Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya has been selected as Chair Elect of the Scoliosis Research Society’s (SRS) Health Policy Committee, and will be appointed as Chair in 2026. SRS is one of the world’s premier spine societies and is a leading global platform for sharing and disseminating new knowledge of spinal deformity....

Medical Illustrator Mark Schornak, MS, CMI has been inducted as a fellow at the Association of Medical Illustrators national conference in July in recognition of his years of service to the organization.   The designation of Fellow is a formal recognition of Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) members who have made...

“The day of surgery, I felt hopeful. I was feeling confident in Dr. Galgano.” Heinley has worked as an actor since his mid 20’s and is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While acting in class one day, Heinley took...

Vibhor Krishna, MD, a neurosurgeon at the UNC School of Medicine, was one of 15 researchers involved in a multicenter clinical trial showing that bilateral focused ultrasound is safe for patients seeking treatment for essential tremor, including Sally Richey and Frank George, whose stories are below. UNC Hospitals also uses...

Dr. Darshan Shastri and Dr. Nathan Quig completed their neurosurgery residency training at UNC Health and celebrated their accomplishments with faculty and staff at the neurosurgery residency graduation this past weekend. Dr. Darshan Shastri will complete a neuroendovascular fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Nathan Quig is heading to...

Dr. Dominique Higgins was selected as a member of the Section on Tumors Research and Neurosurgery Research Education Fund (NREF) subcommittee. The Section on Tumors NREF subcommittee’s purpose is to develop and foster research aspects of neurosurgical oncology, and assist the NREF with annual grant reviews. The subcommittee will also...

“I thought I was going to be paralyzed.” Butch is a veteran who spent his post military career working as a plumber. His nickname at work was “Bam Bam” because of his strength, which he built up during his time in Iraq carrying a pack and ammo that together weighed over...

UNC Health is the first site in the country to begin enrolling patients in a multicenter, multinational phase III clinical trial, evaluating a more effective way to deliver chemotherapy to the brain and if it can improve overall survival for glioblastoma patients. SONOBIRD is the name of the phase III...

“It was like having an eye patch on and it came off and now I can see clearly.” Essie is a NCCC nurse at UNC Health working nights to care for critical patients in the NCCC. While driving home from work in October 2023, Essie had unusual difficulty seeing road...

I thought this would be a new normal, and my family depends on me. I thought ‘this is it.’ Stanley works as a construction worker in North Carolina, and as one would expect in this field, his job is physically demanding. When Stanley started to struggle with debilitating neck pain...