On Saturday, September 20, 2025, the Buckley Lab was invited to table at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s annual Sickle Cell Education Day. This year’s theme, “Supercells: Unlocking the Power Within,” brought together patients, families, and providers for a day of learning and community celebration. There, the Buckley Lab had the opportunity to share our research and engage with families affected by sickle cell disease. We are grateful to CHOA for inviting us to be part of such a meaningful day!

We are proud to share that Dr. Tara Urner has been selected as a postdoctoral fellow in the ATLANTIS Program (Atlanta Network for Training in Kidney, Urology, and Hematology Scientific Research), funded by the NIH and hosted by Emory University. Her research project will investigate the use of diffuse optical spectroscopies for early detection of vascular complications in pediatric sickle cell patients on chronic transfusion, aiming to advance noninvasive diagnostics in this vulnerable population. The ATLANTIS Fellowship will support Dr. Urner’s research and career development, providing access to an expanded mentorship network, leadership training, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

On January 15th, graduate student Tara Urner successfully defended her PhD thesis. Tara’s research introduced an innovative method for extracting pulsatile hemodynamics in the cerebral microvasculature using the blood flow index derived from diffuse correlation spectroscopy. Her work lays a strong foundation for translating these measurements into the clinic. This defense culminated an illustrious PhD journey – Tara was the recipient of a NSF graduate research fellowship and a Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance TL-1 training grant. Along the way she earned her Tech to Teaching certificate along with a Certificate in Translational Science.  We’re incredibly proud of Dr. Urner. After graduation in May, we are excited to announce that she will continue her impactful research as a postdoctoral fellow in our lab. Congratulations, Dr. Urner! 🎉