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Herbert Kim Lyerly

George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Immunology
Surgery, Surgical Sciences
Box 2606 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
203 Research Drive, Rm 433B, Box 2606, Durham, NC 27710

Current Appointments & Affiliations


George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Immunology · 2004 - Present Surgery, Surgical Sciences, Surgery
Professor of Surgery · 2011 - Present Surgery, Surgical Sciences, Surgery
Professor in Immunology · 2017 - Present Integrative Immunobiology, Basic Science Departments
Professor of Pathology · 2018 - Present Pathology, Clinical Science Departments
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 1983 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute · 2014 - Present Duke Global Health Institute, University Institutes and Centers
Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center · 2021 - Present Duke Regeneration Center, Basic Science Departments
Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy · 2024 - Present Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published July 13, 2021
Higher Rates of Alzheimer’s Deaths, Hospitalizations Correlate with Air Pollution
Published April 20, 2020
BRIEF-OncoSec Appoints Oncologist And Immunologist Herbert Kim Lyerly To Board Of Directors
Published December 2, 2019
Innovative Model Allows Researchers to Watch Cancer Cells Spread in Colon Before Cancer Is Even Detected

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Recent Publications


Clinical impact of concurrent autologous adoptive T cells immunotherapy in active COVID-19 infected cancer patients for chemotherapy.

Journal Article Infect Agent Cancer · April 9, 2025 BACKGROUND: The concurrent presence of COVID-19 infection in advanced cancer patients has increased the mortality since the compromised immunity was inevitably worsen. The role and clinical impact of autologous adoptive T cell immunotherapy (ACT) designed ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effective extracellular payload release and immunomodulatory interactions govern the therapeutic effect of trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd).

Journal Article Nat Commun · April 2, 2025 Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting HER2, exhibiting significant clinical efficacy in breast cancer (BC) with varying HER2 expression, including HER2-low and HER2-ultralow. However, the precise mechanism underlying ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonlinear progression during the occult transition establishes cancer lethality.

Journal Article Dis Model Mech · March 1, 2025 Cancer screening relies upon a linear model of neoplastic growth and progression. Yet, historical observations suggest that malignant progression is uncoupled from growth, which may explain the paradoxical increase in early-stage breast cancer detection wi ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Duke University Program in Environmental Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2029

Single Cell and Spatial Analysis of Lethal Breast Cancers

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2024 - 2028

The paradox of obesity, tumor progression, and checkpoint inhibition in TNBC

ResearchMentor · Awarded by Susan G Komen for the Cure · 2023 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of California, Los Angeles · 1983 M.D.