Sesiunea sustinuta de Dan G. Duda va avea loc in data de 15 Decembrie, ora 12.00, in AMFITEATRUL “THOMAS STARZL” din cladirea B, parter, Institutul Clinic Fundeni.

Dan G. Duda, D.M.D., Ph.D., Director of Translational Research in GI Radiation OncologyInvestigator, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Boston, USA

Short Biography

Dr. Duda obtained his DMD from the University of Medicine Iasi, Romania, in 1993 and earned his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences (GI Surgery) from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan, in 2001. After graduation, he pursued postdoctoral research in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School in Boston (2001-2004). He was promoted to research Junior Faculty at Harvard (Instructor) in 2004 and then rose to Full Investigator at MGH Research Institute in 2016. He has been an Associate Professor of Tumor Biology (Radiation Oncology) at Harvard Medical School since 2012. In 2016, he was appointed Director of Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology at MGH. He has been active internationally and has served as the Secretary General of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists, and Oncologists (IASGO) since 2015. In 2021, he received an honorary degree—Doctor Honoris Causa—from his alma mater, the University of Medicine Iasi, Romania.

The research of Dr. Duda’s laboratory focuses on studies of tumor interaction with its microenvironment to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms of 1) local tumor progression (in liver cancers) and metastatic tumor progression (in other GI cancers) and 2) treatment resistance in advanced cancers. The goal is to identify and validate targets for combination therapy with radiotherapy and immunotherapy in preclinical studies and, in parallel, conduct studies of biomarkers of response in correlative clinical studies.

Dr. Duda has authored more than 250 publications (current Thomson h-index=74). He is among the top 2% of scientists worldwide based on a composite score [c-score] of citations, co-authorships, and collaborations. He has been invited to present his results at over 200 local, national, and international meetings, including Grand Rounds, Plenary Talks, and Keynote Lectures. Dr. Duda received several awards for his work, including from the American Association for Cancer Research, Cancer Research Institute, IASGO, MGH, and the Granara-Skerry Trust for Pancreatic Cancer Research. He has been an Honorary Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Romania since 2012. In 2020, Dr. Duda was inducted into The College of Fellows of the AIMBE, which is comprised of the top 2% of medical and biological engineers. In 2021, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers, and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines.

Dr. Duda is widely recognized as a GI cancer therapy research leader. He holds positions such as an associate member of the NCI Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment Network (PaCMEN) (2017-2022), Translational Co-Chair for an NRG consortium phase 3 trial (since 2018), External Advisory Committee Member for the MD Anderson Cancer Center Hepatocellular Carcinoma SPORE Program (2019-2024), member of the Global Outreach Subcommittee of the American Association of Studies of Liver Disease, Liver Fibrosis Special Interest Group (2019-2021), and member of the NCI Hepatobiliary Task Force for Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers (since 2020).

He has been chairing and serving as a member/adviser for multiple scientific expert/grant review panels worldwide since 2009, including as a permanent member of the US National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, US Department of Defense, Cancer Research UK, and Belgium FWO. As IASGO leader and passionate supporter of its mission to globalize the best medical practice and knowledge worldwide, he has been coordinating, teaching, and directing Postgraduate Courses and Symposia in 30 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America since 2013.

For more information, see: https://steelelabs.mgh.harvard.edu/dan_duda/pi_bio