Skip to main content

Mary Louise Affronti CV

Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing
School of Nursing
Box 3624 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
047 Baker House, Durham, NC 27710
CV

Overview


Dr. Mary Lou Affronti is a Professor who joined the Duke University School of Nursing faculty in February 2014. She earned both her DNP and her MSN at DUSON, and additionally earned a Master’s degree in Health Science in Clinical Research from the Duke University School of Medicine. She holds a Clinical Associate faculty appointment in the Duke University Medical Center Department of Surgery /Neurosurgery. She is also Primary Investigator and Adult Nurse Practitioner at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center in the Duke Cancer Institute.

Dr. Affronti has been a part of Duke’s oncology clinical and research community for almost three and a half decades, and has been associated with DUSON since 1989 in a variety of roles, including clinical associate, guest lecturer, preceptor, and clinical instructor. She was instrumental in developing the oncology curriculum for DUSON nurse practitioner students. In 2005, she was honored by the Friends of Nursing at Duke with the Evelyn Morgan Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing. Dr. Affronti’s DNP capstone on adherence to antiemetic guidelines in patients with malignant glioma, received the Outstanding Capstone Doctoral Project Award in 2013, was published in Supportive Care in Cancer and was cited in a 2016 New England Journal of Medicine Antiemetic Review Article. Dr. Affronti was the Recipient of the Southern Nursing Research Society Clinical Research Award in 2018.

Dr. Affronti has been developing and leading therapeutic and supportive care research while seeing patients as a nurse practitioner, and is continuing both her clinical and research activities at the Brain Tumor Center. She has a strong interest in the development and testing of therapies and supportive care for primary brain tumors as a currently a co-principal or principal investigator on many Phase II clinical trials at the Duke Brain Tumor Center.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing · 2020 - Present School of Nursing

Recent Publications


Low-Risk Febrile Neutropenia Management: An Audit of Practice in a UK Cancer Center.

Journal Article Seminars in oncology nursing · April 2025 BackgroundFebrile neutropenia (FN) is a known complication of chemotherapy. Guidelines from American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence support outpatient management for low-risk FN patients; however ... Full text Cite

Financial toxicity of oral chemotherapy in patients with primary brain tumors.

Journal Article Neurooncol Pract · February 2025 BACKGROUND: Cancer treatment costs continue to rise with the development of new agents. Financial toxicity is defined as the quantifiable costs associated with cancer and cancer treatment in addition to the patient's associated distress. This study's ratio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparing Knowledge and Perceptions of Palliative Care Among Neuro-Oncology Patients, Caregivers, and Providers to a Representative U.S. Sample.

Journal Article The American journal of hospice & palliative care · September 2024 BackgroundPrimary brain tumors (PBTs) pose a significant health challenge, affecting patients and their caregivers. While early integration of palliative care (PC) has shown benefits in advanced cancer, its integration for PBT patients, particular ... Full text Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Graduate Scholarship in Cancer Nursing Practice - Michl

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Cancer Society, Inc. · 2019 - 2021

Graduate Scholarship in Cancer Nursing Practice - Kafkas

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Cancer Society, Inc. · 2018 - 2020

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2013 D.N.P.
Duke University · 2009 M.H.S.
Duke University · 1986 M.S.N.
University of Delaware · 1983 B.S.