William J. Fulkerson Jr., MD

William J. Fulkerson Jr., MD, is the senior vice president for clinical affairs of Duke University Health System. He is also a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center and a nationally renowned specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

A North Carolina native, Fulkerson was born in Charlotte and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed his internship and residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he also completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine. More recently, while serving in a leadership role at the medical center, Fulkerson earned an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

Fulkerson joined Duke in 1983 as an assistant professor of medicine. He subsequently has served as medical director for Duke’s medical intensive care unit, director of critical care services for Duke Hospital, at-large member of the Duke Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) Board of Managers, division chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine, vice chair of the department of medicine, and executive medical director of the PDC. Fulkerson was serving as chief medical officer for Duke University Hospital and the PDC when he was named CEO of Duke University Hospital in April 2002.

In addition to his administrative duties, Fulkerson is active in clinical research areas including adult respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and outcomes of critical illness. He currently is co-principal investigator of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Network, a 10-center research network established by the National Institutes of Health.

Fulkerson has published numerous journal articles and textbook chapters, and has twice received the Eugene A. Stead Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching form the Duke Department of Medicine (in 1985 and 1996). A member of a number of professional organizations including the American College of Physicians and the American Thoracic Society, Fulkerson is also a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.