Dr. Duda obtained a DMD from the University of Medicine in Iasi, Romania, in 1993, and a PhD in Medical Sciences (with a focus on GI Surgery) from Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan, in 2001. After graduation, he pursued postdoctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston (2001-2004). He became a Junior Faculty member at Harvard (Instructor) in 2004 and then rose to Full Investigator at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Research Institute in 2016, and Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School in 2023. From 2016 to 2025, he served as the Director of Translational Research in Gastrointestinal (GI) Radiation Oncology at MGH. He received the Doctor Honoris Causa honorary degree from his alma mater, the University of Medicine Iasi, Romania, in 2021, and a Master of Arts honorary degree from Harvard University in 2023. In 2025, Dr. Duda joined Houston Methodist Hospital as the Scientific Director of Transplant Oncology and Therapeutics, and was appointed as a Professor of Cancer Biology in Surgery at Houston Methodist Research Institute and Weill Cornell College of Medicine.

The research of Dr. Duda's laboratory focuses on tumor interactions with their microenvironments, aiming to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms of tumor progression and treatment resistance in GI cancers. The goal is to identify and validate combination therapy targets in preclinical and correlative clinical studies.

Dr. Duda has been a chartered or ad-hoc Member and Chair or co-chair of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Cancer Society (ACS), US Department of Defense (DOD), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and Belgium FWO Med4 panels since 2012. He is an Editorial Board member for several other cancer journals. Since 2015, he has served as the Secretary-General of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists (IASGO). In addition, Dr. Duda serves as a member of the NCI Hepatobiliary Task Force for Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers, Chair of the Southwestern Oncology Group (SWOG) Translational Medicine GI Committee, a member of the National Clinical Trials Network Core Correlative Sciences Committee, and a member of the group developing the ESTRO guideline for HCC radiotherapy.

Dr. Duda has authored over 300 publications and is among the top 2% of scientists globally based on a composite score [c-score] of citations, co-authorships, and collaborations. He has been invited to present his results at over 300 local, national, and international meetings, including Grand Rounds, Plenary Talks, and Keynote Lectures at major academic centers in more than 30 countries. Dr. Duda received several awards for his work, including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Cancer Research Institute (CRI), IASGO, MGH, and the Granara-Skerry Trust. In 2020, Dr. Duda was inducted into The College of Fellows of the AIMBE, which comprises the top 2% of medical and biological engineers. In 2022, he was elected as a 2021 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers, and innovators recognized for their achievements across disciplines. In 2023, he was elected as a Fellow of the IASGO (FASGO). He has been an Honorary Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Romania since 2012 and was elected a Foreign Member of the Academy of Europe in 2023. From 2025, he is a Katz Investigator at the Jerold B. Katz Academy of Translational Research.