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Walter T Lee

Professor of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
Head & Neck Surgical Oncology
Duke South Yellow Zone 4000, DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710
40 Medicine Circle, DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Grants


Adapting a machine learning algorithm to predict thyroid cytopathologyin LMIC

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2021 - 2027

Otolaryngology Surgeon- Scientist career Path (OSSP) program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · 2022 - 2027

RAPID System for Early Detection of Head and Neck Cancer in Low-Resource Settings

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2027

Depression, suicide and suicide mitigation implementation in head and neck cancer

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research · 2021 - 2026

Partnership to establish a practice based network to assess for head and neck cancers using a low-cost portable flexible nasopharyngoscope

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2025

Clinical Evaluation of the OncAlert® RAPID in Subjects Presenting for Evaluation and/or Initial Biopsy

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Vigilant Biosciences · 2018 - 2021

A Virtue Based on-line Leadership Curriculum: A Nationwide Resource for Professional Development

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Society of University Otolaryngologists · 2020 - 2021

Enhanced ethanol ablation as a surgical-alternative for head and neck cancer treatment in resource-limited settings

FellowshipCo-Sponsor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2020

A Quantitative Optical Sensor to Monitor Tumor Vascular Physiology

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Zenalux Biomedical, Inc. · 2015 - 2016

TERT promoter mutation frequency in subsets of oral tongue cancer patients

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Medical Association Foundation · 2015 - 2016

CHECKPOINT Head & Neck Nerve Stimulator/Locator Product Validation Study (9394-CSP-000-B)

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Checkpoint Surgical · 2014 - 2015

Can Optical Spectroscopy Predict Early Treatment Response in Solid Tumors

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Mentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2010 - 2012

External Relationships


  • Duke -National Univeristy of Singapore
  • International Phronesis Institute
  • Resource Exchange International
  • Vivo Surgical

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.