Arif Kamal, MD

Dr. Arif Kamal is the inaugural chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society where he oversees the organization’s support network, patient navigation services, patient and caregiver lodging and transportation, 24/7 information center, digital support resources, and organizational efforts that impact the full cancer continuum across 20,000 global communities.

He is also a practicing oncologist and palliative care physician in North Carolina and an associate professor of medicine and population health at the Duke University School of Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Kamal co-founded Prepped Health, a company that develops innovative technology solutions to educate and engage people facing serious illness and their caregivers.

Dr. Kamal serves as the immediate past president for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine board of directors. He has published over 225 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is recognized as an international expert in supportive oncology and palliative care. He has been a guest on Good Morning America and interviewed by The New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

Dr. Kamal received his medical degree from the six-year combined B.A./M.D. program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He completed his internal medicine residency and a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, and a hematology-oncology fellowship at Duke University. He holds a Master of Health Science in clinical research from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Dr. Kamal lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.