Meet Our Fellows

Danielle Lowe, MD

Residency: Medical University of South Carolina
Medical School: MD, Medical University of South Carolina

Areas of interest in psychiatry: ASD and comorbid conditions, interventional psychiatry, clinical research, medical education

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: The vast opportunities to explore niches of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and a program that supports you exploring your interests. Its really cool to train at a place where CAP feels like a specialty with just as many “subspecialties” and that learning for the trainees is a priority. Also, I challenge you to find a more supportive PD. 😊

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: I challenge you to find a weekend where there is not some cultural or food event happening in the Triangle. (And if you happen to find such a weekend, please check out the mountains, Charlotte, or the beach- all are within 2-4 hours drive.)

Gabrielle Hodgins, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program
Medical School: University of Miami

Areas of interest in psychiatry: There has never been a doubt in my mind that I’d spend my career taking care of and advocating for kiddos! My interests within CAP continue to evolve, but caring and advocating alongside our most vulnerable patient populations have been the common thread. Throughout residency, I’ve come to appreciate how much I love working with medically and psychiatrically complex patients, and seeing kiddos in our clinics for individuals with intellectual and developmental differences is often the highlight of my week! Consultation-liaison psychiatry has always been my favorite inpatient service, largely for the same reasons. Outside the purely clinical setting, my interests include engaging with advocacy efforts, medical education, and clinical research.

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: I could go on for a while. First and foremost, the greatest strength of our program are the people in it and the patients we treat. People are genuinely kind and really supportive, which is true despite how cliche it sounds! There’s always a mentor or colleague who can help you pursue your interests. Our vast array of clinical opportunities is a huge strength as well.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: I LOVE this area. I am equidistant between UNC and Dukes’ main medical campuses, and its about a 15 minute drive to work. My two golden’s really appreciate that there are multiple trail heads for biking/walking within 5 minutes of my home! The Triangle is a perfect mix of having enough ‘city’ while also having access to the outdoors.

Dan Pogash, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program
Medical School: MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Psychedelics/Interventional Psychiatry, ADHD, and play therapy

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: Supportive community with strong resources, diversity of the population we serve

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: Better weather than the Northeast!

Charlotte Schwarz, MD

Residency: Duke

Medical School: MD, Semmelweis University

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Severe persistent mental illness, forensic psychiatry

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: Open and supportive faculty, diversity of training experiences, robust inpatient units

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: Cultural and academic opportunities, mild weather

Alan Hauser, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program

Medical School: MD, University of Virginia

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Still quite general but do have particular interest in the treatment of OCD, tic disorders, developmental disabilities.

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: Great, well-rounded training. Lots of exposure to inpatient care with specialized child and adolescent services as well as significant time spent on our consults service. Very strong emphasis on learning therapy skills and working with an interdisciplinary team.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: It’s a great place to live! Lots of culture, good food, reasonable cost of living. You can choose to live in more rural or urban locations and still be close to work.

Katie Gaffney, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program

Medical School: MD, University of Illinois

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Child psychiatry, child and family therapy, mental health systems and policy

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: The people are truly the greatest gift of this program. UNC Psychiatry is like a family, and as I’ve welcomed two kiddos during residency so far, everyone here has been hugely helpful and supportive. Academically, our department offers both breadth and depth in just about any psychiatry interest area, so that you can explore and refine your career goals along the way.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: There’s so much access to nature! We can visit the beach or the mountains easily on a weekend, or spend any lovely evening on a long hike near home. I also love that the triangle is home to tons of young families and offers lots of great activities for mine.

Rhonda Robeel, MD

Residency: University of South Florida Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
Medical School: University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine

Areas of interest in psychiatry: I have clinical interests in student health, transitional aged populations, collaborative care models, and consult liaison work.

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: UNC was one of the few programs that provided a CL service on top of both a child and adolescent unit, an eating disorder unit, and the opportunity to work in student health so really I hit a home run by matching here. The added perk is I have so many fabulous teammates and fans (aka colleagues and mentors) cheering me on from the sidelines and in the stands.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: Outside of work, I like to bake, eat ice cream, travel, read, play board games, and do puzzles when I am not actively chasing around my two cats. Feel free to ask me about the last book I read for book club and my carbohydrate use disorder (which will probably be my contribution to DSM-VI)!

Tian Duke -Sui, MD

Residency: University of Florida College of Medicine
Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine

Areas of interest in psychiatry: I really enjoy working with children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the frequently co-existing anxiety and mood disorders. I am also interested in working with families to improve access to support services. In addition, I enjoy exploring the shared technology and mental-health space including apps and virtual reality-based interventions that are on the horizon. Foundationally, meditation and mindfulness-based practices inform my approach to wellness in our fast-paced society.

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: The UNC Child and Adolescent Program is a very comprehensive environment for both inpatient and outpatient-based training. There is a protected didactics schedule taught by Psychiatry, Neurology, Pediatrics, and Endocrinology attendings who are top-notch clinical educators. The Child Psychiatry Unit and Adolescent Psychiatry unit are excellent and the outpatient clinic at the Vilcom Center and at the Scott Building on the Dorothea Dix campus are wonderful centers for medication management and longitudinal child & parent therapy.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: I very much enjoy biking and being in nature on the forested pathways of the Triangle Greenspace which connects Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh. I also enjoy shopping at the abundance of international grocery markets in the area.

Amanda Sanders, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program
Medical School: University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Child-caregiver attachment, caregiver mental health and its effect on childhood development, collaborative care, consultative care, and interventional psychiatry

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: The quality of mentorship and the collegiality here makes UNC such a great environment to learn. The program places a strong emphasis on prioritizing learning opportunities for trainees through extensive didactics, as well as broad exposure to all things Child and Adolescent including ample parent and child therapy exposure, inpatient exposure to a child unit, an adolescent unit, a eating disorders unit, and inpatient consult work, as well as outpatient work in a general child clinic and a neurodiversity clinic. The program also advocates and supports trainees to make sure you are able to tailor your schedule to best pursue your interests.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: Great weather, lots of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors locally with really close proximity to both the beaches and mountains, nationally recognized K-12 school systems, variety of museums and live arts, and a welcoming and open-minded community

Katie Weinel, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program

Medical School: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine 

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Trauma, mood disorders, therapy, medical education and teaching

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: I love UNC for so many reasons! I deeply admire and look up to the faculty members in the UNC Department of Psychiatry—they are my mentors, role models, and teachers. I am grateful to have amazing colleagues and friends in my co-fellows. I really enjoy the breadth of experience that we get as child fellows, the ability to learn from the inpatient, consult, and outpatient specialty clinics. As a second year fellow, I have been able to shape my schedule to use my elective time for my specific interests in community psychiatry and medical education.

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: There are so many amazing restaurants, breweries, parks, and trails! Being outside is wonderful in North Carolina (we have great weather most of the time). I absolutely love kayaking on Jordan Lake with my husband.

Caroline Murrell, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program

Medical School: Wake Forest University School Of Medicine 

Areas of interest in psychiatry: transitional age youth

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: supportive faculty and colleagues, diverse training opportunities

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: great food, within driving distance from mountains and beach

Levent Sipahi, MD

Residency: UNC Hospitals General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program
Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine

Areas of interest in psychiatry: Psychotherapy

Strengths of the program/What you like about the program: Great opportunity to work with smart, thoughtful people with a variety of perspectives

Something you enjoy about living in the Triangle: Great weather, great food, access to nature