Over a Decade of Lung Cancer Screening and We Still Don't Get It!

Dr. Douglas E. Wood is The Henry N. Harkins Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington where he was previously Professor and Endowed Chair in Lung Cancer Research as well as the Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery.  Dr. Wood received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and trained in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 

Dr. Wood is the Chair of the Lung Screening Guidelines Panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), Vice-Chair of the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Guidelines Panel for the NCCN, and Vice-Chair of the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable. Notably, Dr. Wood was the chair for the NCCN Lung Cancer Screening Panel which developed and published the first clinical guidelines for lung cancer screening. Dr. Wood helped lead an effort to change lung cancer screening policy at the national level, resulting in lung cancer screening recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Taskforce and from Medicare. Most recently, Dr. Wood has partnered in an international project led by the World Economic Forum and the Lung Cancer Collaborative to advance and prioritize lung cancer care worldwide, including broader utilization of early detection. This initiative is currently being evaluated by the World Health Organization for consideration of a global health priority, or “Best Buy”.

Dr. Wood served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for over 20 years, completing a 5-year term as Secretary of the Society, and was the President of STS in 2013 - 2014. Dr. Wood served as a Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and as Chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee Committee for Thoracic Surgery (RRC-Thoracic). Dr. Wood recently served as President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation and President of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet).