esophageal Center at Duke, and he directs the Duke Ex Vivo Organ Laboratory (DEVOL). He leads a successful program of clinical, basic, and translational research in thoracic surgery and lung transplantation. Dr. Hartwig is currently principal investigator on numerous funded studies, including industry-sponsored multi-center clinical trials and NIH-supported projects.
Dr. Reeves will serve as Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Research. In this role, he will be Duke Surgery's senior strategic and operational leader overseeing the conduct of all basic and translational research performed across the department. He is a Director at the Center for Human Systems Immunology (CHSI), Director of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Development Core, and co-Director of the NIH Center of Excellence for Multiscale Immune Systems Modeling. Dr. Reeves' group focuses on cutting-edge approaches to harness innate immunity in the context of vaccines and on understanding the immune consequences of aging. He has an exceptional track record of federal, industry, and foundation research support.
"Creating two distinct but collaborative research leadership positions allows for division of responsibilities and positions us well to continue to meet the needs of the changing research landscape," Peter J. Allen, MD, David C. Sabiston Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery said, adding, "'m confident that Matt and Keith will help Duke Surgery continue to lead the nation in surgical research."
Dr. Allen also expressed gratitude to Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, MBA for her leadership as Vice Chair of Research for the past decade. "Under Shelley's leadership, Duke Surgery's research program stood out as the nation's premier academic surgery department for research, with five years as the leading recipient of NIH funding among U.S. medical school surgery departments and a total of $380 million in new and competing federal and non-federal awards."