Dr. Barnett was born and raised in a small town in eastern Kentucky with aspirations to become a physician and serve her community through her love of medicine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology. She then went on to medical school at the University of Kentucky participating in the Rural Physician Leadership Program and graduating with High Distinction in 2016. She fell in love with the neurosurgery program at UNC after witnessing the well-rounded nature of all the faculty and residents both in and outside of work. She feels very grateful to have been trained by outstanding neurosurgeons who are also amazing human beings who have fostered both her professional and personal development throughout her residency training.

Dr. Barnett is currently applying to pediatric neurosurgery fellowships. She enjoys all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery with main clinical and research interests in fetal surgery, spina bifida, and flexible endoscopy in the treatment of hydrocephalus. Her research interests also include investigating healthcare disparities that affect access to care and outcomes. She was awarded the 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Neurosurgery Award at the 49^th Annual AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery Virtual Meeting for her research on the potential for telemedicine to exacerbate healthcare disparities, particularly among patients whose primary language is Spanish. She is also heavily involved in educational initiatives for junior residents and medical students. She was co-director of the very first month long intensive all virtual neurosurgical sub-internship at UNC in 2020 in addition to co-director of the 2021 Virtual sub-internship preparation series hosted by the AANS Young Neurosurgeons Committee/Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation. She has also helped run neurosurgical teaching series and skills labs for medical students interested in neurosurgery. She was recently selected to serve as a 2022-2023 Council of State Neurosurgical Societies Socioeconomic Fellow, where she is excited to learn about and work on initiatives that will help her advocate for her patients and advance the field of neurosurgery.

Outside of work, Dr. Barnett’s family is very important to her. She enjoys being outdoors, hiking, and going to the beach with her daughter and husband.

Dr. Piazza grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering prior to moving to North Carolina for medical school at Wake Forest School of Medicine. It was there that he discovered neurosurgery. Between his 3^rd and 4^th years of medical school, Dr. Piazza spent a year at the NIH/NINDS Surgical Neurology Branch through the Medical Research Scholars Program where he studied brain tumor associated edema models with the goal to better understand intraoperative drug delivery systems. He chose to stay in North Carolina for residency at UNC because during his residency interview, he was impressed by the unparalleled collegiality among the attendings and residents. He was also impressed that the leadership at UNC has a unique educational environment focused on helping develop the well-rounded neurosurgeon while also individualizing opportunities to reach each trainee’s career goals; these continue to remain true today.

Dr. Piazza’s academic interests include pediatric neurosurgery as well as adult and pediatric spinal deformity and scoliosis. Outside of work, Dr. Piazza enjoys running, cooking, and exploring local breweries and restaurants.

Darshan Shastri, MD
Darshan Shastri is a sixth year neurosurgery resident who grew up in New Jersey. He went to Johns Hopkins University and attained a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Medical Sciences from Boston University and attained his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society as a junior and received the Merck Award for Academic Excellence for graduating at the top of his class. Dr. Shastri is one of the neuroendovascular fellows for 2021-2022, an enfolded fellowship with UNC Neurosurgery that he will complete during his PGY5 year. His interest is in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery and he has published research on hemodynamics of aneurysm formation as well as various endovascular therapies.

He has an interest in furthering resident education and has worked to create transition to intern year and PGY-2 handbooks as well as working to secure a grant funding anastomosis training microscopes for all residents in the program to practice microsurgical techniques at home. Outside of work Dr. Shastri loves spending time with his wife and their rescue dog, Queso.

Prior to medical school, Dr. Quig served in the Marines for four years. He graduated from medical school at the University of North Carolina and knew that he wanted to stay at UNC for residency training because of the collegial and educational environment created by UNC’s leadership. Dr. Quig is one of the neuroendovascular fellows for 2021-2022, an enfolded fellowship with UNC Neurosurgery that he will complete during his PGY5 year. He also plans to pursue further fellowship training in skull base and open vascular neurosurgery following residency training.

His research interests include atraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and pituitary tumors. Outside of work, Dr. Quig enjoys woodworking.

Born in Egypt, Dr. Abumoussa and his family ultimately found their way to Hendersonville, NC. As an undergraduate at UNC, he studied math and computer science. He worked as a software engineer building smart home technology for assistive living after graduation and went on to study high performance computing and artificial intelligence in graduate school. He returned home  for medical school and neurosurgery residency. His interests include complex spine and neuroprosthetics.

Currently, in his free time, he is trying to learn the piano with his wife and daughter.

Dr. Kelly Chamberlin grew up in Petaluma, California. She was the first in her family to attend college and earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from UCLA. She went on to graduate medical school from the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. She was the first student to match neurosurgery from her medical school. Her passion for neurosurgery was sparked by her love of both the neurosciences and surgery and she sought out mentorship from the neurosurgery faculty at Yale University. She completed research in pediatric neurosurgery with the Yale neurosurgery department prior to residency.

Dr. Chamberlin is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Research at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC. She is interested in pediatric neurosurgery and her research will focus on pediatric tethered cord syndrome, preoperative imaging, and surgical outcomes. She is particularly interested in optimizing surgical outcomes by careful patient selection.

Dr. Chamberlin participated in the couples match with her husband, who matched pathology at UNC. Her husband is now pursuing a neuropathology fellowship at Duke University. In her spare time, Dr. Chamberlin enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and their rescue pit bull, Chance.

Dr. Gelinne was born in Monterey, CA but was primarily raised in Burke, Virginia. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering. Following college, he spent five years in the US Navy as a Nuclear Engineering Officer before making the decision to return to medical school. He received his MD from the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

He is particularly interested in integrating his engineering background to come up with innovative solutions to neurosurgical problems. Though undecided, he is interested in spine and vascular neurosurgery. During his free time, he enjoys windsurfing and spending time with his wife and daughter.

Dr. Silva was born and raised in New Jersey. Her parents immigrated from Portugal and she prides herself in being a first generation American and the first person in her family to become a physician. She attended University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. She returned to her home state to pursue medicine, attending Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Nicole earned her MD in 2020 with a distinction in Global Health, where she focused on immigrant and global health of Portuguese-speaking populations. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society and received the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Scholarship as a fourth-year medical student.

Her research interests include global neurosurgery, specifically working with neurosurgery departments in Amazon region of Brazil, public health, reducing gender and minority disparities in neurosurgery, vascular and neurotrauma. Dr. Silva enjoys spending time with family and friends, indulging in Portuguese and Brazilian foods and music, planning her next travel destination, and spending weekends at the beach.

Dr. Andrews grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry as well as Microbiology, followed by medical school at the University of Oklahoma. Having lived in Suriname, South America as a child and experiencing firsthand the effects that lack of proper health care can have on a society, Dr. Andrews became interested in pursuing a career in the field of medicine at a young age, particularly global health opportunities and working with underserved populations. As a medical student, she was introduced to neurosurgery and was immediately drawn to the field.

Her hobbies include dance and the performing arts, spending time with family and friends, trying new foods, traveling, and barre workout classes.

Dr. Li was born in Nanjing, China and grew up on the Florida space coast. She attended Cornell University where she graduated with Bachelor degrees in Biology and English. While earning her medical degree at New York Medical College, she served as Vice Chair of the Medical Society of the State of New York – Medical Student Section and was involved in advocacy and public policy initiatives. In medical school, she also grew her passion for neurosurgery, conducting and publishing research focusing on prognostication and management of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages. Upon graduation, she received the Department of Neurosurgery Academic Award.

Her current interests include pediatric and vascular neurosurgery, medical student education, and social and healthcare advocacy. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and baking, creating art and music, and spending time outdoors.