Program Leadership

Our program is lead by an incredible team of leaders and supported by numerous Med-Peds trained Faculty in the inpatient and ambulatory setting. These people are invaluable resources to our residents and the program graduates. They have created quite a legacy that we hope to continue to build!

Michael Contarino, MD

Residency Program Director

Dr. Mike Contarino graduated from Duke University in 1999 with a degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. From there, he spent four years as an officer in the United States Navy with the Civil Engineers Corps traveling and gaining leadership experience. After his navy career, Dr. Contarino returned to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and also completed residency training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at UNC. Following this, he joined the faculty at WakeMed as an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist, focusing on resident and medical student education. Among other duties and volunteer activities, Dr. Contarino serves on the Hospital Ethics Committee, and chairs the Care Delivery Team for patient and family centered care. He has won several teaching awards throughout residency and his time as a hospitalist, including the Robert L Ney Award, Harvey J Hamrick Excellence in Teaching Award, and the WakeMed Faculty Teaching Award.

Raquel Reyes, MD

Residency Associate Program Director

Dr. Raquel Reyes is a hospitalist and clinician educator with a particular commitment to addressing disparities in health in resource-poor settings. She completed her combined residency training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in June 2012.  Following residency, she lived in Uganda where she served as the first Site Director for MGH’s Global Medicine Residency.

Dr. Reyes earned a BA in English from Harvard College, an MD from Harvard Medical School, and a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She has served as a Volunteer In Service To America, advocating for access to health care for refugees and migrant farm workers in rural California. She has policy experience in Geneva and Washington, D.C and clinical experience in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Uganda. Her early public health work included studies of maternal health in Afghanistan and rural Mali.

Dr. Reyes currently serves as a hospitalist and clinician educator on the internal medicine wards, seminar facilitator for medical students, global health mentor for residents and medical students, and Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program.

Josh Berkowitz, MD

Residency Associate Program Director

Growing up in North Carolina, UNC has been the perfect fit for Dr. Berkowitz throughout his education and early career. He received his undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences, then after a year of bench research in the Cystic Fibrosis Center went on to earn his medical degree through the School of Medicine. He was thrilled to match at UNC Hospitals for Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency training, subsequently serving as Chief Resident before completing a fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine through the Department of Family Medicine. He is currently appointed as an assistant professor of Orthopaedics, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and serves as a Team Physician for UNC Sports Medicine in addition to his roles as Associate Program Director for the Med-Peds residency program. His academic interests include medical education with a focus on teaching musculoskeletal medicine, as well as management of complex medical issues in athletes.

Hillary Spangler, MD

Current Chief Resident

Hillary, originally from Asheboro, NC completed her undergraduate work in Nutrition and Biology at NC State and started wearing both red and Carolina Blue when she attended UNC for medical school. During her training, she developed a passion for quality improvement and participated in multiple QI initiatives, including UNC’s Code Sepsis Project and received a 2021-2022 Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement grant for the implementation of a patient deterioration scoring system. Her academic and clinical interests include point-of-care ultrasound, curriculum development, clinical research and quality of life in the geriatric population. Hillary is the author of several children’s books, including most recently, The Sweetest Victory. She is excited and honored to serve as the 2021-2022 Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Chief Resident and will be applying for geriatrics fellowship.

Megan Hoppens, MD

Rising Chief Resident

Megan was born in Fort Collins, CO and attended Tulane University for her undergraduate work in Neuroscience, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She is an AOA member hoping to create outreach programs for those who lack care both inside and outside of the United States. She couples matched with her classmate, and now fiancé. Upon graduation, they plan to practice in an underserved area and participate in global medical missions regularly. Hobbies/Interests: running races such as the Rock N’ Roll half marathon, singing for the Flu Fighters, fishing and live music.

Robin Howard

Residency Program Coordinator

Robin Howard was born and raised in Sanford, NC and is now completing her undergraduate degree part-time at the University at North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked at UNC-Chapel Hill for 16 years and loves working with the Internal Medicine and Pediatric Residency Programs. Her greatest joy is being able to see each resident push through life’s challenges while pursuing their career to serve to be able to serve others. Her niece and nephews are her hearts and are the very reasons she presses forward everyday. When Robin is not enjoying ministry, she loves taking in a movie, writing in her journal or relaxing at the beach or in the mountains.

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