Charles Scales Jr.

Charles D. Scales, Jr., MD MSHS FACS is Associate Dean for Clinical Research Initiatives and Associate Professor of Urology and Population Health Science. He completed medical school and residency training in urology at Duke University.  After residency, Dr. Scales completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at UCLA, where he received advanced training in health services research, health policy, and quality of care.  He teaches these skills to future generations through the Duke Master of Management in Clinical Informatics (MMCi) degree program, and in 2025 will present his course, “Data, Information, and Health Care Transformation” for the 10^th consecutive year.

From the research perspective, Dr. Scales has a longstanding interest in the epidemiology of and patient care for urinary stone disease.  Recent studies have redefined the epidemiology of urinary stone disease in the United States, compared the effectiveness of dominant stone removal technologies, and identified new opportunities for improving patient-centered and policy-relevant outcomes, such as unplanned care after procedural interventions.  His research and perspective on urinary stone disease has been highlighted in U.S. News & World Report, Reuters, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal, among other media outlets.

Currently, Dr. Scales leads a diverse health services and clinical research program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, where he is the Principal Investigator for the Scientific Data and Research Center for the NIDDK Urinary Stone Disease Research Network (U01).  Within the USDRN, he leads the multicenter Prevention of Urinary Stones with Hydration (PUSH) randomized clinical trial, which is the largest randomized controlled stone prevention trial to date, and the multicenter Study to Enhance Understanding of Stent-Associated Symptoms (STENTS) cohort study.