Katherine B. Peters, MD, PhD, is the newest member of SCNS, having joined in March. Even though she’s new, she’s already “looking forward to attending meetings to create relationships with the SCNS community and promote clinical neurology.”

Dr. Peters found her passion for science at a young age. Growing up in rural Tennessee, she competed in the statewide science fair and has known since then that she was meant to be a scientist. Studying biology and chemistry at Emory University ultimately sealed her fate as a scientist.

After graduating from Emory, Dr. Peters went on to Stanford University for an MD, PhD in Cancer Biology, completed her residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins, then found her professional home at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. While she is a neuro-oncologist, she wants it to be known that she is neurologist first. And she’s motivated by connecting her love for science and research with the desire to improve patients’ and caregivers’ quality of life.

As an Associate Professor and the Program Director of the Neuro-oncology fellowship program at Duke, her students are able to collaborate with her on cutting edge treatments and innovative research. Her research group has designed or participated in roughly 20 clinical trials to further understand the issues experienced by those directly affected by brain tumors. From querying patients and caregivers about quality of life concerns to studying the implementation of traditional medicine to measuring the effects of complementary medicine, her research takes a holistic approach to solving some of the most difficult challenges caused by brain tumors.

Dr. Peters is an eternal optimist, a former high school and college cheerleader, and an adventurous cook. She’s also an avid Swatch watch collector. Since the 1980s, her collection has grown to more than 500 Swatches—naturally including a special piece called the “Ticking Brain” by artist Jo Whaley. Perhaps she’ll show it to you at the next SCNS meeting.