Inside Duke Medicine
Andra James named NHF physician of the year
posted January 7th, 2009
The National Hemophilia Foundation named Duke University Medical Center’s Andra James, M.D., as its physician of the year for her pioneering work involving women with clotting and bleeding disorders.
The distinguished honor came as a surprise to James who said, “I am not a conventional candidate for such an award. I’m not a hematologist. I haven’t done basic science in curing hemophilia. My work has focused on trying to improve the care of women with bleeding disorders. This is an endorsement of the work I’ve done in concert with my colleagues so far in this area, and a mandate to continue.”
A nationally recognized expert on von Willebrand disease, James was also the recipient of the Foundation’s first Project Red Flag Renee Paper Award of Excellence. The award was named for a critical care nurse with von Willebrand disease who, before passing away last year, made it her mission to educate women about bleeding diseases. “I was doubly honored to have what we do at our Duke clinic for women with bleeding and clotting disorders, and our outreach and advocacy efforts, recognized,” said James.
Educating women and physicians, and generating more awareness about bleeding disorders, is central to James’ work. As a member of the NIH/NHLBI’s von Willebrand Disease Expert Panel, she helped craft new guidelines, announced this year, for diagnosing and treating the disease. She recently published a book educating lay people about the disease, and is the lead investigator on a new research project that will study postpartum bleeding in women with and without von Willebrand disease.
James, who lives in Durham, started her career as a nurse and nurse-midwife before attending medical school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She came to Duke University Medical Center as a fellow in maternal-fetal medicine in 1997, and today is an assistant professor in the department of ob/gyn’s division of maternal-fetal medicine.