In April 2025, the faculty of UNC Interventional Radiology made a powerful impact at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR)—the premier event for the IR community. This year’s meeting was a testament to UNC’s continued leadership, innovation, and commitment to advancing the field of interventional radiology. We are proud to recognize and congratulate our faculty for their outstanding contributions and involvement in this year’s gathering: Dr. Gloria Salazar, served as the Program Director of the Meeting, playing a central role in shaping the scientific and educational content for thousands of attendees. Her leadership helped ensure a dynamic, high-quality program that reflected the latest advances in IR. “It was an honor to serve as SIR 2025 NASH Program Chair, thanks to the organizing committee Bulent Arslan, MD, FSIR, Kumar Madassery, Kush Desai, Dr. Paula Novelli, Erik Cressman, PhD, MD, FSIR; our faculty, and sponsors, whose contributions have made this conference possible,” says Gloria Salazar, MD. “This conference is a testament to our shared commitment to advancing medical knowledge and improving patient care in the Society of Interventional Radiology.” Dr. Maureen Kohi, current Chair of the SIR Foundation, was recognized for her ongoing work guiding the Foundation’s mission

If there were a superpower tailor-made for the world of contracts and grants, Emily Gardner already has it — minus the cape. She’s UNC Radiology’s resident pre-award research administrator and unofficial office energy source, known for juggling the chaos of new grant submissions with a smile, a laugh, and maybe a little dance in her step. Emily’s journey to UNC Radiology feels like a homecoming in more ways than one. Born in North Carolina and raised as a Tar Heel loyalist, her UNC roots run deep — her grandmother once worked on campus cleaning out mice cages in a research lab. Young Emily would tag along and wander the halls, soaking in the buzz of campus life. Years later, she’s back — only now, she’s the one helping others make research magic happen. “I started at UNC about seven years ago and moved into Radiology full-time three years ago,” she says. But really, she’s been part of the Carolina family much longer. “My dad and his brothers all worked at the hospital. My uncle went to med school here. It just felt… natural.” Before jumping into research administration, Emily spent 17 years as a full-time stay-at-home mom — and yes,

When Dr. Fernando Augusto de Albuquerque Mendes Filho—yes, it’s a mouthful, but we promise he’s as friendly as his name is long—first considered a move to the U.S., he had three things in mind: great people, a collegial environment, and absolutely minimal snow. Now officially a Clinical Instructor in the MSK section at UNC’s Department of Radiology, he’s found all three (plus the added bonus of excellent Southern food). Born and raised in northeast Brazil, Fernando grew up in a small town where his father was a local physician and a pillar of the community—the kind of doctor who held consultations in the family garage. From watching his dad care for neighbors to seeing patients drive up to the house for help, Fernando was inspired early by medicine’s power to build trust and serve a community. And though young Fernando once dreamed of being a professional soccer player (we mean footballer), the uncertainty on that path (“I was not that good anyway”) nudged him toward the books—and eventually, into medicine. He landed on Radiology not through textbooks but through curiosity. “During my rotations, whether it was OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Neurology, or Orthopedics, we would have a patient and a question,