After more than four decades as a member of the faculty and a leader in the Department of Surgery, Kent J. Weinhold, PhD, Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Experimental Surgery, has retired from Duke University.
Dr. Weinhold first came to Duke in 1980 as a postdoctoral research associate and formally joined the Department of Surgery in 1981 as an Associate in Surgery. He held secondary appointments in the Departments of Integrated Immunobiology (formerly Immunology) and Pathology beginning in 1996 and 2014, respectively. Dr. Weinhold also served as a member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) and the Duke Canter Center (DCI) from 2006 and 2013, respectively, and served as Director of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) from 2005-2021.
He was named the Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Experimental Surgery in 2009.
That same year, he was appointed Chief of the Division of Surgical Sciences, a position he held until 2022. Under his leadership, Duke Surgery significantly expanded its research enterprise, attracted top scientists and researchers in their fields, and became one of the highest federally funded surgery research programs in the country. Duke Surgery was recognized as having the top-NIH-funded surgical department among U.S. medical schools for nine of Dr. Weinhold's 14 years at the helm of Surgical Sciences, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
An accomplished basic scientist and research leader, Dr. Weinhold has received continuous funding from federal and private organizations as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator—including from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—and has authored or co-authored more than 200 academic publications. The overarching theme for many of his studies has been the search for immune signatures that predict clinical outcomes.
Early in his career, he was part of the research team that first described the phenomenon of "tumor dormancy," by which tumor cells can be held in check through an active cellular response. His laboratory was also responsible for the initial characterization of the anti-HIV-1 properties of the drug AZT, as well as the first description of the potent, HIV-specific, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicities present in patients with AIDS. Dr. Weinhold additionally holds several U.S. and European patents on suppressors of HIV replication and transcriptions. His team was also among the first to characterize T-cell populations infiltrating human breast tumors, and his most recent research efforts have been focused on the evaluation of novel cancer immunotherapy trials.
As a national and global authority on the development and evaluation of candidate AIDS vaccines—and being renowned for his broad studies of the human immune responses against bacteria, viruses, and tumor-assoicated antigens—Dr. Weinhold has served in consultancy positions for several national, state, and private organizations, including the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) within the NIH.
A dedicated educator, Dr. Weinhold has served as a career mentor to his successor as Chief of the Division of Surgical Sciences, Georgia Tomaras, PhD, and has mentored numerous undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students, including now-Duke colleagues Drs. Guido Ferrari, H. Kim Lyerly, Walter Lee, and Georgia Beasley, among others.
"Dr. Weinhold’s expertise has been an invaluable source of guidance for many early-stage investigators, both in basic and clinical research," says Dr. Ferrari. "His inquisitive mind has consistently inspired his mentees to explore meaningful research areas with potential clinical applications."
“Dr. Kent Weinhold’s scientific work continues forward in ongoing research programs and our scientific environment is forever enriched because of his dedication and vision," says Dr. Tomaras.
The Department of Surgery would like to thank Dr. Weinhold for his profound impact on Duke Surgery and the world, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.