Brian G.M. Durie, M.D. (I, ‘70, HEM, ‘72) Receives 2014 Mayo Distinguished Alumni Award
Professor of Hematology/Oncology
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles
Cedars-Sinai Outpatient Cancer Center at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute
Chairman of the Board and International Myeloma Working Group, International Myeloma Foundation
Director of Hematologic Research and Myeloma Programs, Aptium Oncology, Inc.
and AMyC Myeloma Consortium
Leader in the treatment of multiple myeloma and worldwide dissemination of knowledge to practice
Joined University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1972 as instructor, Section of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine; assistant professor of medicine (1973); associate professor of medicine (1976); professor of medicine/hematology/oncology, director of Clinical Hematology and Myeloma Program (1981); director, Clinical Hematology, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona.
Professor of clinical and laboratory medicine/hematology, director of Myeloma Program, Department of Hematology, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, University of London, England (1989).
Professor of hematology/oncology, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (1992).
Dr. Durie has had an almost 40-year career in fostering and transforming the results of clinical studies into clinical practice that has profoundly affected the lives of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma. After completing a residency and fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Durie joined the faculty of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and began a lifelong interest in the biology, pathogenesis and therapy of multiple myeloma. Early in his career, he described the first staging system for multiple myeloma, a system that carries his name (Durie-Salmon). He was instrumental in contributions to developing the International Staging System, the current successor to staging of multiple myeloma.
Dr. Durie has been a major contributor to new therapeutics for the care of patients with myeloma, advancements in imaging techniques, and the impact of bisphosphonate therapy and complication rates in multiple myeloma.
He has fostered global collaborations with multiple investigators around the world and has cultivated a revolution in the treatment of myeloma and dissemination of knowledge to practice. He has helped to standardize aspects of the diagnosis, prognosis and management of myeloma through published reports and guidelines. His studies have led to prolonged survival and improved outcomes for countless patients worldwide.
Dr. Durie has a career-long relationship with the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), a highly regarded patient advocacy group. As chairman, he has developed support groups that are present in every large city in the United States and have begun in other countries around the world. The IMF is a leader in research consisting of multiple senior and junior research grants.
Dr. Durie also organized the International Myeloma Working Group, a society of more than 150 myeloma experts that establishes guidelines for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and fosters collaborative clinical research to assure widespread access to clinical advances. These guidelines are the most important in the myeloma field worldwide and are essential to clinicians in their everyday practice.