The UNC Stroke Team

The UNC Stroke Team is comprised of a multi-specialty team of doctors, nurses, therapists, and care managers. Listed below are core team members from Neurology, Neurosurgery and other departments. For non-urgent questions regarding the Stroke Team, call (984) 974-2266. Physicians seeking hospital-to-hospital transfers of patients requiring acute stroke care should call the UNC Transfer Center at (800) 806-1968.

Stroke and Vascular Neurology

William J. Powers, MD

  • Vascular Neurologist
  • Professor, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Clinical Interests: Stroke
  • Clinical Research Interests: Cerebral blood flow and metabolism, stroke treatment and prevention

David Y. Huang, MD, PhD

  • Vascular Neurologist and Director, UNC Health Care Comprehensive Stroke Center
  • Clinical Professor, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Chief, Division of Stroke and Vascular Neurology, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Director, UNC Stroke Trials Unit
  • Clinical interests: hospitalist neurology, acute stroke care, and neurologic critical care
  • Research interests: acute stroke treatments, cellular mechanisms of neuroprotection, intracerebral hemorrhage

Michael Wang, MD

  • Vascular Neurologist
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Clinical interests: stroke
  • Research interests: acute stroke treatments, interventional stroke treatments

Michael Forbes, MD

  • Vascular Neurologist
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Clinical interests: stroke

Susan Wilson, DNP, RN, ANP-BC

  • Stroke Nurse Practitioner
  • Clinical Associate Professor, UNC Department of Neurology
  • Clinical interests: stroke education and clinical trials, stroke quality improvement, depression in stroke population

Nicole Burnett, RN, BSN, CNRN, SCRN, CCRN-K
Stroke Program Manager

Sherene Bitar, RN, MPH
Stroke Program Data Abstractor

Ann Waller, RN, BSN, CMSRN, SCRN
Stroke Program Data Analyst

Anne Beckwith
Senior Stroke Study Coordinator

Laura Pinto-Coelho
Stroke Study Coordinator

Ariane Cook
Stroke Study Coordinator

Deanna Brooks
Administrative Assistant

Neurocritical Care

Dedrick Jordan, MD, PhD

  • Neuro-Intensivist and Director, UNC Hospitals Neurosciences ICU
  • Associate Professor, UNC Departrments Neurology and Neurosurgery
  • Clinical Interests: Neurosciences Critical Care
  • Research Interests: outcomes after brain injury, bioinformatics, mechanisms for neuroregeneration

Rhonda Cadena, MD

  • Neurointensivist
  • Assistant Professor, UNC Departments of Neurology and Emergency Medicine
  • Clinical Interests: Neurocritical care, stroke, emergency medicine
  • Research Interests: Neurological emergencies

Casey Olm-Shipman, MD

  • Neurointensivist
  • Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Neurology

Winnie Lau, MD

  • Neurointensivist
  • Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Neurology

Neurosurgery

Deanna M. Sasaki-Adams, MD

  • Vascular Neurosurgeon
  • Assistant Professor and Associate Program Director, Department of Neurosurgery
  • Section Chief of Cerebrovascular & Skull Base Neurosurgery

Interventional Neuroradiology

Sten Solander, MD

  • Neuro-Interventionalist
  • Associate Professor of Radiology
  • Division Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology
  • Clinical interests: stroke interventional treatments – SOLITAIRE device®, PENUMBRA® device, MERCI® device, intra-arterial thrombolysis, coiling of aneurysms, embolization of AVMs, angioplasty and stenting

Hortensia Alvarez, MD

  • Professor of Radiology, Interventional Neuroradiology

Emergency Medicine

Jane Brice, MD, MPH

  • Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine
  • Orange County EMS Director
  • Medical Student Research Director
  • Adjunct Professor, Social Medicine and Epidemiology

James L Larson, MD

  • Clinical Professor
  • Executive Vice-Chair
  • Medical Director, Emergency Department – Chapel Hill

Abhi Mehrotra, MD

  • Clinical Associate Professor
  • Vice-Chair, Strategic Initiatives & Operations
  • Assistant Medical Director, Emergency Department – Chapel Hill
  • Medical Director, Emergency Department – Hillsborough

Jeff Phillips, RN, MSN, CEN
Nurse Manager, Emergency Department

Vascular Surgery

Raghuveer Vallabhaneni, MD

  • Vascular Surgeon
  • Assistant Professor of Surgery
  • Clinical Interests: Carotid Disease, Abdominal and Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Disease, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Dialysis Access

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Angela Lipscomb-Hudson, MD

  • Stroke Physiatrist
  • Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
  • Medical Director, Stroke Rehabilitation, UNC Rehabilitation Center
  • Director of Medical Student Education, PM&R

Nursing

Angela S. Overman, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Director, Surgery Service

Christa Williams, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager, Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

Heather Ritchie, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager, 6NSH

Kevin Brady, RN, BSN, CCRN
Nurse Manager, Intermediate Surgical Care Unit

Speech Pathology

Stephanie McAdams, MA-CCC, SLP

Betsy Rambusch, MA, CCC-SLP

Occupational and Physical Therapy

Dee Bennett
Acute Care Therapy Manager

Amanda Weigle, OT

April Xayavong, PT

Clinical Care Management

Marie C. Bossert, RN, MBA
Director, Care Management

Katie Flanagan, LCSW, MSW, ACM
Assistant Director, Care Management