Author Archives: Sheerah Coe

Congratulations, Dr. John Nazarian, Chief and Associate Professor of Emergency Radiology! He won the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine Ectopic Attending Award for 2025, awarded to an educator outside of EM for outstanding dedication to teaching residents. He will receive his award at the UNC Emergency Medicine Education Banquet and Graduation on...

When you first meet Emily Werder, new assistant professor in the Department of Radiology’s Research Division, you might assume she’s laser-focused on decoding the brain’s secrets—and you’d be right. But give it a beat, and you’ll also find someone who once aspired to be Erin Brockovich, enjoys a good walk-up song,...

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....

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...

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...

Researchers from the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center and UNC Radiology published their article “charting brain functional development from birth to 6 years of age” on April 15, 2025 in Nature Human Behaviour. What an awesome accomplishment! The researchers include Weili Lin, Dinggang Shen, Hongtu Zhu, Keith Smith, Pew-Thian Yap, and...

When Dr. Rom Ferre steps into the Radiology Department at the University of North Carolina (UNC), he is not just starting a new job—he is fulfilling a journey years in the making. A journey that began in France, bridged through Canada, and is now landing in Chapel Hill, where he...

Thad Benefield is not your average statistician. By day, he meticulously sifts through decades of cancer screening data, endeavoring to make messy data more accurate to advance medical research. By night (or, more accurately, in the early hours of the morning), he is in the gym, pursuing his passion for...

Congratulations to all our new residents. We wish you luck with your intern year and look forward to seeing you in June 2026! Diagnostic Radiology Alexander Antigua Made Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU Pinyu Chen Wake Forest University School of Medicine Alexandra Glenn University of Cincinnati College...

Congratulations to Li Wang, PhD, and Gang Li, PhD Associate Professors, for receiving an R01 grant from the NIH! PI: Li Wang (Contact); Gang Li Title: Continued Development of Infant Neuroimaging Analysis Tools Sponsor: NIH Grant #: 1R01EB037388-01A1 Project Period: 03/01/2025-12/31/2028 Estimated Award Amount: $2,116,071 ($530,511/Year 1)   Project Goals: The...

If you’ve ever wondered who keeps the gears turning behind the scenes in the Department of Radiology at UNC, meet Alexis Evans—HR Consultant, logistics queen, and a self-proclaimed “runner of a tight ship.” With numerous responsibilities stretching across onboarding, hiring, terminations, faculty support, salary changes, promotions, and beyond, Alexis is...

What’s it really like to be an interventional radiologist? 🩺✨ The Tar Heel Prescription Podcast hosts Peter and Drew interview  Dr. Nicole Keefe to dive into the ins and outs of this specialty—what a typical day looks like, how to prepare, and expert tips on excelling in rotations, residency applications,...