Lesley Curtis, PhD, member in the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), chief of the Department of Population Health Sciences and professor in the Duke School of Medicine Departments of Population Health Sciences and Medicine was selected to receive the QCOR Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Heart Association’s Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research (QCOR).
The award is presented to a council member for their significant long-term contributions to outcomes research and the improvement of cardiovascular care. Curtis received the award on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 in Philadelphia.
“When I was notified of this and reflected back over the last 25-plus years, I didn’t think about papers that I’d published or that had been rejected, and there were many of those, I didn’t think about grants that were funded or not discussed,” Curtis said as she received the award. “I thought about the people, and I see many of those people in this room tonight, because that’s what’s made this such an amazing, fun and, I hope, helpful journey.”
A health services researcher by training, Curtis is an expert in the use of health care and Medicare claims data for health services and clinical outcomes research, and a leader in national data quality efforts. In addition to her current faculty appointments, Curtis served as interim executive director of the DCRI from 2018-2020.