Author Archives: Leamsy Leon

Caroline Henderson, MCLS, MLS (ASCP)CM, is a graduate of UNC’s clinical laboratory science program, where she completed both her undergraduate and master’s degrees. After graduating, she spent much of her career working in UNC’s McLendon Clinical Laboratories, where she developed a strong interest in genetic testing, particularly the coordination and referral of complex...

Three students at the UNC School of Medicine were awarded the Department of Health Sciences Research Excellence Awards. Each year these awards recognize PhD students in the Department of Health Sciences “who showcase research excellence in their wider academic and professional communities.” Each recipient receives a $1,000 award to support travel expenses to...

Vanessa Jewell, PhD, is an associate professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on improving health care access for rural communities, particularly families with children who have type 1 diabetes. Jewell uses telehealth and community‑engaged research to develop programs that better support patients...

Bethany Stearns, MS, RT(R)(MR)(CT), CHEP, is a clinical assistant professor in the Radiologic Science division and serves as a clinical coordinator. She has been a radiologic technologist for nearly 10 years. From the start of her teaching career, she became fascinated with how technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming radiologic science. Stearns...

Jean Jarrett is a fourth-year PhD student in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the UNC School of Medicine. She is a licensed speech-language pathologist and licensed behavior analyst with more than 10 years of clinical experience working primarily with individuals with autism.  Jarrett earned her bachelor’s degree...

Characterizing Sleep Outcomes in School-Age Children with Hearing Loss is a two-year grant, awarded December of 2025, funded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing (ASH) Foundation. This project investigates objective and subjective measures of sleep and fatigue in children with hearing loss who use hearing aids. The research is led by Julia Drouin, AuD, PhD, Director of the Auditory Language Learning (ALLears) Lab at UNC School of Medicine.  As a clinical audiologist,...

Noah Samples came to UNC after working as an EMT and is now a second-year student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program within the Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (CRMH) division. Set to graduate this May, his path to counseling wasn’t straightforward. While working as an EMT, he...

The Physician Assistant Program marked a milestone this spring, celebrating its 10th annual White Coat Ceremony and welcoming the Class of 2027, the program’s tenth cohort. The Class of 2027 began their studies in January of 2026 and gathered for the ceremony on Feb. 20 at 4:30 p.m. in the...

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a rare, motor-based neurodevelopmental speech disorder with a genetic basis. Children with CAS know what they want to say, but have difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to speak, which results in speech breakdowns.  While much of the existing research has focused on young children, growing evidence shows that the effects of CAS often persist into adolescence and adulthood—highlighting the need...

Louise Thoma, PT, DPT, PhD, began her academic training at The Ohio State University, where she completed physical therapy school and earned her PhD, focusing on how people move using tools such as biomechanics. Specifically, she worked with individuals who suffered cartilage injuries in their knees.  Thoma continued her training...