David M. Ashley, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, MBBS (Hons)
Neuro-oncologist, Pediatric Neuro-oncologist
My Locations
Part of the Duke Cancer Institute
About Me
I’ve worked for more than 30 years caring for pediatric and adult patients with brain tumors. During this time we’ve seen steady improvement in both the quality of outcomes and survival in our patients. However, we need to continue to make strides on their behalf. With this in mind, a large part of my career has been focused on research right from the lab and through into the clinic. I have focused on introducing new medications and approaches to improving brain tumor patient outcomes. I have always found it both humbling and gratifying to become an important part of families lives when they face the diagnosis of a brain tumor and need advice and advocacy. I thoroughly enjoy working with the team of dedicated and world-class staff at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.
- Rory David Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Neuro-Oncology, Neurosurgery 2019
- Director of The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Neurosurgery, Neuro-Oncology 2018
- Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery 2017
Call for an Appointment
Areas of Expertise
Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
In the News
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Clinical Focus and Research
Pediatric Oncology has been the focus of my efforts in translational research and leadership. My peer-reviewed publications include laboratory-based cancer research, clinical trials, public health and psycho-oncology research. My primary academic focus has been on neurologic tumors, tumor immunology, apoptosis, and the epigenetics of cancer. I have held different leadership roles, including director of two major cancer centers.
- McCain/Bayh Glioblastoma Consortium awarded by Department of Defense 2025 - 2029
- Thompson, Eric M., David M. Ashley, Katayoun Ayasoufi, Pamela Norberg, Gerald Archer, Evan D. Buckley, James E. Herndon, et al. “A peptide vaccine targeting the CMV antigen pp65 in children and young adults with recurrent high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma: a phase 1 trial.” Nat Cancer 6, no. 9 (September 2025): 1559–69. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-00998-z.
- Yu, Jianpeng, Chen Jin, Cheng Su, David Moon, Michael Sun, Hong Zhang, Xue Jiang, et al. “Resilience and vulnerabilities of tumor cells under purine shortage stress.” Clin Cancer Res, August 11, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-25-1667.
- Chowdhury, Tamrin, C Mircea S. Tesileanu, Emre Kocakavuk, Kevin C. Johnson, Jooho Lee, Zeynep Erson-Omay, Chaewon Heo, et al. “Tumor-initiating genetics and therapy drive divergent molecular evolution in IDH-mutant gliomas.” BioRxiv, July 15, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.11.664189.
- Ashley, D. M., and J. T. Low. “Glioma.” In Neuroscience for Neurosurgeons, 184–92, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917339.012.
- Ashley, D. M., and S. E. Evans. “Bacterial Pneumonia in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients.” In Applied Psychology Readings Selected Papers from the Singapore Conference on Applied Psychology 2022, 107–18, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28797-8_7.
- Bandopadhayay, P., P. A. Downie, and D. M. Ashley. “Cerebellar Astrocytoma: Oncological Care.” In Posterior Fossa Tumors in Children, 487–93, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11274-9_29.
- Kim, J. Y., J. C. Dalton, N. Cort, J. E. Herndon, M. L. Affronti, K. B. Peters, C. A. Jones, and M. O. Johnson. “Comparing Knowledge and Perceptions of Palliative Care Among Neuro-Oncology Patients, Caregivers, and Providers to a Representative U.S. Sample.” In American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 42:862–68, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091241280610.
- Spitzer, Avishay, Kevin C. Johnson, Masashi Nomura, Luciano Garofano, Djamel Nehar-Belaid, Noam Galili Darnell, Alissa C. Greenwald, et al. “Deciphering the longitudinal trajectories of glioblastoma ecosystems by integrative single-cell genomics.” In Nat Genet, 57:1168–78, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02168-4.
- Hotchkiss, Kelly, Pamela Norberg, Evan Buckley, Katayoun Ayasoufi, Stevie Threatt, Justin T. Low, Madison L. Shoaf, et al. “Abstract CT057: Evaluation of tumor associated P30-peptide antigen (ETAPA): Safety and immunogenicity in a phase 1b trial in glioblastoma.” In Cancer Research, 85:CT057–CT057. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2025-ct057.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- UHC Community Plan
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- Immunogenesis
- Kestral Inc
- MAIA Inc
- The Jackson Laboratory