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What’s new in the Department of Neurosurgery

Dr. Simon KhagiWelcome Dr. Khagi!

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Simon Khagi will join UNC’s Brain Tumor program on August 31st. At present, Dr. Khagi is a neurological oncology fellow at Duke University. In June 2015, he completed a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology from Tufts University School of Medicine after finishing his residency from Dartmouth Medical School in 2012. Dr. Khagi graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine in 2009. Simon will join the Division of Oncology as an Assistant professor in late August with a joint appointment in Neurosurgery.


 Randaline Barnett-Martin PiazzaPlease also join us in welcoming Randaline (Randi) Barnett and Martin Piazza to our UNC Neurosurgery residency program!

Randaline (Randi) Barnett

  • University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 2012-2016
  • University of Kentucky, BS in biology, minor – psychology, 2008-2012

Martin Piazza

  • Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, 2011-2016
  • Georgetown University, MS in physiology and biophysics, 2010-2011
  • Princeton University, BA in chemistry, materials science and engineering, 2006-2010

Congratulations also to our UNC student, Crystal Adams, who matched at George Washington University neurosurgery!

 


 Ewend-HingtenDr. Ewend and Dr. Shawn Hingtgen, professor of molecular pharmaceutics were recently featured on WRAL and Radio in Vivo in a story discussing how skin cells can be turned into cancer-killing stem cells that hunt down and destroy the deadly remnants left behind when a brain tumor is surgically removed.



Dr. Julie Sharpless
was recognized as a provider who has consistently scored highly on the CG-CAHPS survey (Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) question of “Would you recommend this provider’s office?”. As one of 130 providers being recognized at UNCH, this is quite an achievement and means that she scored above the 75th percentile among her peers for the 2015 calendar year. In order to be recognized, at least 30 of her patients indicated that they would recommend her for care.


Carolyn QuinseyUNC Neurosurgery chief resident Dr. Carolyn Quinsey visited UNC Project-Malawi in March to help the Department of Neurosurgery explore the possibility of an ongoing resident rotation and collaboration with providers in Malawi. Her visit was the first trip funded through the Bullitt-Friedman scholarship. Read more >>



Dr. Matt Ewend
was the guest speaker for the University of South Carolina’s Grand Rounds (Department of Neurology/Palmetto Health Care System) in Columbia, South Carolina on March 3rd. The topic was “The Surgeon’s Role in Treating Glioblastomas.” Dr. Ewend and Jim Murphy also met with leaders of the Departments of Neurology/Neurosurgery and the hospital.


Dr. Gustavo Pradilla presented at a talk on “Intracerebral hemorrhage: current treatments and novel therapies” at UNC’s Neurosurgery Grand Rounds in February. Dr. Gustavo Pradilla is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine. He serves as chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital and is the co-director of the Grady Skull Base Surgery Center.


Head for the CureThe Head for the Cure kickoff meeting has been rescheduled to Friday, May 6th from 8:00-8:30am during the Brain Tumor Board meeting. We’ll learn more about the 5K Run/Walk to be held on Saturday, July 16th. Food and beverages will be provided.

Following the Tumor Board, the general public is invited to attend a presentation from 8:30-9am, also in conference room 2 on the ground floor of the Cancer Hospital. Highlights of the Run/Walk and recent neurosurgery research will be presented. A WebEx broadcast will be available for people who would prefer to attend remotely.


We are happy to announce that Trudi Tatton-Howard has joined us as an RN for the Department of Neurosurgery. Her primary role will be to support Dr. Price and travel with him to clinic in Hillsborough (Spine Center until Hillsborough is ready) and South Boston. Trudi previously worked at Duke University Medical Center’s Neurosurgery ICU. Prior to that, she served as a nurse for about ten years in Lexington, Kentucky at the University of Kentucky and KentuckyOne Health Saint Joseph Hospital.