David Jefferson Cole, MD

David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, is President of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and a nationally recognized surgeon, educator, and physician-scientist. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from New Mexico State University and was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist. He earned his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York in 1986. Dr. Cole completed his internship and residency in general surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta, followed by a fellowship in surgical oncology at the NIH/NCI Surgery Branch in Bethesda, Maryland.

Board certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr Cole has been a nationally recognized surgical oncologist receiving multiple US News and World Report Top Doctor and Castle Connolly Top Surgeon recognitions. His current clinical interests include breast cancer, melanoma, and sarcoma. Dr. Cole joined MUSC in 1994 and has held numerous leadership roles during his tenure. In 2003, he was named the A. McKoy Rose, Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair in Surgical Oncology, Chief of the Division of General Surgery, and subsequently served as Chair of the Department of Surgery from 2007-2014. He has an extensive research background focused on cancer immunotherapy, novel cancer vaccine development, and molecular diagnostics He established the first immunotherapy laboratory at MUSC, with more than 17 years of continuous National Institutes of Health research funding until 2014. He became President of the Medical University of South Carolina on July 1, 2014.

In addition to his clinical and research accomplishments, Dr. Cole has made significant contributions as an educator, mentor, and national leader in academic medicine and surgery. He has served on multiple NIH and NCI study sections, editorial boards of leading scientific journals, and professional organizations, and has been widely recognized for excellence in leadership, research, and patient care.