John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, the Robert H. and Gloria Wilkins Professor and chair of the Duke Department of Neurosurgery, has assumed the role of president of the Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC). The PDC is the physician practice of Duke Health, with 1,850 physicians and additional provider members practicing in Duke University hospitals and more than 140 primary and specialty clinics across North Carolina.
The PDC Board of Managers selected Sampson to serve as interim PDC president in 2018, and he has served in this capacity since then, while also serving as chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. He is stepping down from his position as chair of the department to become president of the PDC in a full-time capacity. He will, however, maintain his research lab and clinical practice.
Sampson was the inaugural chair of the Duke University Department of Neurosurgery. He has served in that role since 2015, when the department was elevated from a division to department status.
Since 2015, the faculty, staff, and leadership of Duke Neurosurgery have worked together to make great strides, including:
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Increased access for patients
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Remarkable improvements in survival rates, now ranking in the top 5 among neurosurgery centers in the country
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A 23-point jump in the US News & World Report rankings
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Growth in clinical volume at all locations
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The recruitment of many talented and dedicated faculty and staff
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A total of $11.5 million raised in the past year through philanthropy -- a fourfold increase over the first year as a department
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A doubling of research funding, with 13 investigators receiving over $13 million in 2019
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Improvement in the residency program’s overall evaluation and reputation, now scoring well above the national average in resident satisfaction
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Development of a robust communications program
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A focus on culture and wellness, with measurable results
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Development of the first-ever Division of Global Neurosurgery, which is now self-sustainable; a NeuroInnovations program that now spans the university; the first joint Spine Division; and the Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis, which is now the fastest-growing clinical program at Duke.
Duke University School of Medicine Dean Mary E. Klotman, MD, has announced that Allan Friedman, MD, has agreed to serve as interim chair of the Department of Neurosurgery. Friedman is the Guy L. Odom Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery. He served as chief of the Division of Neurosurgery for 18 years, stepping down in 2014. He has played a key role in establishing Duke as one of the premier neurosurgery services in the United States.