Raimon Duran-Struuck, DVM, PhD, will serve as the next chair of the Department of Comparative Medicine at the UW School of Medicine starting Oct. 1, 2024. He succeeds Thea Brabb, DVM, PhD, who retired from serving as chair at the end of June 2024 and Brian Iritani, DVM, PhD, who has served as interim chair since July 2024.
Duran-Struuck is an internationally recognized and accomplished scientist, leader and scholar. He joins UW Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania where he was the director of regulatory affairs and co-director of the residency program for Laboratory Animal Medicine. He also served as an associate professor of pathobiology where he led the animal translational immunology laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Duran-Struuck is a boarded Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and co-led the establishment of a diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum for residents.
“Dr. Duran-Struuck brings to us his expertise in research, education and transplant immunology and his great interest in supporting the career development of students, residents, faculty and technicians,” says Tim Dellit, MD, CEO, UW Medicine, and the Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean of the UW School of Medicine. “I look forward to working with him and supporting his vision for the growth and success of the department.”
The Department of Comparative Medicine works to foster knowledge and improve the health and well-being of humans and animals by advancing research and training in comparative medicine and biology.
“I am very excited to join the UW School of Medicine community,” says Duran-Struuck. “My priorities are to deliver exceptional, compassionate animal care; collaborate with researchers to advance groundbreaking discoveries; and accelerate studies from bench to bedside, translating research breakthroughs into cures in the clinic. My approach to work is sin prisa pero sin pausa; without a rush and without a pause.”
Prior to his leadership roles at the University of Pennsylvania, Duran-Struuck held numerous positions in transplantation, immunology and laboratory animal medicine at Columbia’s Center for Translational Immunology, Harvard University’s Department of Surgery and Massachusetts General Hospital Transplantation Biology Research Center.
