Faculty
UNC Pediatric Infectious Disease Faculty
Tom Belhorn MD PhD is a professor of pediatrics, has been a pediatric infectious disease physician since 1990. He has been with UNC Children’s since 1999.
Dr. Belhorn’s clinical specialty is providing care for children with any type of infectious disease. Special interests include pediatric HIV, and he directs the Ryan White Program-funded pediatric HIV clinics at UNC Hospitals. Additional clinical interests include MRSA, viral infections, persistent or recurring fever, and general pediatric infectious diseases.
Dr. Belhorn has a strong interest in medical education, has won numerous education awards, and gives frequent lectures on varied pediatric infectious disease topics to wide-ranging audiences. He is annually selected for the Best Doctors in America Award and has been recognized as one of America’s top pediatricians by the Consumers’ Research Council. He is the program director for the fellowship program.
Dr. Belhorn and his wife Linda, an adult rheumatologist, were married in 1986. They enjoy cheering on the Tar Heels in football and basketball, visiting new restaurants, occasional trips to the beach, and of course spending time with their two children, Chris and Stephanie.
Toni Darville, MD, is the chief of pediatric infectious disease, Scientific Director of the Children’s Research Institute and UNC Children’s vice chair for research.
Dr. Darville has been conducting basic and translational research on Chlamydia trachomatis for over 23 years. Her goal is to increase understanding of genital tract disease due to C. trachomatis with the aim of developing improved treatment and preventatives and to improve the reproductive health of women worldwide.
Dr. Darville is also dedicated to providing medical education and mentorship to trainees of all levels, including fellows, graduate students, post docs and junior level faculty. As Vice Chair of Research and Scientific Director of the CRI, she is happy to provide feedback on potential research proposals and information about helpful resources available on campus.
She and her husband, Dave, enjoy entertaining, traveling and family time with their twin daughters, Hillary and Rachel.
Zach Willis, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of pediatrics who joined UNC Children’s as a pediatric infectious disease physician in 2016. Dr. Willis is especially interested in the management of complicated bacterial and fungal infections, including in children with compromised immune systems. He serves as the medical director of the pediatric antibiotic stewardship program for UNC Children’s.
He also works on prevention of Healthcare Acquired Infections at UNC Children’s. His research focuses on the use of antibiotics in outpatient clinic settings and designing Quality Improvement initiatives to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.
When he’s not in the hospital, Dr. Willis enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters and their dog. He really likes Star Wars movies, but usually they just watch Frozen instead.
Peyton Thompson, MD, MSCR, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases who is passionate about improving access to vaccinations for children living in low-resource settings. She joined UNC’s faculty in 2019 after completing both her residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UNC.
Dr. Thompson’s research focuses broadly on vaccine-preventable diseases and specifically on the prevention of hepatitis B through vaccination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her fellowship research project involved implementation of a birth-dose vaccine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus, and has since led to several other studies of hepatitis B transmission and prevention. She has funding for her research studies from the NIH, ASTMH/Burroughs-Welcome Fund, and UNC’s Physician Scientist Training Program. She enjoys teaching and mentoring students and residents who are interested in global health and tropical medicine.
Outside of work, Dr. Thompson loves spending time with her husband and 2 dogs (Angus and Barley, both Boston terrier mixes), hiking and camping, and traveling the world (when there isn’t a pandemic).
Matthew Vogt, MD, PhD is an assistant professor of both Pediatrics and Microbiology & Immunology at UNC. He joined the infectious diseases team in 2020 to start his first independent research laboratory, which focuses on the intersection of virology and immunology. Current research is specifically directed toward understanding the pathogenesis of enterovirus D68 infection and the human humoral immune response to this infection. The laboratory uses models of infection in mice and in differentiated human ex vivo cell culture to do this. Dr. Vogt’s non-science hobbies include spending time in the garden or watching birds at his feeders and exploring the food and drink options around his downtown Durham home with his wife and dog.