UNC Trauma Surgery

08/14/2026

What happens when an international health response arrives somewhere that already has a health system?

That question sits at the center of Dr. Rachel Niehuus's work — and it's what Chatham House invited her onto their Africa Aware podcast to talk about.

The DRC is facing its fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. Dr. Niehuus joins Bienvenu Mukungilwa, Dr. Joshua Z. Walker, and Lisa Musumba to look at where standard response protocols and local systems come into tension.

She's a trauma surgeon and a medical anthropologist, with years of research in DRC health systems on Ebola, fistula care, and medical humanitarianism. At UNC she runs a clinical ethnography lab studying patient experience, surgical training, and care delivery.

🎙️ Listen to the conversation on Chatham House’s Africa Aware podcast: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/08/africa-aware-drcs-ebola-outbreak-local-systems-international-responses-and-lessons-africa

07/30/2026

We're proud to celebrate the UNC Health ECMO Program, which has earned the ELSO Platinum Level Center of Excellence designation, the highest distinction granted through the ELSO Award for Excellence in Life Support.

This recognition reflects the program's exceptional performance in evidence-based care, quality improvement, staff education, patient-centered care, and clinical outcomes for infants, children, and adults requiring extracorporeal life support. The designation will be effective from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2029.

Congratulations to the multidisciplinary ECMO team, and especially to Katherine Clement, MD, Medical Director of the Pediatric Extracorporeal Life Support Program, and Rebecca Owensby, RN, UNC Health ECMO Program Director, for their leadership and commitment to caring for some of our most critically ill patients.

The award will be presented during the 37th Annual ELSO Conference on September 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Read more at med.unc.edu/pediatrics/2026/07/ecmo-earns-elso-platinum

07/14/2026

Trauma doesn't end at discharge. That's why we launched the R.I.S.E. Recovery Center, a comprehensive trauma recovery hub headed by Dr. Jaclyn Portelli Tremont, bringing recovery care together in one place for patients navigating life after a traumatic injury.

Hear more from Dr. Portelli Tremont about the centers mission:

06/24/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Jared Gallaher on receiving the 2026 Center for Health Innovation Pilot Award.

His AI-Enabled Transfer Toolkit for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) was selected from a highly competitive pool. It integrates AI-driven chart abstraction, structured communication, and evidence-based guidelines into the EHR.

The goal: faster transfers, smarter triage, and a scalable model for broader clinical use.

Work begins July 1, 2026. We could not be prouder.

02/26/2026

Support the future of trauma care at UNC 🤍

Your gift helps fund our Division’s fellows, faculty, and education programs - advancing training, research, and life-saving care across North Carolina.

Your gift supports our fellows, faculty, and educational programs - fueling innovation, advancing research, and strengthening the care we deliver every day.

Be part of the team behind the trauma team - make your impact today:

Support UNC-Chapel Hill with your credit card gift today!

02/26/2026

Dr. Sumislawski: focused, flexible, and fully committed 💻🩺

03/11/2022

Congratulations to our very own Dr. Jared Gallaher and Dr. Anthony Charles on your awesome JAMA Review🤓

This Review summarizes the risk factors, pathogenesis, diagnosis, types of diagnostic studies, and treatment for patients with acute cholecystitis.

10/21/2020

Welcome to UNC Trauma Surgery Dr. Matthew Eckert.

Matthew Eckert, MD, joins the UNC Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Division of General, Acute Care, and Trauma Surgery. He sat down to discuss what inspired him to become not only a doctor but a trauma surgeon and his motivation for getting up each day, saving lives on and off....

07/15/2020

Congratulations to our Adult ECMO program. Dr. Anthony Charles, Dr. Trista Reid, Dr. Lauren Raff and Dr. Jared Gallaher!

The ELSO Excellence in Life Support Award recognizes those centers that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes and quality measures, staff training and continuing education, patient satisfaction and ongoing clinical care. UNC’s ECMO Director is Anthony Charles, MD, MPH. ...

05/29/2019

https://youtu.be/fpxlgncsTXY

Trista Reid, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of General and Acute Care Surgery at UNC. She discusses how her faith led her to become...