About

I am the Ernest H. Wood Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). My academic career has focused on advancing minimally invasive image-guided therapies for women’s health and on elucidating sex-based differences in vascular disease. Specifically, my research investigates minimally invasive treatments for symptomatic uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, strategies to optimize the management of patients with morbidly adherent placenta, and the differential presentation and outcomes of peripheral arterial disease in women. I am recognized internationally as an expert in image-guided interventions for women with fibroids and adenomyosis, including uterine artery embolization (UAE) and MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS).

I have served as principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator (Co-I) on numerous federally and industry-funded clinical trials, several of which have been practice-changing. For example, I was Co-I on the pivotal trial establishing the safety and efficacy of MRgFUS compared to placebo, and subsequently on the trial comparing UAE with MRgFUS, which demonstrated the superiority of UAE for symptom relief. These investigations have directly informed patient care, yielded numerous peer-reviewed publications, and led to multiple invited podium presentations at national and international meetings. Currently, I serve as the global PI of a first-in-kind, large-scale, multicenter observational study evaluating outcomes of drug-eluting devices in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Importantly, this trial is designed to enroll more than 40% women—addressing a critical gap in sex-specific outcomes research and enabling novel insights into treatment disparities that have historically been underexplored in vascular studies. In addition to my scientific contributions, I have extensive experience with the operational and administrative aspects of clinical research, including study design, procedural performance, outcome evaluation, staffing, budgeting, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with clinical and industry partners.

Ongoing and recently completed projects