Daniel C. Parker, MD
Geriatric Medicine Specialist
My Locations
About Me
I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. During middle school, I spent my summer breaks volunteering in the nursing home where my mom worked, which inspired my interest in aging and geriatric medicine. Many years later, as a fellow in geriatric medicine at Duke Health, I returned to that same nursing home to care for its residents. Now, as a memory disorders specialist, geriatric medicine specialist, and physician-scientist, my goal is to provide the highest quality medical care to my patients, centered on their individual values and preferences, while working to develop interventions that maintain their cognition and quality of life. I enjoy building a collaborative relationship with my patients and their loved ones and working with them to develop a personalized, holistic approach to their memory care.
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care 2025
- Associate Professor in Neurology, Neurology, Behavioral Neurology 2025
- Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development 2020
Call for an Appointment
Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
Clinical Focus and Research
Biological aging is the greatest risk factor for most chronic diseases, including frailty and dementia. The geroscience hypothesis posits that interventions that target aspects of biological aging may delay or prevent many of these diseases simultaneously. My research centers on understanding the mechanisms of interventions that affect biological aging, like exercise training and caloric restriction and using that understanding to develop therapies that maintain cognitive and physical function in older adults.
- Epigenetic Mechanisms Promoting Longevity awarded by National Institutes of Health 2018 - 2024
- Ding, Jingzhong, Anh Tram Nguyen, Kurt Lohman, Michael T. Hensley, Daniel Parker, Li Hou, Jackson Taylor, et al. “LXR signaling pathways link cholesterol metabolism with risk for prediabetes and diabetes.” J Clin Invest 134, no. 16 (August 15, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI185290.
- Ding, Jingzhong, Anh Tram Nguyen, Kurt Lohman, Michael T. Hensley, Daniel Parker, Li Hou, Jackson Taylor, et al. “LXR signaling pathways link cholesterol metabolism with risk for prediabetes and diabetes.” J Clin Invest 134, no. 10 (May 15, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI173278.
- Patel, Hemal, C Ellis Wisely, Cason B. Robbins, Daniel Parker, Pratap Challa, Dilraj S. Grewal, and Sharon Fekrat. “Aqueous and Plasma Levels of Phosphorylated Tau 181 in Individuals with Normal Cognition.” J Alzheimers Dis 100, no. 1 (2024): 239–45. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-240279.
- Parker, D., and M. Heflin. “Biology of Aging.” In Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery: Third Edition: With 261 Figures and 155 Tables, 37–50, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47771-8_3.
- Parker, Daniel, and Mitchell Heflin. “Biology of Aging.” In Principles and Practice of Geriatric Surgery, edited by Ronnie A. Rosenthal, Michael E. Zenilman, and Mark R. Katlic, 1–14. Springer Reference, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20317-1.
- Johnson, Kim, Cody Perry, Daniel Parker, Andy Liu, Cynthia Beam, Michelle Sanfilippo, Michael Lutz, and Richard O’Brien. “Creation of a Memory Disorders Clinic Biorepository to Characterize a Clinic Population and Accurately Refer to Research Studies (P2-6.006).” In Neurology, Vol. 100. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health), 2023. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000203768.
- Chacko, Thomas, Gordon Broderick, Nadia Moore, Daniel Parker, William Kraus, and Kim Huffman. “A KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN BIO-BEHAVIORAL NETWORK MODEL OF THE INFLAMMASOME AND CALORIC RESTRICTION.” In INNOVATION IN AGING, 7:977–977, 2023.
- Parker, Daniel, Shelley McDonald, Kathryn Porter Starr, Dan I. I. I. Blazer, E Shelley Hwang, Allan Kirk, and Sandhya Lagoo-Deenadayalan. “COMPARISON OF CLINICAL BIOMARKER AND DNAM-DERIVED BIOLOGICAL AGE MEASURES IN AN ELECTIVE SURGERY COHORT.” In INNOVATION IN AGING, 7:115–115, 2023.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- Atheneum
- Guidepoint
- Lucent
- Lumanity
- Olson Research Group
- PeerView
- Sai-Med