Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the appointment of Allan Douglas Kirk, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Kirk is internationally recognized for his work in organ transplantation, with a specialized focus on kidney transplants and transplant immunology. He is currently Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at Duke University School of Medicine.

He is also the David C. Sabiston, Jr. Professor of Surgery, a Professor of Integrative Immunobiology, and a Professor of Pediatrics at Duke. Dr. Kirk served as the inaugural Chief of the Transplantation Branch for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and has been a principal investigator for multiple clinical trials, including the first-in-human experience with novel immunosuppressive agents. Dr. Kirk has helped pioneer the use of co-stimulation pathway blockade to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients.

He has a special interest in immune management of transplant recipients, including therapies that influence T cell co-stimulation pathways and adjuvant therapies that facilitate co-stimulation blockade to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs without undue suppression of protective immunity. His research is directed toward understanding transplant rejection and translating this understanding into improved therapies for transplant recipients. He has co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed journal publications.

Dr. Kirk is a member of the Duke Transplant Center and is a core faculty member of the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship program. He also previously served as Editor-in-Chief for the American Journal of Transplantation. Dr. Kirk earned an M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, a Ph.D. from Duke University and a B.S. from Old Dominion University.