Retirements (FY25)
David Brizel, MD, will retire from Duke Radiation Oncology, effective June 30. Dr. Brizel graduated from Northwestern University and completed his MD at Northwestern University Medical School (1983) before completing residency at Harvard Medical School (1987). After a stint as a clinical fellow in radiation therapy at Harvard, he joined Duke University School of Medicine as an assistant professor of radiation oncology (then under the Department of Radiology) in 1987. In 2011, he was named the Leonard Prosnitz Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology; he has also served as a professor in Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences since 2011 and is a member of the Duke Cancer Institute.
Since joining Duke, Dr. Brizel has made transformative contributions to the field of head and neck cancer, including pioneering one of the first randomized trials to demonstrate the superiority of chemoradiotherapy over radiotherapy alone – now a standard of care worldwide. His work in radioprotection; mitigating treatment toxicity; the study of in situ tumor physiology and biology; and functional metabolic imaging have all driven innovations in both clinical protocols and translational research. He was named a Fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in 2011.
Joan Cahill, BNS, RN, OCN, CCRP, Assistant Research Practice Manager for Duke Radiation Oncology, retired December 31, 2024. Joan has 45 years of nursing experience and has worked in various nursing and leadership roles all over the world, including in Ireland, Iraq, Sudan and Malawi. She joined Duke in 1995 – working specifically for the Department of Radiation Oncology from 2012-2019 and since 2021 – and has been invaluable to our nursing research and clinical trials programs. In 2021, she won the Duke Friends of Nursing Program's Nurse Research Mentor Award, recognizing her exceptional mentorship, collaboration and caring.
Oana Craciunescu, PhD, retired April 28, 2024. Dr. Craciunescu began her journey at Duke 31 years ago as a graduate student, earning her PhD in mechanical engineering and materials science. She spent the next five years conducting research in hyperthermia while also completing her residency in therapeutic medical physics in our department. In 2003, she joined Duke as a faculty member.
Throughout her career, Dr. Craciunescu made significant contributions in research and grant awards. She also held clinical leadership roles, including in the brachytherapy team, the sarcoma planning team and the gynecological malignancies planning team. Additionally, she led the commissioning of large field dosimetry techniques (TBI and TSI) at Duke. Dr. Craciunescu also served as the physics leader for a national multi-institutional trial (the SCOT trial), which established the role of TBI in transplant regimens for scleroderma patients. She was deeply involved in developing future medical physicists, serving for 10 years as a co-chair of the admissions committee and as an instructor and RT track director in the Duke Medical Physics Graduate Program. She advised 20 MS thesis students and served on over 40 MS and PhD thesis committees, chairing two of the latter.
Jun Duan, PhD, retired March 31, 2024. Dr. Duan served as the Wake County medical physics director for nine years before recently stepping down and assuming a faculty physicist role to transition into retirement. He has held many physicist and leadership roles in his 30 years of contributions to medical physics programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Duke Radiation Oncology.
"He has always had a strong desire and passion to advance the field and increase the quality of care and safety for all of our patients," said Joshua Siglin, MD, medical director for Duke Wake County Radiation Oncology. "In his time at Duke, he has been integral in the expansion of the Wake County physics operations to meet the ever-growing need to meet patient demands."
Ernest "Chip" Helms, MD, retired January 1, 2025. Dr. Helms graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine and went on to complete residency at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he stayed on as a radiation oncologist for over two decades. He joined Duke in 2016 and has practiced at the Scotland Cancer Treatment Center in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
W. Robert Lee, MD, MS, MEd, will retire from Duke Radiation Oncology, effective June 30. Dr. Lee graduated from The College of William & Mary and went on to complete his MD at the University of Virginia (1989); residency at the University of Florida (1993); his MS in epidemiology at Wake Forest University (2000); and his MEd at Penn State University (2006). He joined Duke University School of Medicine in 2006 as a professor of radiation oncology and has served on our GU service since that time, as well as at the Durham VA Medical Center and as associate professor of urology and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute.
A national and international leader in prostate cancer, Dr. Lee’s clinical focus and research have shaped contemporary standards of care. He was named a Fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in 2014. His scholarly contributions, including over 450 academic articles, reflect his commitment to advancing the field. In addition to his clinical and academic accomplishments, Dr. Lee has been a transformative educator and mentor. He led radiation oncology residency programs at both Wake Forest University and Duke, and played a vital role in graduate medical education policy as Chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee.
Amy Power, RN, BSN, OCN, retired December 31, 2024, after 22 years as a dedicated oncology nurse. "Amy exemplifies all that is good in nursing," said Nurse Manager of Operations Kim DeBaun, RN, BSN, CNML. "She is compassionate, caring and devoted to her patients, their loved ones and her team in all that she does. She goes above and beyond to ensure that all patients receive the care they deserve. We have been so privileged to have her as a part of our Duke family."
After nearly five decades of dedicated service, Donna Wimberley will retire from Duke Radiation Oncology on June 30. Donna began her career at Duke in 1978 as a senior clerk typist and quickly became an integral part of the department’s growth and success, serving in roles including medical secretary, staff assistant, administrative assistant and, since 2006, her current role of senior administrative assistant. Over the years, she has supported multiple department chairs, coordinated the residency training program, supervised administrative staff and managed complex scheduling and credentialing across numerous clinics and affiliates. Her leadership and tireless commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on the department and she will be sorely missed. Her retirement marks the end of an era, and we celebrate this well-earned new chapter in her life.
"Donna began her career at Duke in 1978, fresh out of high school, in the position of senior clerk typist," said emeritus professor and chair Leonard Prosnitz, MD. "I arrived to head the department in February 1983. Within a few years’ time Donna's skills became evident, and she became my administrative assistant and essentially functioned in that role for my successor chairs until the present – 47 years in one department. A word about those skills: Donna is hard working (rarely missed time off from work), efficient, an astute judge of people as well as an excellent personnel manager and the fastest typist I have ever encountered. These characteristics and her lengthy time in the department, enabled her to know most of the players in administration throughout the medical center, facilitating departmental relationships. Another endearing quality – she is an enthusiastic Duke basketball fan. She will be greatly missed, but we wish her all the best in her retirement."
Arriving Hires (FY25)
Jennifer Brooks, PA-C, joined Duke Radiation Oncology in February 2025. She will be the APP for the head and neck team and has over 10 years of ENT experience.
Rainor Connor, MS, joined the radiation physics team as a medical physicist at our Wake County operations in October 2024. Rainor received his bachelor's degree in physics and microelectronics from Salisbury University and worked as a lighting systems design engineer with Cree before completing his master's degree in medical physics at East Carolina University. Following his graduate studies, he completed his medical physics residency training at East Carolina University and then joined ECU Health as a clinical medical physicist.
Thomas Cullom, MS, joined the radiation physics team as a staff medical physicist at our Wake County operations in January 2025. Thomas received his master's degree in medical physics from Duke in 2020. Following his graduate studies, he completed his medical physics residency training in Duke Radiation Oncology in 2022 and joined Forrest General Cancer Center as a staff physicist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Paul Koffer, MD, will join our GU team at the Duke Cancer Center clinic in July 2025. Dr. Koffer received his MD from the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, and completed residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA, graduating in 2018. He is currently an assistant professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Divya Natesan, MD, joined our Wake County team as an assistant professor in January 2025. Dr. Natesan received her BS in biology, cultural anthropology and chemistry from Duke University and her MD from the Duke University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency, graduating in 2022. Previously, she was assistant professor of radiation oncology at UNC REX Cancer Center.
Jared Robbins, MD, joined Duke on November 4, 2024. His clinical focus will be at Duke University Hospital (DUH), where he will care for patients with head and neck and skin malignancies. Dr. Robbins will join us from the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Banner Health with over a decade of experience.
Cameron Swanick, MD, will join our breast team at the Duke Cancer Center clinic in July 2025. Dr. Swanick received her MD from the Duke University School of Medicine and completed residency at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, graduating in 2017. She is currently at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute, where she serves as the disease site leader for breast radiation oncology and the Radiation Oncology Research Director.
Stacy Wentworth, MD, joined our Wake County team as a clinical associate on October 1, 2024. Previously, she was a clinical assistant professor of radiation oncology and the medical director of cancer survivorship at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has two decades of experience leading patient centered care teams in diverse settings, and her research has been featured at national conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Wentworth received her BS in biology from Wake Forest University and her MD from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency.
Esther Yu, MD, will join Duke Radiation Oncology in July 2025. Dr. Yu received her BS in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her MD from the Emory University School of Medicine. She completed residency at Tufts Medical Center in 2017; since then, she has served as adjunct faculty at Tufts and as an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Yu will see head and neck patients at the Duke Cancer Center.