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Gillian (Jill) Watson, MHA has accepted the role of Associate Chair of Administration for the Department of Neurology, effective January 9, 2023. Jill currently serves as the Associate Chief for Administration for the divisions of Hospital Medicine and Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine at UNC – Chapel Hill. She has extensive experience in diverse areas of the academic medical enterprise including contracts and budgeting.

Read more about Jill’s appointment here >>

 

Thank you to Robert Statts for his leadership and generous care to the department as Interim Associate Chair of Administration! You will be sincerely missed but we look forward to supporting you in your new role in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Public Health.

 

 

Welcome Our New Providers!

New Faculty:

Katelyn Bricker, MD head shot Katelyn Bricker, MD, joined the department on 2022 as an Assistant Professor in Sleep Medicine and Child Neurology Divisions. Dr. Bricker received her MD from The University of Toledo College of Medicine after graduating from The University of Toledo College of Medicine with a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences.  Dr. Bricker completed her Neurology Residency in Pediatrics and Child Neurology and Sleep Medicine Fellowship at The University of North Carolina.
 
Julia Carlson, MD, joined the department on June 30, 2022 as an Assistant Professor in the Neurocritical Care Division.  She majored in Biochemistry and Biopsychology at Tufts University, completed Neurology Residency training at Johns Hopkins, and graduated from Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Mass General Brigham in June. She is excited to join UNC and work on developing a Post-Neuro-ICU recovery clinic program. When she isn’t in the neurocritical care unit, she can be found running, baking, or hanging out with her French bulldog Atticus. 
 
Eric Creed DO Eric Creed, DO, joined the department on June 30, 2022 as an Assistant Professor of Neurology in the Neuromuscular and General Neurology Divisions. Dr. Creed received his Doctor of Osteopathy from the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017 and completed his Adult Neurology Residency at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in 2021. Dr. Creed completed his Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill, Department of Neurology before transitioning to his role as Assistant Professor.
 
David Y. Hwang, MD, FAAN, FCCM, FNCS Dave Hwang, MD, FAAN, FCCN, FNCS, joined the department on August 31, 2022 as a Nominated Professor and the Chief of the Neurocritical Care Division.  Dr. Hwang received his MD from Harvard Medical School after graduating from Emory University with a degree in Chemistry.  He completed his Neurology Residency and Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Mass General Brigham and served on the faculty in the Department of Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine for ten years, where he was most recently the Director of Mentorship.  Dr. Hwang’s clinical and academic interests include outcome prognostication for severe acute brain injury patients and family support in intensive care units.
 
Lynn Cecilia Liu, MD Lynn Liu, MD, joined the department on July 25, 2022 as the Chief of the Epilepsy Division, Professor of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, and Medical Director of the EEG Lab. Dr. Liu received her MD from Georgetown University after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Biology. She completed her Neurology Residency at Duke University and a Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship in Epilepsy and Sleep Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Dr. Liu’s clinical and academic interests include surgical management for epilepsy, women with epilepsy, sleep and epilepsy.
 
Priya Palta, PhD, MHS, joined the department on August 31, 2022 as Associate Professor of Neurology. Dr. Palta received her PhD (2013) and MHS (2010) in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining Neurology, Dr. Palta was Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences and Epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Palta’s research focuses on cognitive function of older adults, cognitive decline, and preventing Alzheimer’s Disease through cardiovascular health.
 
Tamara Strohm, MD Tamara Strohm, MD, joined the department on June 30, 2022 as an Assistant Professor in the Neurocritical Care Division.  She majored in biology at Baylor University, completed her Neurology Residency training at Cleveland Clinic, and graduated from Neurocritical Care Fellowship at the Ohio State University in 2019.  She worked in the Neurovascular and Neurocritical Care Divisions there from 2019-2022.  She has an interest in medical student education and received recognition as longitudinal group teacher of the year for 2021-2022.  She is extremely excited to continue her role in a medical student, resident, and fellow education at UNC.
 
John Younce, MD John Younce, MD, joined the department in 2022 as an assistant professor in Movement Disorders. Dr. Younce received a medical degree from University of North Carolina School of Medicine after graduating with his degree in Biology. He completed his neurology residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St Louis and a clinical neurophysiology fellowship in Movement Disorders at Washington University. Dr. Younce’s clinical interests include Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, botulinum toxin injections for dystonia, hemifacial spasm, and spasticity.

 


New Advanced Practice Providers:

Khayati Patel, APRN Khyati Patel, DNP, FNP-BC, MBA-Leadership, has officially begun her new role as Advanced Practice Provider Lead for the Ambulatory Advanced Practice Providers of the Department of Neurology. We find this to be an important step towards enhancing our clinical infrastructure and developing processes to bolster the important work already performed by our Outpatient APPs. Among Khyati’s lead responsibilities, she will:

  • Serve as a liaison between our APP group and multiple other facets of the department
  • Develop needs assessments for the work performed by our APP group and offer possible resolutions with the involvement of our extenders
  • Interview and onboard new APPs
  • Develop training and educational programs with the help of other department leaders aimed to develop clinical skill sets for APPs
 
Alina Kamath, AG-ACNP, joined the NSICU APP group this summer. She did both her BSN and MSN at the University of Alabama Birmingham. She is an enthusiastic and experienced NP having worked previously in both Neurosurgery and Neuroscience ICU and has a special interest in neuroendovascular topics. Outside of the unit she enjoys travel, trying new restaurants, and staying fit with Pilates and barre.

 


New Staff:

Fabrienne Alexander, BA, joined the department on August 8, 2022 as the Public Communication Specialist.  She majored in Visual Communication Arts at North Carolina Central University in 2017. She worked as a Department Assistant III (Centers Manager, Digital Marketer, and Web Developer) for the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University from 2017-2022.  She has an interest in visual arts and received certification for digital marketing 2022-2023.
 
Said Alhassan (he/him/his), joined the department as a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Neuroscience Clinical Trial Unit. Beyond his time in the office, Said is learning to play the guitar!
 
Kristen Gillete, joined the department in 2022 as the RSFMRI Analysts Technician.
 
Gwendolyn Jackson (she/her/hers), recently joined the department as a new Administrative Coordinator. In her previous life she was a flight attendant and assures us, “it is all you could think it was”.
 
Olivia Leggio, joined the department in the summer of 2022 as the  Computer Programmer for the RSFMRI Lab.
 
Rhonni Lyons (she/her/hers), joined the department in the summer of 2022 as an Administrative Assistant.
 
Lindsey Womack (she/her/hers), joined the department in May of 2022 as Executive Assistant to the Chairs. During her time free time, Lindsey enjoys cooking, mountain biking, and is currently learning how to make pottery.

 

Department News

 

Andrea C. Bozoki, MD, opened a new industry-sponsored clinical trial for Lewy Body Disease. Dr. Bozoki also, gave a series of radio and online media interviews on Sept. 20th about Frontotemporal Dementia for FTD Awareness week that collectively reached over a million listeners.


Jamie Capal, MD, has been directing the adult and pediatric Tuberous Sclerosis Complex clinic, which is now being officially recognized as a TSC Clinic by the TSC Alliance. She is accepting referrals for new and established TSC patients. She also directs a TSC-Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders (TAND) clinic through the Carolina Institute of Developmental Disabilities.


Miriam Sklerov, MD, was appointed associated editor of the journal Frontiers in Neurology, Autonomic Disorders section.


Ian Shih, PhD, announced as new Neurology Department Vice Chair for Research

UNC Neurology is excited to announce Dr. Yen-Yu Ian Shih as its next Vice Chair for Research. Dr. Shih has over 10 years of research experience at UNC Neurology, joining the faculty in 2012 and appointed Associate Professor in 2017. Along with his position in Neurology, Dr. Shih has also served as Associate Director of the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC) and Director of the Center for Animal MRI (CAMRI). Dr. Shih is also a faculty member of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, the Intellectual Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), McAllister Heart Institute (MHI), and Adjunct faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC.  

Read more about Dr. Shih’s goals for his tenure as Neurology Vice Chair of Research here.


The Dr. Baldev Patel Neuromuscular Disorders Fund

The Dr. Baldev Patel Neuromuscular Disorders Fund will serve to advance patient care, research and education in the field of neurology and neuromuscular disorders, with a particular focus on providing patient care for those who may be experiencing financial hardship. As a specialist in reconstructive facial surgery in India, Dr. Patel spent his career treating patients who would have otherwise not been able to afford care.

The Patel family and members of the Neuromuscular team gathered together on November 11, 2022 to celebrate the establishment of the fund and Dr. Baldev Patel.

Deven Patel, founder and CEO of InfuCare Rx, made a $2 million gift in honor of his father.  This fund named ”Dr. Baldev Patel Neuromuscular Disorders Fund,” was established to allow Dr. Chaudhry and his teammates at UNC to allow for continual excellence in patient care, research and education in Neuromuscular Disorders.  This Celebratory event was held at the Graham Memorial to say thank you to the Patel family for their generous gift on November 11, 2022.

 


Transdisciplinary Huntington Disease Clinic

Transdisciplinary Huntington Disease clinic opened August 2022! Includes Dr Claudia Testa and new Neurology faculty members Dr Mary Edmonson (neuropsychiatry) and Jenna Lea CGC (genetic counseling). We are happy to provide care for symptomatic patients and at-risk family members. We are happy to collaborate on care, provide inpatient or outpatient consults, or take on long term outpatient care. Please contact any of our team members with questions or referrals.


UNC Huntington Disease Program

The UNC Huntington Disease Program is grateful to the Griffin Foundation for a generous gift that enables increased care access for HD patients, including neuropsychiatry care and social work.

The Huntington Disease Program also has a pair of new clinical trials opening this fall, both focused on testing a new therapeutic for cognitive symptoms in Huntington disease.

Honors/Awards

Award-Recognition Ribbon

 

Dr. Lynn Liu is co-chair of the Education Committee of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Education Committee, co-chaired by Lynn Liu and Paulo Kimaid, has been actively finding new people to serve and thinking of future activities. The inaugural meeting of our Young Neurophysiologists Network (YNN) took place in Geneva at the ICCN.


Dr. Heidi Roth received promotion to Clinical Professor of Neurology and achieved 20 years of service with UNC Neurology in November 2022. During her tenure at UNC Neurology, Dr. Roth has served as the Sleep Medicine Division Chief, Director of the Aging Brain Clinic (ABC), and the UNC Associate Core Leader of the Duke-UNC ADRC Clinical Core. UNC Neurology is stronger for the dedication and leadership provided by Dr. Roth. Please join us in congratulating her on her well-earned promotion to Clinical Professor of Neurology. 


Dr. Dave Hwang was selected as an Advisory Panelist on Patient Engagement for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.


Drs. Dave Hwang and Winnie Lau were both recognized with Presidential Citations at the Neurocritical Care Society Annual Meeting for their service to the Society.


Dr. Clio Rubinos was selected to be part of the Students in Training, Academia, Health and Research (STAHR) Mentorship Program at UNC. STAHR is a collaborative effort withing the UNC School of Medicine with goal to build  community, leadership, academic and professional excellence, and increase the graduation rate and success among underrepresented students and trainees. The annual program uses a framework of tiered cluster mentoring that involves faculty, fellows, residents, post docs,, MD students, and graduate students. The success of STAHR will have university implications, as well as directly affecting the diversity in hospitals and faculty in medical schools.

 

Awarded Grants

 

Dr. Dave Hwang is a project consultant for a new PCORI grant, “Addressing Barriers to Engaging Patient and Caregivers Experiencing Critical Illness to Build Capacity for Patient Centered Outcomes Research” that received notice of funding in November 2022.


Dr. Winnie Lau is a 2022 recipient of a Seed Funding Award in Neuropalliative Care from the International Neuropalliative Care Society. Dr. Lau’s award will go towards funding her research on “The Role of Inpatient Hospice for Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Severe Acute Brain Injury”.  The study is directed at understanding the family perceptions of patient care after transfer to UNC SECU hospice for compassionate extubation and comparing treatment outcomes to those who receive their palliative care and end-of-life services in the inpatient hospital. This year, INPCS funded 2 Seed Funding Awards to encourage and support young investigators in conducting clinical research in the field of Neuropalliative Care.

 

Publications

 

Latorius Admas, MS published an article in The Pilot on October 4, 2022, Brain Health” “The operating system for a happy, healthy, joyful life”


Andrea C. Bozoki, MD, co-authored “Comprehensive cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of plasma neurofilament light across FTD spectrum disorders.” Cell Rep Med. PubMed, Apr 19, 2022.


Julia Carlson, MD, is the lead author of “Early Withdrawal of Life Sustaining Therapy in Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR): Results from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry”, Resuscitation, October 2022.


Grace DeHoff, DO, and Winnie Lau, MD co-authored “Medical management of cerebral edema in large hemispheric infarcts,” Frontiers in Neurology, November 2022.


Monica Diaz, MD, MS, co-authored:

  • Biomarkers for dementia in Latin American countries: Gaps and opportunities. Alzheimers Dement. PubMed, September 13, 2022.
  • Combining visual rating scales to identify prodromal Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease dementia in a population from a low and middle-income country. Frontiers in Neurology. Sep 1, 2022.

Irena Dujmovic Basuroski, MD, co-authored:

  • Dr. Irena Dujmovic Basuroski and her colleagues published “String of Pearls” in Spinal Cord Sarcoidosis in Annals of Neurology. doi10.1002/ana.26471.
  • Dr. Irena Dujmovic Basuroski became a Steering Committee Member of The European Consortium for Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarker Research in Multiple Sclerosis.

James F Howard Jr, MD, co-authored:

  • Classical Complement Pathway Inhibition in a “Human-On-A-Chip” Model of Autoimmune Demyelinating Neuropathies. Adv Ther (Weinh). 2022 Jun;5(6):2200030. doi: 10.1002/adtp.202200030. Epub 2022 Apr 5. PMID: 36211621; PMCID: PMC9540753.
  • Terminal Complement Inhibitor Ravulizumab in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis. NEJM Evidence 2022-04-26T13:30:00Z 1(5): EVIDoa2100066, doi: 10.1056/EVIDoa2100066.
  • Selected clinical and demographic factors and all-cause mortality among individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network Neuromuscular Disorders 2022, May Epub ahead of publication, doi: 0.1016/j.nmd.2022.04.008.
  • Electrodiagnostic findings in Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency Type 2. Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease June 2022 – Volume 23(4): 205-209 doi: 10.1097/CND.000000000000039, PMID: 35608644.

Dave Hwang, MD, is the senior author for “A pilot randomized clinical trial of a goals-of-care decision aid for surrogates of severe acute brain injury patients,” Neurology, July 2022, and “Psychological attachment orientations and long-term post-traumatic stress symptoms among family members of intensive care unit patients,” Critical Care Explorations, August 2022. He also authored “Patients’ families, physicians, and nurses: trying to see eye-to-eye regarding prognosis in neurocritical care”, Neurocritical Care, August 2022, and co-authored “Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about disorders of consciousness: a focus on traumatic and anoxic brain injury”, Journal of Palliative Medicine, October 2022.


Winnie Lau, MD, is the senior author of “Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with an acute subdural hematoma treated with endovascular intervention: A case report”, Frontiers in Neurology, October 2022.


Daniel Roque, MD, published along with diverse groups of researchers. Morowitz JM, Pogson KB, Roque DA, Church FC. Role of SARS-CoV-2 in Modifying Neurodegenerative Processes in Parkinson’s Disease: A Narrative Review. Brain Sci. 2022 Apr 22;12(5):536. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12050536. PMID: 35624923; PMCID: PMC9139310. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35624923/


Clio Rubinos, MD, MSCR, is the lead author for 2 publications:

  1. Rubinos C., Blodgett C., Bruzzone MJ., Tsai C., Patel P., Hianik R., Jadav R., Boudesseul J., Liu C., Zhu H., Wilson S., Olm-Shipman C., Meeker R., Hirsch L. Association of serum Pyridoxine levels with benzodiazepine-resistant status epilepticus. Neurocritical Care PMID: 36071331
  2. Rubinos C., Waters B., Hirsch L. Predicting and Treating Post-Traumatic Epilepsy. Curr Treat Options Neurol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-022-00727-2

Clio Rubinos, MD, MSCRauthored a July newsletter article for the Neurocritical Care Society entitled, “Continuous EEG Monitoring in Intensive Care Units in Resource-Limited Settings: A Necessary Skill for Intensivists.”  https://currents.neurocriticalcare.org/blogs/currents-editor/2022/06/07/continuous-eeg-monitoring-in-intensive-care-units-


John Younce, MD, published as co-first author in Annals of Neurology. Martin WRW, Younce JR, Campbell MC, Racette BA, Norris SA, Ushe M, Criswell S, Davis AA, Alfradique-Dunham I, Maiti B, Cairns NJ, Perrin RJ, Kotzbauer PT, Perlmutter JS. Neocortical Lewy body pathology parallels Parkinson’s dementia, but not always. Ann Neurol. 2022 Nov 4. doi: 10.1002/ana.26542. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36331161. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36331161/

Clinical Trials

 

Suzette Maria LaRoche, MD, is the PI of three recently activated clinical trials:

  • Roche Pharmaceuticals: Long-term Extension (LTE) of the Phase 1-2a clinical trial (above) of an ASO therapy for Angelman Syndrome. Learn more >
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals / Biogen: A Phase 1-2a Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Intrathecally Administered Anti-sense Oligonucleotide (ASO; ION582) in Patients with Angelman Syndrome (“HALOS”). Learn more >
  • Zynerba Pharmaceuticals: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multiple-Center, Efficacy and Safety Study of ZYN002 Administered as a Transdermal Gel to Children and Adolescents with Fragile X Syndrome (“RECONNECT”). Learn more >

Presentations

 

UNC Neurology faculty and residents gave an impressive number of presentations both nationally and internationally this year including many poster and paper presentations. View the 2022 presentations >

 

Events

2022 Walk to END EPILEPSY – Raleigh

UNC Neurology Epilepsy teamed up again this year for the 2022 Walk to END EPILEPSY Raleigh to raise awareness and funds to END EPILEPSY. Our team, the “Team UNC,” raised $1,694.00! Thanks to everyone who contributed and/or participated.


UNC Neurology at the Parkinson’s Foundation Moving Day Walk, Saturday, November 5, 2022

Combined UNC Chapel Hill and UNC REX Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence participated in the 10th anniversary of Moving Day in the Triangle which spreads awareness and raises funds for the Parkinson’s community in the Triangle area. Moving Day was started by Jessica Shurer and Nina Browner, MD 10 years ago and 3 years ago enough funds were raised to create a Carolinas Chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation who now organizes this yearly event for the community.


Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellent and Dr. Nina Browner trained health care professionals

Maggie Ivancic, MSW, LCSWA, Center Coordinator & Clinical Social Worker for Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellent and Dr. Nina Browner trained health care professionals at the UNC Community Palliative Care Services on palliative care nuances for patient with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. The training was supported by Parkinson Foundation Palliative Care Grant (PI: Nina Browner, MD)


Annual Child Neurology Society Meeting, October 2022

UNC Child Neurology group gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio in October 2022 at the Annual Child Neurology Society Meeting.


Annual Neurology Department Family Day, Saturday, September 17, 2022

The Neurology Department gathered together on Saturday, September 17, 2022 for the Annual Neurology Department Family Day. This year’s event took place under a gazebo, on a beautiful day at Jordan Lake. Members from all across the department brought their friends and family out to enjoy lunch, Melody the Clown, and ice cream from Alsies Ice Cream truck. The group played games, enjoyed the perfect weather, and connected with new and old department friends and colleagues.


Neurology Department New Faculty & Residents Reception, July 27, 2022

The Department hosted a meet and greet reception for new faculty and residents on Wednesday, July 27th at the Graduate Hotel on Franklin Street. The evening was a success with current faculty, residents, and staff coming together to welcome those that had joined the department over the past year. The pandemic had kept us all apart, and this event was a great start to a new academic year!