{"id":4762,"date":"2021-05-03T20:27:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T00:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/iris\/?page_id=4762"},"modified":"2026-02-05T15:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:24:05","slug":"editorial-board","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/iris\/editorial-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Masthead<\/span><\/h2>\n

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\n \"Grace\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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\n Grace Fuller, B.A. <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Executive Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grace is a member of the UNC SOM Class of 2026. She attended undergraduate at UNC, graduating in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and minors in Chemistry, Spanish for the Medical Professions, and Medical Anthropology. She is currently on her research year, participating in projects on direct cardiac fibroblast reprogramming, narcotic and sedative use in mechanically ventilated neonates, and abnormal fetal heart tones in asphyxiated animal models. Grace\u2019s primary research focus, however, is on Native American health disparity. She is a part of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona, and her heritage has been a driving factor in her pursuit of a medical career and establishing equitable health care as a fundamental right for all.<\/p>\n

Grace notes that her love for the written word stems from an admiration for her father and grandmother, both esteemed writers and editors. She goes on to say, \u201cThere are few things quite as powerful as words. Instilled with intent and laced with emotion, their significance is inescapable.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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\n Jessica Gingles, B.S. <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Executive Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jessica<\/span> is a member of the UNC School of Medicine Class of 2026. Originally from Zebulon, NC, she earned her B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish Language and Culture from Indiana University Bloomington. After graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Fellowship in Mexico City, where she co-facilitated biweekly visual arts workshops for youth at a social assistance center. This experience deepened her commitment to community involvement and inspired her to specialize in the Creation and Management of Cultural Projects at the Casa Lamm Cultural Center. She went on to lead an embroidered arts exhibition and a fundraising initiative for an NGO supporting rural, indigenous women in the Otom\u00ed-Tepehua region of Hidalgo, Mexico.<\/div>\n
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Jessica<\/span> continues to explore her passion for artistic expression through digital media, watercolor and oil painting, and dance. She is excited to further develop her interests in global health and gynecologic oncology as the 2024-25 Medical Student Fellow in Pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, with a focus on neurocognitive and hormonal stress physiology affecting reproductive cancer outcomes.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n
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\n \"Alleigh\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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\n Alleigh Wiggs <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Executive Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleigh Wiggs is a member of the UNC SOM Class of 2026. She completed her undergraduate degree at UNC, graduating in 2022 with a degree in Nutrition. Alleigh's passion for the health and humanities goes back to her years as an undergraduate where she enjoyed both her science and poetry classes, and looked for ways to blend the two disciplines together. Throughout her training, she has continued to use poetry as a creative outlet. She plans to publish a\u00a0collection highlighting her personal growth during this time. She hopes to go into general surgery.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n
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\n \"Maria\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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\n Maria Fonseca, B.S. <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Art director<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maria Fonseca is a member of the UNC School of Medicine Class of 2026. She was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and immigrated to Miami, FL, at the age of four. She began her educational journey by earning an associate degree from Miami-Dade Honors College, supported by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. She later transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2020. Currently, Maria is in her research year at UNC and is an active participant in the Comprehensive Advanced Medical Program of Spanish (CAMPOS). She is passionate about improving healthcare accessibility and communication, with a particular focus on medical illustration. Maria believes art can bridge language and literacy gaps in healthcare and is dedicated to using it as a tool for meaningful change. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her cat, Jack.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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\n \"Scott\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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\n Scott Giberson Jr., B.S. <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Poetry Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott is a member of the UNC School of Medicine Class of 2025. He grew up in Austin, TX before attending Texas Christian University where he received a B.S. in Psychology. While in college, he conducted research on the mental health of young adult cancer patients and found a passion for mentorship through working with refugee children at a local nonprofit. After college, he spent time working at a cancer center in Fort Worth, TX while helping to start a new professional organization for physicians and medical trainees where he currently sits as a board member. Scott has long seen poetry as one of his main outlets for creativity and emotional wellness and is excited to assist fellow writers in bringing their work to life. His academic interests include working in underserved settings, medical education, and cost-effective care. Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, exercising, trying his best at golf, and finding new coffee shops.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n

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\n \"Raj\n \"\"\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n <\/div>\n
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\n Raj Telhan, M.D., M.F.A. <\/a>\n <\/h2> \n \n

Advisor Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raj Telhan is a physician and writer who works at the intersection of literature, medicine, and culture. He is the author of essays, longform journalism, and criticism bridging science and the humanities. His writing appears in the Virginia Quarterly Review<\/em> and The American Scholar<\/em>. His VQR<\/em> essay, \u201cBegin Cutting,\u201d was published in the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. Other honors include the Smith-Shanubi Scholarship at the New York State Writers Institute, the Longreads Editors\u2019 Pick, and the Staige D. Blackford Prize for Nonfiction for his VQR cover story, \u201cForeign Bodies.\u201d Raj studied Literature and Medicine at the University of Virginia, where he was a Crispell Scholar. He completed his residency in rehabilitation medicine at NYPH\/Columbia-Cornell University Medical Center, graduating as Chief Resident. After completing an interventional spine fellowship at the University of Virginia, he began clinical practice as an academic attending and teacher of medical humanities. Raj is currently an Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n\n \n