Staff

Thad Benefield received his MS in Biostatistics from UNC Chapel Hill in 2000. In March 2012, Mr. Benefield joined CMR as a statistician. Mr. Benefield’s primary duties include statistical modeling and creation of analytic datasets.

Louis Coudurier joined the CMR group at UNC Chapel Hill in August 2022.  As an IT Professional with 20+ years of experience, Louis worked on multiple projects ranging from Natural Products management and integration with LIMS to epidemiology research databases.  Prior to his current role at UNC, Louis worked as a consultant specializing in LIMS, data management and logistical systems for drug research laboratories.  He was formerly the associate director for Systems Integration at Amphora Discovery Company, a Biotech firm located in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.  Louis was the Information Technology Group Leader for the Leads Discovery unit at DuPont Pharmaceuticals (Wilmington Delaware).  Early in his carrier, he specialized in the integration of computer systems and Discovery research as well as the development of clinical and Discovery LIMS when working for Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (Collegeville, PA).

Beverly Gross joined the CMR in 2021.  She received her BS in Materials Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan State University.  Later she earned a Clinical Trials Research Associate Professional Certificate and SoCRA CCRP.  Prior to joining UNC-CH she worked in clinical research for approximately 17 years in various roles including clinical records management, regulatory and start-up, and clinical trials coordination. Her experience has encompassed Phase I-IV studies in many therapeutic areas. Prior to that, she worked as a Materials Engineer.  As a Research Assistant, she works in support of the data abstraction process and various projects for the CMR.

Yukie joined the CMR in April 2021. She works under the direction of CMR Co-Investigator, Sarah Nyante, PhD, and Project Manager Ley Killeya-Jones, PhD. Yukie manages the acquisition, storage, and documentation of study datasets, and conducts data cleaning and statistical analyses. Yukie has a Ph.D. in Biology, and more than 15 years of experience with data collection, analysis, and visualization. Prior to joining UNC Radiology, Yukie was a research assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and conducted multiple research projects ranging from quantitative ecology to population genetics. Recently, she completed a Data Analytic program through the UNC Charlotte to expand her data management and analytic skills to include programming (e.g., Python, SQL, and JavaScript) and visualization (e.g., Tableau, Matplotlib, D3.js).

Ley Killeya joined the Department of Radiology in 2018. She received her PhD in Social-Developmental Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 1998, and completed NIDA and NICHD Postdoctoral Fellowships at Duke University’s Center for Child and Family Policy. She most recently worked as a Project Manager in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at UNC’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Prior to that position, Ley spent three years as the project manager on the Add Health study at the Carolina Population Center.

Christopher Lyu has over 30 years of diverse research, project management, and business development experience. Prior to joining UNC-CH, he worked in the contract research industry for about 27 years (~4 years at Rho and ~23 years at Battelle). Prior to that, he worked at a Texas state agency for about 5 years. At Rho, Christopher served a dual role as a Principal Research Scientist and as a Privacy Officer. At Battelle, Christopher had multiple concurrent roles and responsibilities as a Research Project/Program Manager, Principal Investigator, Proposal Manager, a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB Vice Chair, Associate Director and Acting Director of the Battelle Durham, North Carolina Operations. At the Texas state agency, Christopher served as a Research Program Analyst/Project Officer. He earned his MPA from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and BA from Tunghai University, Taiwan. Throughout his career, Christopher has supported/managed more than 50 research projects (both contract and grant research), which included a wide range of subject matters, study populations, and project types.

Janiece Morgan-Glover joined the CMR in November 2023. She earned a BS in Neuroscience from Duke University in 2018. Prior to joining the CMR, Janiece has worked in clinical research as a Clinical Research Specialist at Duke University and most recently, a Clinical Research Coordinator intern with NC TraCS at UNC. As a Research Assistant for the CMR, Janiece’s contribution will be centered around data abstraction for various research projects.

Bijal joined the Department of Radiology in October 2022. Her educational background includes a Master’s in Zoology from the University of Pune, India and a Master’s in Biology from the University of Iowa. Bijal worked as an Associate in Research in Neurobiology for a number years and then as a Clinical Research Coordinator in Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center. At UNC she has worked on projects at the Injury Prevention Research Center and Department of Epidemiology. As a part-time Research Assistant for the CMR, Bijal’s efforts are primarily focused on processes involved in data abstraction and quality control in addition to assisting team members on various aspects of the projects as needed.