Three faculty members in the Duke Department of Surgery have received Duke University School of Medicine (SOM) 2026 Faculty Awards.
The Faculty Awards honor outstanding contributions in teaching, research, clinical care, professionalism, and service. Honorees were presented their awards at a celebration held on May 12.
Donald Glower, MD: Master Clinician/Teacher Award
Donald Glower, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery, has been named a recipient of the Master Clinician/Teacher Award, which honors faculty for superlative accomplishment in teaching and/or clinical care. The intent it to honor individuals who have made an extraordinary commitment above and beyond normal expectations.
Dr. Glower first joined Duke as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in 1989. From 1993–2007, Dr. Glower also held an appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1980.
An adult cardiac surgeon, Dr. Glower specializes in structural heart disease in adults and in minimally invasive surgical techniques. His research interests examine the effects of patient characteristics and surgical technique in outcomes after minimally invasive cardiac surgery, valve repair and replacement, and coronary artery bypass grafting.
Julie Thacker, MD: Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
Julie Thacker, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, has received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The Tow Award recognizes exemplars of humanism in the delivery of care to patients and their families. The award is presented to a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding compassion and sensitivity in the delivery of care; respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues; and demonstrated clinical excellence.
Dr. Thacker has served as interim Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery since 2025, when the division was created out of the Division of Surgical Oncology. She previously served as chief of the Section of Colorectal Surgery since 2021.
A skilled colorectal surgical oncologist, Dr. Thacker specializes in surgical management of benign and malignant diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Wilton Williams, PhD: Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize
Wilton Williams, PhD, Associate Professor in Surgery, has been named a recipient of the Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize. The Williams family established this prize to advance research opportunities for early-career faculty members and is awarded for research excellence at Duke. Dr. Williams was recognized for his outstanding contributions in clinical science research.
Dr. Williams joined the faculty of the Duke Division of Surgical Sciences in 2016. He holds joint appointments in the Departments of Medicine and Integrative Immunobiology, and is a member of both the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) and Duke Cancer Institute (DCI).
Dr. Williams’s research is focused on understanding host immunity, particularly B cell-derived antibody responses to HIV infection in humans, and simian HIV (SHIV) infections in non-human primates that serve as animal models for human HIV-1 infection. He has also been a pioneer in immune monitoring of human HIV-1 vaccine clinical trials.
To learn more about the SOM Faculty Awards and to view a full list of 2026 award recipients, visit the School of Medicine website.