Gainesville-based University of Florida selected Duane Mitchell, MD, PhD, as the next director of the UF Health Cancer Institute, effective Sept. 21.
Dr. Mitchell is the Phyllis Kottler Friedman Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and co-director of the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy. He also serves as director of the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute and associate director for translation and innovation at the Cancer Institute, according to a Sept. 2 news release.
Dr. Mitchell joined UF from Durham, N.C.-based Duke University in 2013 and has helped develop its brain tumor immunotherapy program. His research focuses on immunotherapies for malignant brain tumors, including glioblastoma, and has advanced cancer vaccines and other therapies into human clinical trials.
Dr. Mitchell has received continuous National Institutes of Health funding for cancer research since 2009 and has secured more than $80 million in research support as a principal investigator. He is an inventor on more than 25 patents for cancer therapeutics.
He succeeds Thomas George, MD, who has served as interim director since November 2025.
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