![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web-150x150.jpg\")
When you meet Dr. Jiang\u2014though he\u2019ll quickly tell you to just call him David\u2014you get the sense of someone who\u2019s both grounded and adventurous. That balance is what brought him back home to North Carolina and into a new role as Assistant Professor of Musculoskeletal Radiology at UNC.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s story begins just down the road. Growing up in Durham and Morrisville, then attending UNC as an undergraduate, he never imagined that his career would circle back to Chapel Hill. \u201cMedical training takes you all over the country,\u201d he says, reflecting on his years of school and residency. \u201cBut when I heard there was an opening at UNC, I had to jump on the opportunity to come back and be part of a great program where I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The road to medicine wasn\u2019t a straight line. As a college student, David thought he might be an engineer. Later, he considered surgery. But it was a roommate in medical school who first opened his eyes to radiology. \u201cHe walked me through the day-to-day workflow, and it wasn\u2019t what I expected at all. There was problem-solving, diagnostic reasoning, and even procedures. That combination drew me in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within radiology, musculoskeletal imaging caught his attention during residency rotations. The chance to delve into sports injuries and explore the mechanical questions of how the body moves appealed to his love of science and logic. \u201cMSK gives you a little more breathing room than some subspecialties,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou can take the time to work through diagnoses and treatment options\u2014it\u2019s intellectually rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Academic medicine, for David, was an easy choice. Teaching has always been part of who he is. Before medical school, he taught MCAT prep courses and loved helping students discover their strengths. \u201cIf I left teaching behind, I\u2019d lose a big part of why I enjoy medicine,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s also a camaraderie in academic medicine that really resonates with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ask him how he spends his free time, and the answer comes easily: running and hiking. Whether pounding local trails or heading west to the mountains for longer hikes and trail runs, the outdoors is his way of recharging. He also has a lifelong love of music, having played violin from childhood through college, as well as trumpet in marching band. \u201cClassical music was always around in my house\u2014thanks to my mom,\u201d he adds with a smile.<\/p>\n
When asked to describe himself in one word, David doesn\u2019t hesitate:\u00a0dedicated<\/em>. Friends might also add\u00a0loyal<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0disciplined<\/em>. He\u2019s quick to point out that he tries to live by advice he\u2019d give his younger self: \u201cDon\u2019t talk yourself out of opportunities\u2014let other people tell you no.\u201d<\/p>\n Welcome home, David. UNC Radiology is lucky to have you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you meet Dr. Jiang\u2014though he\u2019ll quickly tell you to just call him David\u2014you get the sense of someone who\u2019s both grounded and adventurous. That balance is what brought him back home to North Carolina and into a new role as Assistant Professor of Musculoskeletal Radiology at UNC. David\u2019s story begins just down the road. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83776,"featured_media":8280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[83,91,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-department-news","category-homepage-news","category-in-the-news","odd"],"acf":[],"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web.jpg","featured_image_medium":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web.jpg","featured_image_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web.jpg","featured_image_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web.jpg","featured_image_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1384\/2025\/09\/MSK_JiangDavid_Web-150x150.jpg","featured_image_alt":"An Asian male with short black hair and brown eyes is looking at the camera. He is wearing a white doctor's coat, blue shirt and black tie. He is standing against an outdoor covered bridge. ","category_details":[{"name":"Department News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/department-news\/"},{"name":"Homepage News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/homepage-news\/"},{"name":"IN THE NEWS","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/category\/department-news\/in-the-news\/"}],"tag_details":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83776"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8315,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8314\/revisions\/8315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}