The Duke University School of Medicine has appointed Dr. Harvey Cohen as interim chair of the Department of Medicine, officials announced Thursday.
The position became vacant last week when Dr. Pascal Goldschmidt, current chair of the Department of Medicine, announced that he has accepted the role of senior vice president of medical affairs and dean of the University of Miami's Leonard Miller School of Medicine.
Cohen's selection was jointly announced by Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of Duke University Health System, and Dr. Sandy Williams, dean of the School of Medicine.
Dzau and Williams said the department has plans to search for a new chair. Discussions to outline the selection process will begin immediately.
"We are very fortunate to have in Dr. Cohen a highly respected leader," Dzau said in a statement. "Harvey is a gifted teacher who is revered by students, residents and faculty across the medical school."
Cohen has spent several years at Duke. He has served as vice chair of the Department of Medicine for faculty development and affairs for the past three years.
Cohen is also chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and serves as director of Duke's Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.
The School of Medicine's geriatric medicine program was ranked 4th nationally in U.S. News and World Report's 2005 rankings of top medical schools.
Cohen, who spent his residency at Duke, is an expert in hematology and oncology for the elderly.
In the 1970s, Cohen helped the division of geriatric medicine expand and worked to establish a fellowship program in the department.
From 1999 to 2003, Cohen served as chair of the National Institute of Aging's Board of Scientific Counselors. He is currently president of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology and has published more than 250 articles and book chapters.
Cohen also has ties outside of Duke University Hospital.
He directs the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham.
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