The Department of Radiology was pleased to welcome Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology Mitchel Muhleman, MD, in July 2018, as the newest member of the Nuclear Medicine Division. Dr. Muhleman joins this team under the direction of Division Chief Dr. Amir Khandani.
Before arriving at UNC, Dr. Muhleman was a Nuclear Medicine PET/CT Fellow (2017-2018) at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY). Beforehand, he spent his Nuclear Medicine residency (2014-2017) at Beaumont Health System’s Diagnostic Radiology and Molecular Imaging department (Royal Oak, MI). Dr. Muhleman additionally completed a General Surgery internship (2012-2014) at St. Joseph Mercy-Oakland, Pontiac, MI, and a year as a Research Fellow/Demonstrator (2011-2012) at St. George’s University School of Medicine (St. George’s, Grenada).
During Dr. Muhleman’s training years, he actively participated in authoring book chapters, manuscripts and critical literature reviews for various funded clinical and basic science research projects tied to evidence-based medicine, surgical anatomy and techniques, and epidemiological oncology, among areas of investigation. During his three-year residency, he was also an active teacher, participating as an ongoing facilitator in his hospital’s “Residents As Teachers” Lecture Series, mentoring medical students, and participating in multiple weekly multi-disciplinary tumor boards.
Dr. Muhleman noted: “At UNC, I look forward to pursuing clinical research involving nuclear imaging of the central nervous system dealing with diseases from epilepsy to dementia. I’m also enthusiastic about being involved with the development and implementation of the Lutathera and I-131 MIBG treatment programs for neuroendocrine tumors. I enjoy teaching and mentoring residents, both in the reading room and in formal lectures, to contribute positively to the development of future imaging specialists.”
The Department of Radiology was pleased to welcome Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology Kevin Anton, MD, PhD, in August 2018 as the newest member of the Vascular-Interventional Radiology (VIR) Division. Dr. Anton joins this team under the direction of Division Chief Dr. Charles Burke.
Before arriving at UNC, Dr. Anton completed his medical and doctoral education and training over 16 years: 1) one-year Vascular & Interventional Radiology fellowship (2017-2018) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia, PA); 2) Diagnostic Radiology residency (2013-2017) at Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, PA); 3) Internal Medicine internship (2012-2013) at Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Neptune, NJ); 4) and his dual MD/PhD degree (2003-2012) at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Piscataway, NJ). Dr. Anton advanced through medical school concurrent to completing his doctorate in Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology through Rutgers’ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Anton served in multiple leadership positions during his training years related to both subspecialty and funded clinical research, including: 1) Co-Chair – Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR)’s Resident & Fellows Section Service Line Membership Council (2016-2017); 2) Co-Chair – SIR’s Interventional Oncology Section Service Line (2015-2016); and 3) Principal Investigator – “The Role of Macrophages in Tumor Growth” (New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research/2008-2010/$45K). Some honors from Dr. Anton’s training years include: 1) Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award in Recognition of Outstanding Radiologic Research (2017); 2) SIR’s Resident in Training Scholarship Award (2014); and 3) 1st Place Best Appearance Poster Award at the Image-Guided Intervention 50th Anniversary Meeting (2014).
Dr. Anton demonstrates broad clinical and research interests within the field of interventional radiology and is motivated to develop new niches within the department. He noted: “At UNC, I aspire to lead and participate in multiple inter- and intra-departmental, multidisciplinary research projects promoting improved patient care, quality and basic science knowledge. I thrive on the opportunity to inspire and teach fellows, residents, and medical students, as the next generation of interventionalists. I will continue to play an increasing role in trainee education, mentoring, and recruitment, and I hope to become a productive member of an already exceptional VIR division and radiology department.”
The Department of Radiology was pleased to welcome Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology Cody Schwartz, MD, in August 2018 as the newest member of the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Imaging Division. Dr. Schwartz joins this team under the direction of Division Chief Dr. Daniel Nissman.
Before joining Department faculty, Dr. Schwartz completed his MSK Imaging fellowship (2017-2018), Diagnostic Radiology residency (2013-2017), and Internal Medicine internship (2012-2013) all at UNC. Dr. Schwartz also completed his undergraduate, medical education and Master of Public Health (Health Care and Prevention) at UNC between 2003 and 2012.
Dr. Schwartz held multiple leadership positions during his training and medical education years. As a Diagnostic Radiology resident, he served as Co-Chief Resident (2016-2017) and Radiology Medical Student Education Resident Leader (2016-2017), among other roles. Some of Dr. Schwartz’s honors from his years in medical school and public health include selection for Delta Omega’s National Public Health Honor Society (2012), service as member of the Whitehead Medical Society, and invited membership to the John B. Graham Student Research Society (2009-2012).
“I am most excited to continue my career at UNC as a faculty member in the Department of Radiology. The mentorship I received throughout my medical education and residency inspired me to continue training future medical students, hopefully convincing them to pursue the greatest specialty – radiology. I also hope to ‘enlighten’ residents and fellows to choose the best subspecialty – musculoskeletal imaging. When not in the reading room, you can find me walking my dog around the neighborhood with my wife Stephanie, riding bikes on the local trails, or watching collegiate sports as a dedicated enthusiastic Tar Heel. Go Heels.”
The Department’s was pleased to welcome Katie Earnhardt to its Epidemiology Research Team in January 2018 as a Research Specialist. In her new position, Ms. Earnhardt works with the Carolina Mammography Registry (CMR) under the direction of Dr. Louise Henderson. Katie’s primary duty is to manage data abstraction and storage for malignant and benign breast pathology reports forwarded by the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC)’s Rapid Case Ascertainment (RCA) Program for the CMR. This duty extends to overseeing documentation of RCA hospital participants, hospital preference for pathology report transfer, and working closely with the CMR Data Manager to generate reports and data exports from the REDCap database Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). Katie additionally assists with surveys, manuscript preparation, grant applications and web design in her position.
Prior to joining the CMR team, Ms. Earnhardt worked in health research for a number of years, supporting projects in Behavioral Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and in Epidemiology at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and UNC. Ms. Earnhardt earned a BA in Political Science from Appalachian State University in 2005.
“My experience in health research is wide-ranging, and in each new position I’ve gained insight into the unique challenges of preventing, treating, and tracking different health conditions through a variety of approaches, including clinical research and epidemiological studies. In my current position I am able to utilize the knowledge, skills and abilities I have gained over the course of my career, and broaden them by participating in additional aspects of the research process, in cooperation with my team.”
The Department’s Epidemiology Research Team was pleased to welcome Samantha Sites, MPH, in August 2018 as a Data Manager for the Lung Screening Registry. Her primary responsibilities include data acquisition from external facilities, managing both SAS data sets and Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) databases, compiling a data dictionary for the lung cancer screening registry, data cleaning, and building REDCap forms.
Ms. Sites completed both her BS in Nutritional Sciences in 2013 and her MPH in Epidemiology in 2015 at the University of Florida. She completed her graduate internship at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Gainesville, FL. Given prior experience working with prospective and retrospective research studies, designing data collection surveys and drafting IRB applications, Ms. Sites brings a strong skill set to her new CMR responsibilities.
Sites notes: “As I have previously conducted research on breast cancer risk factors, it is interesting to be working on a cancer screening project and focusing on both primary and secondary prevention strategies. Due to my strong interest in smoking cessation, I am excited to be working to improve lung cancer outcomes.”
The Department was pleased to welcome Allison Throneburg, BS, to its Epidemiology Research Team in August 2018 as a Research Assistant working with this team’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Lung Study. In her new role, Ms. Throneburg’s primary responsibilities are to abstract and analyze medical data from pathology reports tied to a study aimed at improving molecular biomarker testing in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients. The study will further look into the rural vs. urban access to biomarker screening across the state. She will primarily be working with EPIC and RedCap systems to access pathology reports, along with external data sent from 25 other counties in North Carolina.
Ms. Throneburg graduated from UNC Wilmington in 2017 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Psychology. She previously worked as an intern at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in the Zimmer Cancer Center, assisting with screening and consenting patients for treatment-based clinical trials. Ms. Throneburg worked daily on EPIC, looking through pathology reports and doctor’s notes of patients being seen in the hospital’s cancer center in order to address eligibility for the trials open for accrual. The trials she screened for varied from Breast, Lung, Pancreatic, Ovarian, and Endometrial cancers funded by top pharmaceutical companies such as Merck and Alliance.
Ms. Throneburg noted: “Through my years studying Biology I completed multiple research projects that exposed me to medical journals and various forms of biological testing. My knowledge was further expanded working as an intern in NHRMC’s Cancer Center, where I was exposed to multiple forms of health data and oncological terminology. Working at New Hanover, I became very familiar with study protocol and patient information safety. I am very excited to be working at UNC- one of the top research facilities in the nation!”
The Department was pleased to welcome Roger Huamani in August 2018 as a Research Assistant working with the Epidemiology Research Team’s Lung Screening Registry. Under the direction of Dr. Louise Henderson, Roger’s primary duties are to review health information and the abstraction of health data for analysis, as well as to capture clinical data in order to enroll and follow participants for the NC Lung Cancer Screening Registry (NC LCSR).
Prior to his CMR appointment, Mr. Huamani worked for Partners in Health in Peru supporting community-based clinical interventions focused on Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), HIV, and child health and development. He also worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Washington an alcohol abuse intervention study for day laborers, as well as a study exploring models for Hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs. Mr. Huamani earned his Associate’s with a Public Health concentration at Seattle Central College.
Roger noted: “I am very motivated by the amount of data that the Lung Cancer Registry is going to produce. I believe it will provide the opportunity for researchers to explore the ways in which social determinants of health inform lung cancer screening and diagnosis.”
The Department was pleased to welcome Michael Dennos who joined us in July 2018 as an Administrative Assistant. In this role, Michael supports administrative needs within the faculty administrative support team, as well as the Department as a whole. Primarily, Michael focuses his attention on processing vouchers, travel requests, reimbursements, ePro transactions and other accounting activities for the department.
Prior to joining the Department, Michael worked as a test evaluator for Measurement Inc. (Durham, NC), where he scored math, science and social studies exams for approximately five years. He received his BFA in Creative Writing from St. Andrews University (Laurinburg, NC) in 2012.
Michael noted: “The amount of support shown by my fellow coworkers and superiors in my time working with the Radiology Department so far has been nothing short of amazing, and has helped me ease into my new position comfortably and fluidly. I look forward to working more closely with these people very soon in what I already know will be a very rewarding experience.”
The Department was pleased to welcome David Williams in July 2018 as its new UME/GME Student Services Support Specialist. In this role, David supports Graduate Medical Education Coordinator Krista Sills, all departmental Course Directors for RADY UNC School of Medicine electives, and the Diagnostic Radiology residency program as a whole.
Prior to joining the Department, David served as an Academic Coach at Fayetteville State University (FSU). Additionally, his work experience includes having served as the Senior Admissions Counselor for five years at North Carolina Wesleyan College. David obtained his BA in Applied Music from Elizabeth City State University in 2003.
David noted: “This is a different role for me because I have worked in secondary education most of my career, except when I worked in admissions and as an academic coach. I think I am prepared for this position because I like working with both professors and students, and I want to see students succeed. I learned about the higher education process working in admissions at NC Wesleyan, and I feel that it gave me the tools to be successful in this position. I look forward to continue to being an asset to this campus community.”
The Department’s Contracts & Grants (C&G) team was pleased to welcome Brittney Andrews in September 2018 as its newest member. In her new role, Brittney will be working as an Accountant alongside C&G team members Dani Burns (C&G Manager) and Karla Allen (Accounting Tech). In her new role, Brittney will assist faculty members with managing their sponsored projects, including, but not limited to, providing account balance reports on a bi-monthly basis, assisting with personnel effort forecasting, providing expertise on sponsor policies, and serving as a liaison with the Office of Sponsored Research to ensure projects are managed accurately and efficiently.
Prior to joining the Department, Brittney worked for two years in UNC’s Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) as a Sponsored Projects Accountant on OSR’s financial reporting team. There, she gained invaluable experience in research administration, contracts & grants reporting, and Federal Sponsor requirements. In OSR, Brittney was responsible for financial invoicing/reporting & closeouts of a portfolio of federal contracts & grants. Brittney brings with her a background knowledge of sponsor requirements, expense allowability from a central office standpoint, as well is procedures/guidelines for the closeout of awards. Prior to her professional years, Brittney received a dual BA in Business Administration and Sport Management from NC State University in 2012.
Brittney noted: “In the one month that I have been with the School of Medicine, I have really enjoyed being closer to the research side of the Contracts & Grants world. I am learning how to see things from the other side, and it is giving me a better understanding of the whole picture. I believe that my Central Office knowledge of policies and practices, along with learning more about how things are really being structured and handled and the challenges that are faced at the departmental level will help me to be better able to assist our PIs and Researchers with best ways to manage their grants.”
The Department was pleased to welcome Jasmin Merhout in September 2018 as the newest Clinical Research Assistant on the Clinical Research team. In her new role, Jasmin aids in patient recruitment and data collection.
Prior to joining UNC Department of Radiology, Jasmin worked one year between 2013-2014 in clinical settings as a radiologic technologist in the largest hospital within Berlin Charite, Europe’s largest university clinic. In 2018, she additionally worked as a Financial Care Counselor in the Department of Radiology at Duke Raleigh Hospital. Jasmin graduated from Lette-Verein Berlin in Berlin, Germany, with a degree in Radiology Technology.
Jasmin noted: “In my previous work as a radiologic technologist, I greatly enjoyed the technical aspect and took pride in working with complex and powerful technology. At UNC Radiology’s clinical imaging research, I am looking forward to helping advance the cutting edge of procedures and applications to improve patient care and outcomes.”