Carolina love

Published Feb. 11, 2025; updated Feb. 10, 2026

Happy Valentine’s Day, Tar Heels!

Scroll to learn about about Carolina couples, heartfelt research and our always lovely campus.

Tar Heel couples

Math is the language of love for Chloe and Stephen Glaeser
Married for 10 years, the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School faculty members met at math camp.
Dissertation dating leads to marriage
Kierra Peak and Daniel Johnson bonded over state fair food and built their relationship during the gaps in graduate school.
Pharmacy professors married their best friends
Adam Persky and Kathryn Fuller, now husband and wife, also collaborate professionally at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Algorithms bring couple together
Two Carolina graduate students share a passion for computer science and love for each other.
Project Uplift couple opens doors to education
Ronda and Kelvin Bullock met at Project Uplift in 1999 and continue to work to support students and families.
Eye clinic work led to perfect match
UNC School of Medicine graduate Dr. Tika Zbornik Thompson will soon begin a residency in ophthalmology at UNC Hospitals.
Couple combines medicine and matrimony
Two Carolina graduate students share a passion for computer science and love for each other.
Husband and wife oversee Carolina’s CAR-T therapy
Drs. Gianpietro Dotti and Barbara Savoldo personalize cancer treatments in one of the East Coast’s largest cell therapy facilities.

Lovely research

Love letters from the past
An 1800s pop-up card, a diary entry about a forbidden relationship and lipstick-kissed love letters are all preserved in Wilson Library to teach us how Valentine's Day has evolved.
He built a heart of numbers and equations
Applied mathematician Boyce Griffith uses mathematical modeling to simulate the mechanics of the human heart.
Why handwritten letters mean so much
A student’s lifelong appreciation for writing and receiving letters exemplifies faculty expert Sara Algoe’s research on emotions.
Nursing research leads to AEDs in Chapel Hill parks
Two emergencies and advocacy by Carolina nurse scientist Jessica Zègre-Hemsey sparked 24/7 outdoor access to lifesaving defibrillators.
Jieni Zhou savors moments of positivity
Positive emotions build strong relationships, which are vital to well-being, says the psychology doctoral student.
New study reveals strong connection between heart and brain health
A new study conducted by researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Pennsylvania and Purdue University shed light on the close relationship between cardiovascular diseases and brain diseases such as stroke, dementia and cognitive impairment.