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If you have an interest in a particular topic or speaker for an AHEC sponsored event or would like to request a program,
please contact Meaghan Hazelet at meaghan.hazelet@med.unc.edu.

Faculty MemberFaculty/APP Surgery Division(s)Specialty Area
Adam Akerman, PhDFaculty (Research)Cardiothoracic (Research)diagnostic and therapeutic development in cardiovascular pathology, health disparities, scalable inventions and therapeutics
Adesola Akinkuotu, MD, MPHFacultyPediatric Surgeryminimally invasive surgery, thoracic surgery, congenital anomalies, prenatal counseling
Adeyemi "Yemi" Ogunleye, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgerymicrovascular surgery, complex oncologic reconstruction, hand surgery, flap neurotization, surgical treatment of lymphedema, neuroma and nerve surgery
Alexander H. Toledo, MDFacultyAbdominal Transplantationsolid organ transplant, pediatric transplant, living-related organ donation, immunology
Andrew Schneider, MDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgerygeneral surgery, trauma surgery, surgical critical care, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO
Anthony A. Meyer, MD, PhDFaculty (Chair Emeritus)Chair Emeritus / Hillsboroughgeneral surgery, trauma, critical care, oncology, burns, immunology
Aurelie Merlo, MDFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerythoracic organ transplantation, end-stage heart failure, mechanical circulatory support
Benjamin E. Haithcock, MDFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerythoracic oncology, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, lung transplant, end-stage lung disease, minimally invasive surgery, endobronchial ultrasound, tracheal surgery, stents, cardiac surgery, end-stage heart disease
Blair A. Keagy, MDFacultyVascular Surgerythoraco-abdominal aneurysms, peripheral vascular surgery, carotid artery disease, aneurysm
Booker T. King, MDFacultyBurn Surgeryburn critical care, burn wound conversion, burn resuscitation
Caprice C. Greenberg, MD, MPHFacultyChair / Department of Surgerybreast cancer, breast surgical oncology, health services research, quality and performance improvement, leadership
Cathleen Mooney, MDFacultyPediatric Surgery
Chirag Desai, MD, FACSFacultyAbdominal Transplantationhepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, auto islet cell transplantation, liver transplantation in adult and pediatric patients, split liver transplantation, complex liver and pancreatic resections, islet cell transplantation, advanced liver, bile duct and pancreatic surgery
Christopher Bergen, DPM, AACFASFacultyVascular Surgery
Clara Lee, MD, MPPFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgery / Health Services Researchbreast reconstruction, microsurgery, gender affirming chest reconstruction
D. Wayne Overby, MD, FACSFacultyGastrointestinal / General Surgery (Hillsborough)gallbladder, minimally invasive biliary surgery, hernia surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia and Barrett's esophagus, open and minimally invasive hernia repair
Daryhl Johnson II, MD, MPHFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgerytrauma, critical care
David W. Ollila, MDFacultySurgical Oncologygeneral surgical oncology, applications of sentinel node technology, neoadjuvant immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and merkel cell carcinoma, de-escalation nodal basin surgery after neoadjuvant immunotherapy, breast cancer, de-escalation nodal basin surgery after neoadjuvant therapy, genetic predisposition to breast cancer, melanoma, clinical trials
Deepali Darji, DPM, FACFASFacultyVascular Surgeryplantar fasciectomy for first ray wounds
Delora Mount, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgerycranial and facial plastic surgery, complex facial reconstruction, cleft lip and palate reconstruction, prominent ear deformity, congenital ear deformity, pediatric facial trauma, mandibular distraction, 22q deletion syndrome, Stickler syndrome, birthmarks
Douglas Tyler, MD, MSHCT, FACS, MAMSEFacultyAcute Care / Hillsborough Servicesgastrointestinal cancers, melanoma, general surgery, hernias, soft tissue conditions, gallbladder conditions, intestinal conditions, appendix conditions
Ehsan Benrashid, MDFacultyVascular Surgeryaortic disease, peripheral arterial disease, PAD, aortic and peripheral aneurysms, cerebrovascular disease including using of TCAR, dialysis access, vascular reconstructions for oncologic procedures
Elisabeth "Lisa" Tracy, MDFacultyPediatric Surgeryclinical and research interests in cancer surgery in children, renal tumors, thoracic tumors, esophageal atresia, lung malformations, neonatal surgery, surgical education
Elizabeth Gleeson, MD, MPHFacultySurgical Oncologygeneral surgical oncology, gastrointestinal cancer, hepatobiliary surgery, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, HIPEC, peritoneal diseases, gastric cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, metastatic colorectal cancer, regional cancer therapies
Emmanouil Giorgakis, MD, FACSFacultyAbdominal Transplantationliver transplantation, kidney transplantation, pancreas transplantation, living donor liver transplantation, living donor kidney transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, pancreatic surgery
Esteban Calderon, MDFacultyAbdominal Transplantationabdominal transplant, hepatobiliary surgery, general surgery, robotic surgery
F. Ezequiel Parodi, MDFacultyVascular Surgeryendovascular repair of aortic disease, endovascular surgery, aortic aneurysm, carotid disease, aortic surgery, thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, TAAA, complex endovascular aortic repair
Felicia N. Williams, MDFacultyBurn Surgeryburn injury, burn surgery, burn ICU, skin graft, first degree burn, second degree burn, third degree burn, scald burn, grease burn, electrical burn, chemical burn, acid burn, frostbite, smoke inhalation, lightning strike, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, SJS, TENS, staph scalded skin syndrome, burn scar management, wound care, nutrition, hypermetabolism, critical care, burn reconstruction
Gita Mody, MD, MPHFacultyCardiothoracic Surgeryminimally invasive thoracic surgery, robotic surgery, lung resection, lung volume reduction surgery, lung transplantation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO, chest wall resection, thymoma resection, patient-centered outcomes, surgical outcomes, surgical capacity building
Gregory Knoll, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgeryhand surgery, peripheral nerve conditions, certification in the subspecialty of hand surgery
Hong Jin Kim, MDFacultySurgical Oncologygeneral surgical oncology, gastrointestinal malignancies, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, hepatobiliary malignancies, hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery, liver tumors, pancreatic cysts, biliary tract malignancies, colon cancer, gastric cancer, cholangiocarcinomas, liver metastases, surgical oncology fellowship education, surgical oncology quality improvement
Howard Kashefsky, DPMFacultyVascular Surgerysports medicine, diabetic foot care, wound care, foot surgery
Jacob Wood, MDFacultyVascular Surgeryminimally invasive aortic surgery, endovascular aortic repair, thoracic aneurysms, peripheral vascular disease, cerebral vascular disease
Jared Gallaher, MD, MPHFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgeryglobal health research, trauma, critical care
Jason M. Long, MD, MPHFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerythoracic oncology, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, lung transplantation, minimally invasive thoracic surgery, robotic thoracic surgery, chest wall resection and reconstruction, thoracic trauma, lung nodule localization and resection, lung cancer screening, incidental pulmonary nodules, lung cancer detection, guideline-based care
Jen Jen Yeh, MDFacultySurgical Oncology / Vice Chair Researchpancreatic cancer, minimally invasive parathyroid surgery, melanoma surgery, adrenal surgery, thyroid surgery
Jennifer C. Carr, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgerybody contouring after weight loss, transgender surgery
Jeremiah Deneve, DO, FACSFacultySurgical Oncologysurgical oncology, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, HIPEC, colorectal cancer, carcinomatosis, appendiceal cancer, cytoreduction
Jessica Schumacher, PhDFaculty (Research)Surgical Oncology (Research)
John McClellan, MDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgerytrauma, critical care, acute care surgery, burn surgery
John S. Ikonomidis, MD, PhDFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerycoronary artery bypass grafting, aortic valve replacement, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, TAVR, mitral valve repair and replacement, tricuspid valve repair and replacement, aortic root enlargement procedures, aortic root replacement, valve-sparing techniques, aortic aneurysm surgery, left ventricular assist devices, LVADs, heart transplantation, human and animal research on causes and treatments for aortic aneurysm disease
Jonathan Stem, MDFacultyGastrointestinal Surgerymalignant and benign diseases of the colon, rectum and anus, colon cancer, rectal cancer, anal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, rectal prolapse, diverticulitis, colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, fissures, fistulas, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease
Julia Selfridge, MDFacultySurgical Oncologybreast surgical oncology
Julie Johnson, MSPH, PhDFaculty (Research)Surgical Oncology (Research)
Karyn Stitzenberg, MD, MPHFacultySurgical Oncologygeneral surgical oncology, complex pelvic tumors, lower gastrointestinal cancers, melanoma, minimally invasive robotic cancer surgery
Katharine McGinigle, MD, MPHFacultyVascular Surgeryperipheral artery disease, PAD, diabetic foot ulcer and limb preservation, carotid artery disease
Katherine Rodby, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgeryautologous breast reconstruction, breast reconstruction, chest, abdomen and weight-loss body reconstruction, orthopedic reconstruction and limb salvage, complex wound reconstruction, lymphedema
Kevin Calder, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgerypediatric surgery, craniofacial surgery, cleft lip and palate surgery, hand surgery, breast surgery
Kristalyn Gallagher, DOFacultySurgical Oncology (Breast)breast surgical oncology, oncoplastic surgery, excisional biopsy, lumpectomy, mastectomy, skin-sparing mastectomy, nipple-sparing mastectomy, oncoplastic surgery, sentinel lymph node biopsy and mapping, axillary node dissection, axillary reverse mapping to reduce lymphedema, locally advanced breast cancer, breast cancer in young women, breast sarcomas, benign breast disease, high risk breast cancer patients
Lauren Raff, MDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgerygeneral surgery, trauma surgery, surgical critical care, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO
Lawrence Kim, MDFacultySurgical Oncologyendocrine gland surgery, thyroid surgery, parathyroid surgery, adrenal surgery, endocrine pancreas surgery, endocrine cancers, thyroid diseases, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer
Luigi Pascarella, MDFacultyVascular Surgeryaortic disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, PAD, venous disease, vascular reconstruction in abdominal, upper and lower extremity oncologic resections, thoracic outlet syndrome, transcarotid artery revascularization, TCAR
Lynn Damitz, MDFacultyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgeryaesthetic surgery of face and body, breast reconstruction, reconstruction of oncologic defects, body contouring, general reconstructive surgery of the face and body, facial trauma
Maggie Hodges, MD, MPHFacultyGastrointestinal Surgeryforegut surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia, paraesophageal hernia, hiatal hernias, bariatric surgery, revisional foregut and bariatric surgery, robotic and laparoscopic surgery, climate change and health, bariatric surgery for optimization of transplant candidates
Marc Whitman, MDFacultyGeneral Surgery (Hillsborough)general surgery, dialysis access
Mark A. Farber, MDFacultyVascular Surgeryminimally invasive aortic surgery, endovascular aortic repair, thoracic aneurysms, fenestrated aortic repair, branched aortic repair, aortic transections, aortic dissections, abdominal aortic aneurysms, aortic iliac occlusive disease, carotid artery disease
Matthew Eckert, MDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgery
Melissa Chen, MDFacultyAbdominal Transplantationliver transplantation, kidney transplantation, pancreas transplantation
Michael O. Meyers, MDFacultySurgical Oncologystomach cancer, esophageal cancer, multidisciplinary care, patient preferences in decision making, quality of life in older patients
Michael Phillips, MD, MSCR, FACSFacultyPediatric Surgeryminimally invasive surgery, thoracic surgery, congenital anomalies, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO, prenatal counseling, inflammatory bowel disease, IBD
Michael T. LeCompte, MDFacultySurgical Oncologyliver and pancreas malignancies, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, hepatobiliary carcinoma for liver, colorectal liver metastasis
Muneera R. Kapadia, MD, MMEFacultyGastrointestinal Surgerycolorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, IBD
Phil Spanheimer, MDFacultySurgical Oncologybreast cancer molecular biology, hormone response, mechanisms of hormone resistance in breast cancer
Rachel Niehuus, MD, PhDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgeryacute care surgery, robotic surgery, surgical critical care, surgical nutrition, enterocutaneous fistulae, hernias, abdominal wall reconstruction
Raghid Bitar, MDFacultyGeneral Surgery (Hillsborough)surgical endoscopy and endobariatrics
Robert Hanfland, MDFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerycongenital heart surgery
Robert Torphy, MD, PhDFaculty (Research)Surgical Oncology (Research)hepatopancreatobiliary diseases, HBP, liver, pancreas, bile ducts
Ronald "Dave" Hardin, MDFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgery
Ross M. Ungerleider, MD, MBAFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerypulmonary autograft Ross procedure in infants, children and adults, surgical and postoperative management of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, HLHS, surgical education in leadership, teams, communication skills and professionalism, neonatal and infant cardiac surgery, brain protection in infants during cardiac surgery, intraoperative echocardiography
Samuel Ricardo Torres Landa Fernandez, MDFacultyGastrointestinal Surgeryminimally invasive surgery, bariatric surgery, foregut surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease, obesity, dysphagia, paraesophageal hernia, hiatal hernia, inguinal hernia, ventral hernia, achalasia, robotic surgery, laparoscopic surgery
Sean E. McLean, MDFacultyPediatric Surgerypediatric and neonatal general and thoracic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, pediatric solid tumors, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, pulmonary hypertension, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO, fetal surgery, EXIT procedure, anorectal malformations, congenital lung malformations, esophageal anomalies, AI in pediatric surgery
Sergio Mazzola Poli de Figueiredo, MDFacultyGastrointestinal Surgerygeneral surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction, hernia surgery, minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery
Shannelle Campbell, MD, MPHFacultyGeneral & Acute Care Surgery (Hillsborough)narrative assessment of medical students, robotic general surgery
Sharon E. Schiro, PhDFaculty (Research)Research, Acute Care & Trauma
Sorabh Kapoor, MDFacultyAbdominal Transplantationliving donor liver transplantation
Stephen Heisler, DPM, MHSAFacultyVascular Surgerywound healing, foot and ankle surgery, deformity management and correction, reconstructive surgery, diabetic Charcot deformities, research
Thane Blinman, MDFacultyPediatric Surgerypediatric surgeries, minimally invasive surgery, thoracic surgery, congenital pulmonary airway malformation, CPAM, CLE, bronchogenic cyst, myasthenia gravis, tracheomalacia, foregut disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal hernia, achalasia, duplications, biliary disease, biliary atresia, choledochal cyst
Thomas M. Egan, MD, MScFacultyCardiothoracic Surgerylung transplantation, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, airway diseases and problems, quantitative lung ultrasound
Timothy M. Farrell, MDFacultyGastrointestinal Surgeryminimally invasive foregut surgery, gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia, hiatal hernias, morbid obesity, Barrett's esophagus
Trevor Wood, MD, PharmD, FRCSC, FACSFacultyGastrointestinal Surgeryinflammatory bowel disease, IBD, colorectal cancer, diverticulitis
Trista Reid, MD, MPHFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgeryextracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO
William Lao, MD, FACSFacultyAcute Care & Trauma Surgeryemergency general surgery, trauma surgery, surgical critical care, ballistic injuries, blast injuries, motor vehicle injuries, automobile safety, chest wall injuries and reconstruction