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Allan Douglas Kirk

David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery
Surgery, Abdominal Transplant Surgery

Overview


I am a surgeon with interest in immune management of transplant recipients. I am particularly interested in therapies that influence T cell costimulation pathways and adjuvant therapies that facilitate costimulation blockade to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs without undue suppression of protective immunity. I am also interested in understanding how injury, such as that occurring during trauma or in elective surgery, influences immune responses and subsequent healing following injury.

Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations


David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery · 2015 - Present Surgery, Abdominal Transplant Surgery, Surgery
Professor of Surgery · 2014 - Present Surgery, Abdominal Transplant Surgery, Surgery
Professor in Pediatrics · 2014 - Present Pediatrics, Clinical Science Departments
Professor in Integrative Immunobiology · 2014 - Present Integrative Immunobiology, Basic Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2015 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

Recent News Items


Published December 15, 2023
What Matters Most to Surgeons-in-Training
Published September 1, 2023
Antibody May Help Prevent Organ Rejection After Transplants
Published May 20, 2020
What Causes a Person's Immune System to Weaken?

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Recent Scholarly Works


Self-Reported Flourishing Among U.S. Surgeons: A National Physician Survey.

Journal article J Am Coll Surg · June 4, 2026 BACKGROUND: While surgeon burnout is extensively documented, the medical community has limited corresponding data regarding what it might mean to thrive in the profession as captured by robust measures of "flourishing." STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a cross-s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surgical Case Sequencing and Patient Flow: A Simulation Study With Downstream Resources.

Journal article J Surg Res · May 2026 INTRODUCTION: Surgical sequencing impacts patient flow and hospital operations. Discrete event simulation has been used to study these effects, specifically examining heuristics such as shortest cases first (SCF) and longest cases first (LCF). We propose a ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


VEL-101 in kidney transplant (RENGEVITY-201) - Pro00119645

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Veloxis Pharmaceuticals · 2026 - 2036

Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) - NIAID

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2018 - 2029

Advanced Immunobiology Traning Program for Surgeons

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2019 - 2029

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Education


Duke University · 1992 Ph.D.
Duke University, School of Medicine · 1987 M.D.
Old Dominion University · 1983 B.S.