Dr. Nicole Calakos

I am an academic adult and pediatric neuro-oncologist who helps lead The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. I am the author of more than 500 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters, and I have presented extensively at both international and national meetings. I am a committed educator who is a member of the executive and super-executive committees of the Duke University School of Medicine, which are responsible for the recruitment, screening and selection of medical students. I have reviewed grants for the National Institutes of Health for over 15 years, in a spectrum of different study sections. I am the senior editor of CNS Oncology and a reviewer for over 25 academic journals. I serve on the advisory board of a number of organizations, including Voices Against Brain Cancer, the Tug McGraw Foundation, Pinnacle Care, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, the National Children’s Cancer Society, and the American Brain Tumor Association. Dr. Friedman is highly rated in 18 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Glioma, Astrocytoma, Glioblastoma, and Brain Tumor.

What we specialize in at The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center is compassionate care – we take care of our patients. It’s complete care. The patients don’t have to go out and find a radiologist. We have the radiation oncologist, the chemotherapy, the surgery, the radiology, we have all kinds of nursing people as well as help getting physical therapy and getting in-the-home assistance. Patients also can expect cutting-edge care because we run such a terrific science program here. I really like working with the patients. No question about it. It’s not that I’m doing some trivial procedure six times a day. When someone comes in with a brain tumor, there’s usually some bonding, and instead of running away from that, I really enjoy it. Dr. Friedman is highly rated in 44 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Glioma, Astrocytoma, Glioblastoma, Awake Craniotomy, and Laminectomy.

I am a neurologist and cancer doctor who treats brain tumors and researches ways to improve quality of life for brain tumor patients. As a college student, I thought I was going to be a scientist, but fell in love with studying the brain and its inner workings. I enjoy being at Duke, because I work with some of the top clinicians and researchers in the field, and a generous and warm-hearted staff that helps patients and their loved ones through treatment. It is hard to pick one thing I enjoy about my job. I enjoy seeing patients and their loved ones, being at the cutting edge of research and teaching the next generation of doctors. I think it is the chance to do so many different things that makes my job special. Outside of work, I enjoy shopping at farmer’s markets, cooking and exercising. I also collect Swatch watches - I have over 400!. Dr. Peters is highly rated in 23 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Glioma, Gliomatosis Cerebri, Brain Tumor, and Astrocytoma.