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Research Faculty
Dr. Nyante joined the Department of Radiology in 2014 after receiving her masters and doctoral degrees in Epidemiology from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. She is an Associate Professor of Radiology. Dr. Sarah Nyante assumed the leadership of CMR in September 2024.
Dr. Nyante’s main research interests include breast tissue heterogeneity, the role of hormonal factors in breast cancer risk and prognosis, and the role of benign breast diseases in breast cancer risk. Past studies include analyses of change in mammographic density as a predictor of breast cancer prognosis among tamoxifen-treated patients; smoking and breast cancer risk; risk factors for rare breast cancer histologic types; and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on breast cancer screening, detection, and treatment. She also participates in research related to mammography performance and artificial intelligence in breast imaging with the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium.
After graduating from the UNC School of Public Health with a doctorate in Epidemiology, Dr. Henderson joined the faculty in the Department of Radiology at UNC Chapel Hill in July 2009. Dr. Louise Henderson assumed the leadership of CMR in 2011 and in September 2024 transitioned the CMR leadership to Dr. Sarah Nyante. Dr. Henderson is a Professor of Radiology and co-leader of the LCCC Cancer Epidemiology Program and currently serves as the Director of Epidemiology Research in the Department of Radiology.
Dr. Henderson has over 15 years of experience collaborating with physicians, research scientists, and statisticians in the areas of health services research, quality improvement activities, disease surveillance, and clinical trials. Dr. Henderson’s research interests focus on cancer screening and the application of linked cancer outcomes and Medicare/administrative data to assess patterns and outcomes of care. Dr. Henderson’s interests lie primarily in breast, liver, and lung cancer screening and the performance of imaging technologies, comparative effectiveness research, and disparities in cancer screening and treatment.
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).
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 in 2021, he worked in the contract research industry for about 27 years. Prior to that, he worked at a Texas state agency for about 5 years. Christopher’s experience includes serving as a Principal Research Scientist, a Privacy Officer, a Research Project/Program Manager, a Principal Investigator, a Proposal Manager, a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Vice Chair of an IRB, the Associate Director and Acting Director of a corporate branch office, and a state Research Program Analyst/Project Officer. Throughout his career, Christopher has supported/managed more than 50 research projects/programs (both contract and grant research), which included a wide range of subject matters, study populations, and project types.
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.