Duke Obstetrics and Gynecology is pleased to announce that maternal-fetal medicine specialist and internationally recognized clinician-scientist Brenna Hughes, MD, MSc, has been named interim chair by Mary Klotman, MD, executive vice president for health affairs, Duke University; dean, Duke University School of Medicine; and chief academic officer, Duke Health. Dr. Hughes began in her new role on March 27, 2025.
Dr. Hughes’ extensive professional resume includes clinical expertise as an MFM specialist, and extensive leadership positions within national. Within the department, she has served as chief of the MFM division and vice chair for quality and obstetrics.
Dr. Hughes, who joined the SOM as faculty in 2016, specializes in MFM and reproductive infectious diseases. Her research interest focuses on examining the impact of pregnancy on the risk of HIV acquisition. She is currently the Duke Center Principal Investigator for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Clinical Trials Network, participating in all clinical trials run by the network. Notably, she was the principal investigator for two major randomized clinical trials aimed at prevention of congenital cytomegalovirus infection with funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), respectively.
Dr. Hughes has served on multiple committees for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and is a previous member of the SMFM board of directors. She has served on numerous study sections for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the CDC. She is chair of the SMFM Infectious Diseases and Emerging Threats Committee, and is the only obstetrician to have served on the NIH COVID Treatment Guidelines Panel.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hughes’ expertise was integral in media coverage for local and national news outlets, for which she represented the department and DUHS.
Dr. Hughes succeeds former chair Matthew D. Barber, MD, MHS, who was appointed president, Duke Health Integrated Practice; and vice dean for clinical affairs. Dr. Hughes has served as the department’s executive vice chair since July 2024.