Dennis Clements, MD, director of pediatric primary care services within the Duke Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC), has been appointed to serve as the interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics. His appointment became effective March 1.

The previous chair, Michael Frank, MD, announced he was stepping down from the leadership position late last year. Ranga Krishnan, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is leading a national search for the next chair.

Clements received his medical degree from the University of Rochester, and completed a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Clements also serves as the course director of “Exploring Medicine in Other Cultures,” a Duke University School of Medicine course that prepares medical students for service overseas.