Includes 2 oral history interviews conducted on November 6 and 9 2020 with Dr. Joseph O. Moore by Joseph O'Connell as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project.
In the interviews, Moore discusses the advent of the specialization of hematologic oncology, Moore's early experiences that inspired his interest in medicine as a career, changes in Duke's facilities and programs over his tenure, and developments in cancer treatment. The themes of these interviews include medical training, the history of Duke Medical Center, and hematologic oncology.
Dr. Joseph Odell Moore, MD, was born in 1944 in the Greenville, South Carolina, when his father was in flight training. He grew up in Rochelle, Georgia, with his mother, stepfather, and three half-brothers. His father was a bomber pilot and was killed in action during WWII. Moore first became interested in medicine in high school after observing a physician work on him after injuring himself playing football. He earned a BS from Emory University and an MD from Johns Hopkins University (1970) where he also served a 3 year medical residency with a 2 year gap that he spent in Hawaii employed by the National Institutes of Health as part of the Japan-Hawaii Cancer Program.
Moore first came to Duke as an Internal Medicine Fellow in 1977. He later became a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine. As a specialist in hematologic malignancies, he focuses on the understanding and treatment of cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. His many achievements include advancing clinical research on myeloid leukemias and serving as a founding board member of the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Early on in his time at Duke, Moore helped conduct clinical hematology and oncology research in conjunction with the Southeast Cancer Study Group and saw a wide variety of cancer patients in the Duke South clinic. As cancer research advanced and treatments improved, Moore saw the structure of cancer care change, moving toward more targeted forms of specialized care. With these changes, Moore found the opportunity to focus his expertise on the diseases that most interested him: leukemias and blood cancers.
