{"id":69760,"date":"2025-08-27T14:45:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T18:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/?p=69760"},"modified":"2025-08-27T14:48:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T18:48:48","slug":"featured-physician-haley-simpson-md","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/featured-physician-haley-simpson-md\/","title":{"rendered":"Featured Physician: Haley Simpson, MD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Haley Simpson, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology who was a Tarheel in undergrad!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"What brought you to UNC Medical Center?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I am returning to North Carolina for the second time! I was born in Raleigh, grew up in the DC area then attended UNC for undergrad. I went back to Maryland for medical school then out west to Colorado for residency and fellowship before returning to my home state to contribute to our community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where are you from?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

North Carolina and Maryland<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you always want to be a doctor?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

There is nothing else I could see myself doing. Becoming a physician has been an journey but the ability to support others in need is an honor I never take for granted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you choose your specialty?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The inspiring community of physicians and scientists at the National Cancer Institute showed me what is possible with right mix of dedication, creativity, and collaboration. Cancer is the reason why I never met my grandmother, but together we can change that trajectory for generations to come.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you find most rewarding about your work?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Working with my patients and colleagues to navigate tough obstacles together<\/span> .<\/span><\/p>\n

What are some of the new developments in your field of specialty?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

T-cell redirecting therapies demonstrate the power of translational research. Just in the early part of my career we have seen CAR-T cell therapy go from experimental to early line standard of care. Patients are in remission years down the road, when their disease was otherwise refractory to all available therapeutic options. That being said, much work remains to be done to optimize their use and improve access to these highly specialized treatments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a particular achievement (professional or personal) that has been most gratifying to you?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Together with a team I assembled, I modified healthcare policy in Colorado to enable access to treatment for patients who, because of insurance barriers, were unable to be treated for their cancer with chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, or enroll on clinical trials. This was a multi-year collaborative effort but made an incredible difference for patients in the state who otherwise would not have received treatment for their cancer. I am looking forward to applying my experience in healthcare advocacy to help patients in North Carolina.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you weren\u2019t a physician, what would you like to be doing?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Backpacking all over the world<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What hobbies do you enjoy?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Hiking, backpacking, travel, climbing, canyoneering, frisbee with my dog, classical ballet<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the last book you read?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Endurance by Alfred Lansing. I love recommendations for non-fiction tales of adventure. Seeing what humans are capable of never fails to amaze me.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Haley Simpson, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology who was a Tarheel in undergrad! What brought you to UNC Medical Center?\u00a0 I am returning to North Carolina for the second time! I was born in Raleigh, grew up in the DC area then attended UNC for undergrad. I went back to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116983,"featured_media":69761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[392,520,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-physician","category-hematology","category-news","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFeatured Physician: Haley Simpson, MD | Department of Medicine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/featured-physician-haley-simpson-md\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Featured Physician: Haley Simpson, MD | Department of Medicine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet Haley Simpson, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology who was a Tarheel in undergrad! 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