UNC Global Radiology has accomplished many goals during the pandemic, despite its ongoing impact on healthcare recovery and progress worldwide. We credit our global health leadership for keeping us on track.
Foremost, we would like to thank Melissa Culp for her dedication to our global health training programs over the last 9 years, including her service as Director of UNC Global Radiology since 2019. Without Melissa’s mentorship, insight, enthusiasm and leadership, UNC Global Radiology would not be where it is today. Melissa was key to the development of our Global Health Leadership Pathway for residents, and in 2021, she successfully piloted a mammography referrals partnership between a rural North Carolina regional health center (Piedmont Health) and UNC Breast Imaging. Thank you, Melissa, for all you’ve invested in making UNC Global Radiology a results-driven, strong institutional resource for building imaging infrastructure in under-resourced areas worldwide through health equity, education, collaboration, and innovation.
MALAWI
In September 2021, the collaborative efforts of Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, UNC Global
Radiology, RAD-AID International, and Gurnick Ultrasound Academy, a West Coast allied health/nursing programs campus (San Mateo, CA) produced our first year of teaching ultrasound to KCH learners virtually. UNC Radiology faculty and residents partnered with Gurnick ultrasound instructors, RAD-AID volunteers and in-country sonographers to run a comprehensive, hybrid ultrasound curriculum for onsite KCH learners over the course of nearly a year. We’re proud of these learners’ tremendous growth and dedication to acquiring ultrasound knowledge and passing their final exams. We hope this multi-partner effort will pave the way for similar collaborations involving locally led partners at KCH who work with us to sustain comprehensive and sustainable curricula. We also look forward to new partnerships with other UNC School of Medicine departments to work on projects targeting improved breast cancer screening and esophageal cancer staging in Lilongwe, Malawi.
KENYA
In July, UNC Global Radiology co-hosted the 4th Annual Kenya Association of Radiologists/RAD-AID IR Symposium drawing more than 100 attendees and 18 speakers from around the world, including Drs. Peter Bream, Clayton Commander and Ari Isaacson. Earlier in the year, UNC Diagnostic Radiology resident Dr. Josh Harford (R3) and Integrated IR resident Dr. Lourens du Pisanie (R3) hosted the first RAD-AID IR International Angio club, with radiology residents from around the world presenting IR cases. Additionally, the IR fellowship at the University of Nairobi has accepted its second class of trainees, bringing its total to four current IR fellows.
NORTH CAROLINA
It’s a big win for the UNC Radiology referral partnership with Piedmont Health! Breast Imaging Division Chief 
Cherie Kuzmiak and Melissa Culp worked with UNC Health leadership to allow for expedited financial assistance for breast imaging patients referred from Piedmont Health to UNC Health for mammography. This means that all Piedmont patients, even vulnerable populations, can receive same- or next-day breast imaging appointments with no delays in care.
UNC Global Radiology is proud of all we’ve achieved in 2021 through our “Local to Global” approach to partnerships worldwide. As global infectious disease mitigates in 2022, next year brings the promise of expanding our referral relationships with regional health centers across North Carolina, advancing teaching/training expertise in Malawi and Kenya, and exploring new partnerships in Latin America, as we have done so successfully in African nations lacking adequate DR/IR expertise and resources.