Dr. Joseph Turek

Biography

Joseph W. Turek is an academic pediatric cardiac surgeon at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Since 2017, he has served as the chief of pediatric cardiac surgery. Prior to his position at Duke, he held a similar leadership role at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital from 2012 to 2017. Turek graduated from Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and went on to earn a degree in biochemistry from Northwestern University. He received his MD/PhD in pharmacology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his general surgery education at Duke University, followed by a residency in cardiothoracic surgery. His fellowship in congenital cardiac surgery was completed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2011. Turek is board certified in general surgery, thoracic surgery, and congenital cardiac surgery. He is known for developing innovative surgical techniques for congenital heart disease and has performed groundbreaking operations, including the world’s first co-transplant of a heart and cultured thymus tissue. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and actively leads a well-funded research laboratory focused on areas including heart transplant tolerance, thymus-heart co-transplant, and xenotransplantation. Turek is also involved in national and international cardiothoracic surgery societies.

Research Interests

Experience