Comparing Survival After Resection, Ablation, and Radiation in Small Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

T. Clark Howell, MD, MSHS, CTHC, is a Duke general surgery resident interested in the math and science of improving healthcare systems and designing systems which form the character of clinicians. He is currently a post-doctoral research fellow within the LTA researching data science applications within healthcare operations and a clinical ethics fellow researching the character formation of surgeons in The Project on the Good Surgeon. He attended Duke Divinity School earning a Certificate in Theology and Healthcare.

College/University: Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

Medical School: Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

Clinical research in gastrointestinal malignancies, lymphomas and breast malignancies.

Minimally invasive treatments of liver, kidney, and other solid tumors including microwave ablation, cryoablation, embolization, and radioembolization, treatment of benign tumors such as osteoid osteoma and desmoid tumors with cryoablation, endovascular strategies for treatment of complex central venous occlusions, salvage therapy for failing hemodialysis access,  complex enteral feeding access.

I am a Surgical Oncologist with clinical and research training in pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancy.  In 2018, I joined Duke University as the Chief of Surgical Oncology, and the Chief of Surgery in the Duke Cancer Institute.  Previously, I led the clinical and research efforts regarding pancreatic neoplasia within the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and served as the Associate Director for Clinical Programs within the David Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research. I also held the Murray F. Brennan endowed Chair in Surgery. 

Over the previous ten years, I have been interested in the progression of pancreatic precursor lesions called intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN).  These cystic precursor lesions of the pancreas present an opportunity for to both study cancer progression, and potentially prevent the development of this lethal malignancy.  My research has focused on biomarker development to identify high-risk IPMN as well as studies evaluating the cause of this disease process.  I have successfully completed phase II and phase III clinical trials in patients with pancreatic cancer and IPMN, and am currently the PI of a first-in-human multi-center randomized chemoprevention trial for pancreatic cancer that is targeting patients with high-risk IPMN.

My laboratory includes both pre and postdoctoral trainees, and they play a critical role in the development of our pancreatic cancer prevention program.