In 2009, more than 250 Duke physicians were named by their colleagues around the state as among North Carolina 's very best -- the doctors whom they would select for their own medical care or that of their families.

The names of these highly respected Duke physicians appear on this year's annual list of North Carolina's Best Doctors, published in the November 2009 edition of Business North Carolina magazine. Fewer than 5 percent of all North Carolina physicians made the final list.

The Duke physicians who received this recognition practice within a broad variety of specialties -- from cancer care to cardiology, OB/GYN to ophthalmology. They work closely with their fellow Duke doctors within dedicated multidisciplinary teams to provide sophisticated, compassionate, patient-centered care. In fact, the Duke physicians honored in Business North Carolina represent the extraordinary training, expertise, and dedication of all of our physicians. And of that, we're very proud indeed.

Below are Duke physicians recognized on the list.

Anesthesiology

• Solomon Aronson, MD
• Cecil O. Borel, MD
• Catherine M. Kuhn, MD
• Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc
• Holly A. Muir, MD
• Mark F. Newman, MD
• Winston C.V. Parris, MD
• Scott R. Schulman, MD
• Mark Stafford-Smith, MD
• Jeffrey M. Taekman, MD
• David S. Warner, MD
• B. Craig Weldon, MD

Community and Family Medicine / Community Health

• Kimberly S. Yarnall, MD

Community and Family Medicine / Duke Diet & Fitness Center

• Kathryn M. Andolsek, MD, MPH

Community and Family Medicine / Family Medicine

• Jeffrey R. Bytomski, DO
• Joyce A. Copeland, MD
• Margaret Gradison, MD, MHS-CL
• Victoria S. Kaprielian, MD
• Barbara L. Sheline, MD, MPH
• Gloria M. Trujillo, MD
• Samuel W. Warburton, MD

Community and Family Medicine / Occupational and Environmental Medicine

• George W. Jackson, MD
• Woodhall Stopford, MD, MSPH

Dermatology

• Claude S. Burton III, MD
• Jonathan L. Cook, MD
• Russell P. Hall, MD
• John C. Murray, MD
• Elise A. Olsen, MD
• Neil S. Prose, MD

Duke Primary Care / Duke Primary Care Pickett Road

• Bruce T. Peyser, MD
• Anne F. Phelps, MD

Duke Primary Care / Durham Pediatrics

• Douglas W. Clark, MD
• Lisa Ferrari, MD
• Martha E. Gagliano, MD

Duke Primary Care / Sutton Station Internal Medicine

• Michael Meredith, MD
• Robert W. Paterson, MD

Duke Primary Care / Triangle Family Practice

• Lisa B. Nadler, MD

Medicine / Cardiology

• Thomas M. Bashore, MD
• Richard C. Becker, MD
• Michael A. Blazing, MD
• Robert M. Califf, MD
• James P. Daubert, MD
• Pamela S. Douglas, MD
• Victor J. Dzau, MD
• Neil J. Freedman, MD
• Thomas Gehrig, MD
• Ruth A. Greenfield, MD
• J. Kevin Harrison, MD
• Joseph A. Kisslo, MD
• Daniel B. Mark, MD
• Christopher O'Connor, MD
• E. Magnus Ohman, MD
• Harry R. Phillips III, MD
• Joseph G. Rogers, MD
• Michael H. Sketch Jr., MD
• Andrew Wang, MD
• Mark A. Winchester, MD
• James P. Zidar, MD

Medicine / Cellular Therapy

• Nelson J. Chao, MD
• Keith M. Sullivan, MD

Medicine / Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition

• Ann J. Brown, MD, MHS
• Warner M. Burch, MD
• Diana B. McNeill, MD

Medicine / Gastroenterology

• M. Stanley Branch, MD
• Anna Mae E. Diehl, MD
• John G. McHutchison, MD

Medicine / General Internal Medicine

• Martha B. Adams, MD
• Lawrence H. Greenblatt, MD
• James A. Tulsky, MD
• Kevin B. Waters, MD

Medicine / Geriatrics

• Harvey Jay Cohen, MD
• Kenneth W. Lyles, MD
• Kenneth E. Schmader, MD

Medicine / Hematology

• Thomas L. Ortel, MD, PhD

Medicine / Infectious Diseases

• G. Ralph Corey, MD
• Charles B. Hicks, MD
• Daniel J. Sexton, MD
• Nathan M. Thielman, MD, MPH

Medicine / Medical Oncology

• Kimberly L. Blackwell, MD
• Jeffrey Crawford, MD
• Carlos M. De Castro III, MD
• Louis F. Diehl, MD
• Jon P. Gockerman, MD
• Gretchen G. Kimmick, MD, MS
• Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH
• Paul Kelly Marcom, MD
• Joseph O. Moore, MD
• Michael A. Morse, MD, MHS
• Victoria L. Seewaldt, MD

Medicine / Nephrology

• David W. Butterly, MD
• John P. Middleton, MD
• Stephen R. Smith, MD, MHS
• Laura P. Svetkey, MD, MHS

Medicine / Neurology

• Richard S. Bedlack, MD, PhD, MS
• James R. Burke, MD, PhD
• Larry B. Goldstein, MD
• Lisa D. Hobson-Webb, MD
• Aatif M. Husain, MD
• Vern C. Juel, MD
• Daniel T. Laskowitz, MD
• E. Wayne Massey, MD
• Janice M. Massey, MD
• Joel C. Morgenlander, MD
• Rodney A. Radtke, MD
• Burton L. Scott, MD, PhD
• Mark A. Stacy, MD
• Warren J. Strittmatter, MD

Medicine / Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine

• William J. Fulkerson, MD
• Joseph A. Govert, MD
• D. Allen Hayes, MD
• Monica Kraft, MD
• Peter S. Kussin, MD
• Neil R. MacIntyre, MD
• Paul W. Noble, MD
• Scott M. Palmer, MD, MHS
• Claude A. Piantadosi, MD
• John S. Sundy, MD, PhD
• Victor F. Tapson, MD

Medicine / Rheumatology and Immunology

• Nancy B. Allen, MD
• David S. Caldwell, MD
• Lisa G. Criscione-Schreiber, MD
• Rex M. McCallum, MD
• John R. Rice, MD
• E. William St. Clair, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology / General Obstetrics and Gynecology

• Charles O. Harris, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology / Gynecologic Oncology

• Andrew Berchuck, MD
• Laura J. Havrilesky, MD, MHSc
• Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD
• Fidel A. Valea, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology / Gynecologic Specialties

• Tracy W. Gaudet, MD
• Charles H. Livengood, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology / Maternal-Fetal Medicine

• Haywood L. Brown, MD
• R. Phillips Heine, MD
• Jeffrey A. Kuller, MD
• Elizabeth G. Livingston, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology / Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility

• Thomas M. Price, MD
• David K. Walmer, MD, PhD

Ophthalmology / Comprehensive Ophthalmology Service

• Robin R. Vann, MD

Ophthalmology / Cornea and External Disease

• Natalie Afshari, MD
• Alan N. Carlson, MD
• Terry Kim, MD

Ophthalmology / Glaucoma Service

• R. Rand Allingham, MD
• Sanjay G. Asrani, MD
• Pratap Challa, MD
• Leon W. Herndon, MD
• Paul P. Lee, MD, JD

Ophthalmology / Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Service

• Edward G. Buckley, MD
• Laura B. Enyedi, MD
• Sharon F. Freedman, MD
• David K. Wallace, MD, MPH
• Terri L. Young, MD

Ophthalmology / Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery Service

• Sharon Fekrat, MD
• Glenn J. Jaffe, MD
• Brooks W. McCuen II, MD
• Prithvi Mruthyunjaya, MD
• Eric A. Postel, MD
• Cynthia A. Toth, MD

Pediatrics / Allergy and Immunology

• Rebecca H. Buckley, MD
• Wesley Burks, MD
• M. Louise Markert, MD, PhD
• Joseph L. Roberts, MD, PhD

Pediatrics / Blood and Marrow Transplantation

• Joanne Kurtzberg, MD
• Paul L. Martin, MD, PhD

Pediatrics / Cardiology

• Ronald J. Kanter, MD

Pediatrics / Critical Care Medicine

• Ira Cheifetz, MD
• Jon N. Meliones, MD, MS

Pediatrics / Endocrinology

• Michael S. Freemark, MD
• Nancy Friedman, MD

Pediatrics / Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

• Martin H. Ulshen, MD

Pediatrics / Hematology-Oncology

• Susan G. Kreissman, MD

Pediatrics / Hospital and Emergency Medicine

• Karen S. Frush, MD

Pediatrics / Infectious Diseases

• Kathleen A. McGann, MD
• Ross E. McKinney Jr., MD
• Joseph W. St. Geme III, MD

Pediatrics / Medical Genetics

• Priya Kishnani, MB BS
• Dwight D. Koeberl, MD, PhD
• Vandana Shashi, MD, MB BS

Pediatrics / Neonatology

• C. Michael Cotten, MD, MHS
• Ronald N. Goldberg, MD
• Ricki F. Goldstein, MD
• David T. Tanaka, MD

Pediatrics / Nephrology

• John W. Foreman, MD
• Shashi K. Nagaraj, MD, MBBS
• Delbert R. Wigfall, MD

Pediatrics / Primary Care Pediatrics

• Michelle L. Bailey, MD
• Jeffrey P. Baker, MD, PhD
• Dennis A. Clements, MD, PhD, MPH
• Dean S. Miner, MD
• Deborah L. Squire, MD
• Emmanuel B. Walter, MD, MPH

Pediatrics / Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine

• Katharine A. Kevill, MD
• Richard M. Kravitz, MD
• J. Marc Majure, MD
• Peter H. Michelson, MD, MS
• Thomas M. Murphy, MD
• Judith A. Voynow, MD

Pediatrics / Rheumatology

• Egla C. Rabinovich, MD, MPH
• Laura E. Schanberg, MD

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences / Biological Psychiatry

• K. Ranga Krishnan, MBBS
• Ashwin A. Patkar, MD
• Richard D. Weiner, MD, PhD

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences / Geriatric Psychiatry

• Dan G. Blazer, MD, PhD
• Harold G. Koenig, MD, MHSc

Radiation Oncology

• David M. Brizel, MD
• Brian G. Czito, MD
• W. Robert Lee, MD, MEd, MS
• James R. Oleson, MD, PhD
• Leonard R. Prosnitz, MD
• Christopher G. Willett, MD

Radiology / Abdominal Imaging

• Barbara S. Hertzberg, MD
• Elmar M. Merkle, MD
• Rendon Nelson, MD
• Erik K. Paulson, MD
• William M. Thompson, MD

Radiology / Cardiac and Thoracic Imaging

• Philip C. Goodman, MD
• H. Page McAdams, MD
• Lacey Washington, MD

Radiology / Neuroradiology

• James M. Provenzale, MD

Radiology / Nuclear Medicine

• Salvador Borges-Neto, MD
• R. Edward Coleman, MD

Radiology / Pediatric Radiology

• Donald P. Frush, MD

Surgery / Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery

• Thomas A. D'Amico, MD
• R. Duane Davis, MD
• Donald D. Glower, MD
• James Jaggers, MD
• Carmelo A. Milano, MD
• Peter K. Smith, MD

Surgery / Emergency Medicine

• Victoria L. Thornton, MD, MBA

Surgery / General Surgery

• Bryan M. Clary, MD
• Eric J. DeMaria, MD
• Paul C. Kuo, MD, MBA
• H. Kim Lyerly, MD
• Richard L. McCann, MD
• Leila Mureebe, MD
• John A. Olson Jr., MD, PhD
• Theodore N. Pappas, MD
• Debra L. Sudan, MD
• Douglas S. Tyler, MD
• James S. Wilson Jr., MD

Surgery / Neurosurgery

• Gavin W. Britz, MB BCh, MPH
• Allan H. Friedman, MD
• Henry S. Friedman, MD
• Herbert E. Fuchs, MD, PhD
• Robert E. Isaacs, MD

Surgery / Orthopaedic Surgery

• Louis C. Almekinders, MD
• David E. Attarian, MD
• Blake R. Boggess, DO
• Brian E. Brigman, MD, PhD
• Mark E. Easley, MD
• Robert D. Fitch, MD
• William E. Garrett Jr., MD, PhD
• Richard D. Goldner, MD
• Scott S. Kelley, MD
• Joe T. Minchew, MD
• Claude T. Moorman III, MD
• James A. Nunley II, MD
• Steven A. Olson, MD
• Selene G. Parekh, MD, MBA
• William J. Richardson, MD
• David S. Ruch, MD
• Dean C. Taylor, MD
• Alison P. Toth, MD

Surgery / Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

• Ramon M. Esclamado, MD, MS
• Eileen M. Raynor, MD
• Richard L. Scher, MD
• Debara L. Tucci, MD, MS
• David L. Witsell, MD, MHS

Surgery / Pediatric General Surgery

• Henry E. Rice, MD

Surgery / Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

• Jeffrey R. Marcus, MD
• Michael R. Zenn, MD

Surgery / Urology

• David M. Albala, MD
• Craig F. Donatucci, MD
• Judd W. Moul, MD
• Glenn M. Preminger, MD
• George D. Webster, MD
• John S. Wiener, MD

How Was the List of North Carolina's Best Doctors Compiled?

To compile the listings, Business North Carolina contracted with Best Doctors Inc., a private company based in Boston. The firm conducts physician research throughout the United States and several other countries.

Best Doctors asked 40,000 doctors nationwide to submit their evaluations of practitioners in various medical specialties. The doctors were also asked whom they themselves would go to for medical care, or to whom they would refer a member of their families if they needed treatment. Best Doctors compiled the results, verified licenses and board certifications, and checked medical boards for disciplinary actions.