Laura Alder, Medical Director of Small Cell Lung Cancer Center of Excellence at Duke Cancer Institute, shared on LinkedIn:
“I’m honored to serve as Medical Director of Duke Cancer Institute’s new Small Cell Lung Cancer Center of Excellence!
Small cell lung cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers we treat. Most patients are diagnosed with extensive-stage disease, and for decades our treatment options barely changed. That is no longer true. New treatments, including DLL3-targeted immunotherapies, are changing what we can offer, and patients need access to them at the speed this disease moves.
That need is especially urgent here. North Carolina sits in a region with some of the highest lung cancer rates in the country, and many of our patients live in rural communities far from academic centers and clinical trials.
Our Center is built around five commitments:
- Rapid access to novel therapies: bringing breakthrough treatments into routine care quickly, with the expertise to manage their unique side effects safely
- Clinical trials for every stage of disease: a growing portfolio so more patients can access tomorrow’s therapies today
- True multidisciplinary care: medical oncology, radiation oncology, thoracic surgery, palliative care, cell and gene therapy, and our brain and spine metastasis specialists, working as one team
- Expanding access: extending Center of Excellence care throughout the Duke Cancer Network so patients can get expert care closer to home
- Translational research: moving discoveries from the lab to the bedside and back.
None of this happens without a great team. I’m grateful to work alongside Dr. Kaitlin Bevers (Surgical Director), Dr. Trey Mullikin (Radiation Oncology Director), Dr. Joel Rivera Concepcion (Wake County Director), Dr. Wil Santivasi (Palliative Care), and Dr. Trudy Oliver (Translational Research Director), along with our partners in the Duke Thoracic Oncology program and the nurses, coordinators, and staff who make patient-centered care possible every day.
To referring colleagues across North Carolina and beyond: we’re here to partner with you.
To patients and families: you don’t have to face this diagnosis alone!”
You can also read:
Laura Alder: Thrilled to Receive the 2026 Career Development Award