Christopher Willett, MD, has been named the Mark W. Dewhirst Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology, effective July 1, 2022.
Dr. Willett is chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. An expert in gastrointestinal cancers, he has advanced the field through compassionate patient care and pioneering research, as well the education and training of generations of radiation oncologists. Under his leadership, the Department has grown and thrived across all missions, and has been recognized as a globally preeminent academic leader.
He is a graduate of Tufts University (BS, 1977) and Tufts University School of Medicine (MD, 1981). At the beginning of his career, during a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Willett wrote a series of seminal articles on radiation therapy for colon cancer. He continued to significantly impact the academic field, including authoring more than 400 scientific papers and reviews. He has also been involved in developing clinical protocols for both gastrointestinal cancer and intraoperative radiation therapy – two areas in which he is recognized as an international expert.
In addition to his research and patient care, Dr. Willett has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to teaching, training and mentoring the next generation of radiation oncologists. In 2002, he received the Teacher of the Year Award from the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO). In 2005, he received the Radiation Oncology Teaching Award at Duke. He has served as a mentor and reference for many trainees and has had a lasting impact on the field.
Dr. Willett is active in multiple professional societies, including the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the world’s largest radiation oncology society. In 2016, he received ASTRO’s Gold Medal Award, the highest honor; in 2011, he was named a Fellow of ASTRO, a designation given to individuals who have made significant contributions to radiation oncology through research, education, patient care and/or service to the field.
About Mark W. Dewhirst, DVM, PhD
Mark W. Dewhirst, DVM, PhD, is the Emeritus Gustavo S. Montana Professor of Radiation Oncology, the former associate dean for faculty mentoring and the vice director for basic science in the Duke Cancer Institute.
Dr. Dewhirst has research interests in tumor hypoxia, angiogenesis, hyperthermia and drug transport and had NIH funding to study these subjects for more than 30 years. He has over 600 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and reviews. His works have been cited more than 43,000 times in the literature; he has an H-index of 103. He has given named lectures at the University of Western Ontario, Thomas Jefferson University, Stanford University, the Norwegian Radium Hospital in Oslo, The University of Pennsylvania and the New Zealand Cancer Society. He received the Alumni of the Year Award from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He also received the Failla Medal from the Radiation Research Society in 2008; the Eugene Robinson award for excellence hyperthermia research in 1992; the Pyrexar award from the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology in 2009; and the Gold Medal Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology in 2012.
He has also received numerous awards for his skills in mentoring, including the Translational Mentor of the Year from Duke School of Medicine in 2010. He directly mentored over 70 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, residents, Duke medical students and faculty over his career. From 2011-2018 he was the vice dean for faculty mentoring, where he ran grant writing and faculty mentor training programs. He successfully organized grant writing programs that doubled the NIH average for six years straight. He is a senior editor of Cancer Research and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Hyperthermia.
He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1971 with a degree in chemistry and Colorado State University in 1975 and 1979 with DVM and PhD degrees, respectively. He retired in 2019, but is still active academically. He has been happily married to Nancy Dewhirst for over 33 years. They enjoy traveling, theater and sports together.
About Duke Distinguished Professorships
Duke Distinguished Professorships recognize exceptional achievement and extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health. Recipients of Distinguished Professorships are recommended by the School of Medicine’s Distinguished Professor Committee; recommendations then must be approved by the Dean and the Provost.