Susan Dees
1909-2001
Susan Coons Dees was born in 1909 in Hancock, Michigan. She received her MD from Johns Hopkins in 1934.
In 1939, she joined the Duke University Medical Center faculty, as did her husband, Urologist Dr. John E. Dees. As one of the first female faculty physicians at Duke, she also served as the first female Division Chief in Pediatric Allergy, from the inception of the division in 1948 until 1974. She continued to serve on the faculty after stepping down as Division Chief, and in 1958, she became the first female to achieve the rank of full Professor in the Duke Medical Center.
She authored over 60 publications, trained numerous Pediatric Residents, established the Duke Hospital School for Sick Children, and was among the first to recognize Wiskott-Adlrich Primary Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Gastoresophogeal Reflux as a major trigger of asthma attacks.
Dr. Dees died on March 28, 2001 at the age of 91.
Interview
This oral history interview was conducted with Elizabeth “Chi” Pulley on January 30, 2007 by Jessica Roseberry. Eliabeth Pulley is the daughter of former Duke physicians Dr. Susan Dees and Dr. John E. Dees.