Research & Global Health
For learners of medicine, faculty mentors are critical – opening doors, guiding aspiring researchers, and optimizing scholarly opportunities. Unlike residents with greater access to faculty, medical students not yet matched to a desired specialty may face barriers in securing faculty mentors. UNC Radiology works diligently to aid medical students in building relationships with faculty that produce greater opportunities for direct patient care, basic science and clinical research guidance, and global health enrichment.
Associate Professor of Radiology and translational scientist Yueh Lee, MD, PhD, leads cross-disciplinary biomedical imaging studies with promising clinical application. For almost 10 years on faculty, Dr. Lee has helped UNC medical student mentees obtain first-time opportunities for translational research experience through developing novel imaging technology with pre-clinical application to next-stage, first-in-human studies.
In April 2021, Dr. Lee mentored UNC M3 Maria Mihailescu, who will lead (P.I.) a comparative, pre-clinical study funded by an RSNA Research & Education Foundation Research Medical Student Grant ($6K) to develop 1H ultrashort echo time (UTE)-based measures of respiratory ventilation. Dr. Lee’s will aid Maria in creating an imaging biomarker of cystic fibrosis treatment that provides prospectively higher sensitivity than conventional tests.
Dr. Lee’s imaging innovation expertise enables him to mentor a range of student research projects. He guided RSNA Research & Education Foundation Research Medical Student Grant recipient UNC MS4 Diwash Thapa through developing a novel spine/trauma imaging device for rapid 3-D imaging. He will also mentor Howard Holderness Distinguished Medical Scholars Program recipient Umer Ahmed (UNC MS3) on applying a carbon nanotube x-ray source to developing cardiac-gated imaging approaches.
Dr. Lee stated: “We are fortunate at UNC to have bright and motivated medical students interested in advancing imaging science and radiology practice. The financial support of the Department and RSNA is important for showing mentees our commitment to their education and future careers in radiology. I am honored to serve as a mentor for these budding stars of radiology.”
UNC Global Radiology Director Melissa Culp, MEd, RT(R)(MR), mentors UNC medical students whose geographic areas of global health focus range from Nicaragua to Democratic Republic of Congo to North Carolina. In recent years, Ms. Culp has worked with students enrolled in UNC School of Medicine (SOM)’s Ultrasound (US) Scholarly Concentration Program who seek opportunities worldwide to apply their US training to hands-on patient care. In June 2021, Ms. Culp and Akshatha Kiran received funding from the SOM Office of Global Health Education to evaluate access to 3D tomosynthesis at UNC Medical Center sites statewide and understand how patient geography and payor status impact 3D screening access. Via SOM grant funding, Ms. Culp, Akshatha, and other collaborators want to further public understanding that comprehensive global health initiatives in imaging care must address inequities both abroad and at home.
Ms. Culp noted: “Working with medical students via global public health initiatives is rewarding and enriching. These mentorship opportunities are imperative so that future generations understand that radiologists and medical imaging professionals have a critical role to play in health equity throughout all realms of global health. It is important for students to see that their interests in global public health and radiology can blend synergistically in a future career. Ms. Kiran is an outstanding student with a bright future ahead, and I’m honored to be part of her educational journey.”
Career Goal Advising
Assistant Professor of Radiology David Mauro, MD, serves as UNC Radiology’s SOM Career Goal Advising Program faculty lead for radiology-bound students. During advisory sessions, he overviews with students the clinical demands, program requirements, lifestyle and other aspects of Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology. Dr. Mauro’s advisory role also includes connecting medical students to specialty resources, such as conferences for making career connections. Early July, Dr. Mauro transitioned to a new leadership role — Interventional Radiology Program Director. UNC Radiology’s UME program is in good hands with Assistant Professor of Radiology John Tobben, MD, as our new Career Goal Lead Advisor.
Dr. Mauro noted: “Over the past number of years, our medical students had phenomenal success in the match, including NYU, UCSF, Colorado, UVA, Northwestern, Emory, Vanderbilt and Duke. We were successful in recruiting many of our best to stay at UNC. The goal of our advising program is to identify students interested in radiology early and to work with them to develop a well-rounded application with a focus on research productivity.”
Professor of Radiology and Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) Director Sheri Jordan, MD, RCC, oversees the Department’s outreach to UNC medical students and supports academic accomplishments necessary in today’s career paradigm.
In 2019, Dr. Jordan was awarded UNC SOM’s prestigious Medical Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professorship. As an institutional and departmental leader in medical student education, Dr. Jordan has a bird’s eye view of how UNC SOM faculty mentors across all disciplines are helping students develop strong residency applications for early-stage success in their desired specialty.
Dr. Jordan stated: “Important facts from the 2020 National Residency Matching Program: Matched residency applicants in Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology respectively had mean 6.4 and 10.3 abstracts, presentations, publications and mean 3.8 and 5.2 research experiences. Despite this identified need, an August 2020 UNC study demonstrated just 50/152 US allopathic medical schools offered ready information on radiology research opportunities for students.
At UNC Radiology we aim to do better than this by our students. With our devoted faculty such as Drs. Lee and Mauro and Ms. Culp as mentors, we are achieving our goals in student recruitment to radiology and resident recruitment to our fine residencies.”
TOP PHOTOS (L to R): Yueh Z. Lee, MD, PhD / Melissa Culp, MEd, RT(R)(MR) / David Mauro, MD / Sheri Jordan, MD, RCC