David Jefferson Cole, MD

President David J. Cole, M.D. FACS, received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from New Mexico State University and he received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. He interned and completed his residency at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta and his fellowship in surgical oncology at the NIH/NCI Surgery Branch in Bethesda.

Dr. Cole came to MUSC in 1994. In 2003 he was named the A. McKoy Rose, Jr. M.D. endowed chair in surgical oncology and was selected as chairman for the Department of Surgery in September of 2007. Dr. Cole was then elected president of MUSC Physicians in 2013. He held these esteemed titles until becoming president of MUSC on July 1, 2014.

Dr. Cole is board certified through the American Board of Surgery with a primary clinical field of interest in breast cancer as well as melanoma and sarcoma. He has a strong research background with more than 17 years of continuous funding by the NIH. He recently stepped down after seven years as the medical director for the center for cellular therapy in order to concentrate on the needs surrounding his newest role. His research at the center focused on novel cancer vaccine development and molecular diagnostics.