Dr. Breanne McGhee, 36
Vinoin “Vin” Devpaul Vincely, 29
Pediatric Optometrist; Founder, ReadAloudNOLA
Co-Founder and CEO, LumaWave
PROVIDED PHOTO
They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but they also can be a window to the rest of the body, showing early signs of conditions like diabetes, HIV and sickle cell disease. That’s what drew Breanne McGhee, a Hollygrove native, to the field of optometry. “We don’t just save eyes; we save lives,” she likes to tell her patients. McGhee primarily works with children and says it’s amazing the difference glasses can make on a kid’s learning and behavior. “I can’t tell you enough how many times we’ve prescribed glasses to kids, and they go back to school, and they just thrive,” she says. It’s not hard to see why McGhee, a mother of four, is also particularly passionate about childhood literacy, which is why she formed ReadAloudNOLA. She started by collecting books and distributing them to little free libraries, summer camps and families hanging outside. Now through the Hollygrove Neighbors Association and other neighborhood groups in the city, she hosts back-to-school drives where she gives out books and school supplies and offers vision screenings. McGhee also reads aloud to children at local schools, where she’s affectionately earned the nickname “The Reading Lady.” She says she engages the students by “getting into character and making the kids laugh.” McGhee especially likes working with children who struggle with reading as she once did. She helps them strengthen their phonetic skills and looks out for signs of dyslexia. And as if she wasn’t busy enough, McGhee also joined the Muff-a-Lottas Carnival dance krewe last year. The move was outside her comfort zone, but she was able to conquer her nerves by channeling her inner theater kid and transforming into her 1950s era waitress character, Suga. “I’m sure gonna keep dancing out on that street until these knees give out,” she says. — KAYLEE POCHE
Growing up in Chennai, India, Vinoin “Vin” Devpaul Vincely remembers visiting a public hospital as a child and seeing patients lying on the waiting room floor because the beds were full. Years later, his grandmother passed away after developing severe pressure ulcers that could have been treated with better care. Vincely decided he wanted to help make advanced medical technology more accessible. Vincely spent his childhood in India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and came to the United States for college, studying biophysics at Ohio’s Miami University before earning a master’s degree in physics. In 2020, he moved to New Orleans to pursue a doctorate in biomedical engineering at Tulane University. His doctoral research became the foundation for LumaWave, the medical device startup he co-founded with Tulane faculty member Carolyn Bayer. LumaWave is developing a photoacoustic imaging system that emits pulses of laser light and measures the sound waves they generate to assess tissue health. The current prototype sits on a wheeled cart, but Vincely hopes future versions will become wearable and shrink to about the size of an iPhone, allowing clinicians to carry advanced imaging into rural hospitals, community clinics and developing countries. Vincely has won two Tulane Innovation Institute Open Medical Innovation Challenges,
La Reezy, 21 Musician
La Reezy has had an explosive 18 months. The New Orleans rapper and producer, born Khayree Salahuddin, so far this year released his first full-length album, “Skiddle Bandana,” dropped an EP, “Leader of Da Uth,” and landed in XXL magazine’s 2026 Freshman Class, a closely watched feature highlighting quickly rising rappers across the country.
placed first at Open Season and received a $50,000 Provost’s Proof of Concept Grant, helping secure nearly $70,000 in startup funding. LumaWave also has filed a nonprovisional patent application and executed an exclusive licensing agreement with Tulane. Outside the lab, Vincely co-hosted the podcast Big Easy Science, and he founded the Optics and Photonics Tulane Innovation Club and Society to foster collaboration among optics and photonics researchers. — LIAM PIERCE
Those latest highlights follow a breakout year, when La Reezy released four stellar projects and received The Next Up Award from the national Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. There also were shout-outs from Tyler, the Creator and Kendrick Lamar. It’s the culmination of years of hard work put in by the driven 21-year-old. He grew up in the 12th Ward, near Napoleon Avenue, and started writing his own lyrics in his early teens and learned to produce his own music. Music videos recorded with friends soon followed, and La Reezy started to build a following among his classmates at the New Orleans Charter Science and Math School, where he graduated in 2022. In 2023, though, La Reezy decided to effectively start from scratch with his EP, “Reeborn,” and it has been a steady yet swift climb ever since for the thoughtful, lyrically gifted rapper. Alongside his music, he has developed a brand, Utilizing Time Here (or UTH), and recently launched the nonprofit the UTH Foundation with the goal of connecting New Orleans youth with educational programs, mentorship and creative and business resources. “It’s up to you to make the world you want to see better. And that’s it,” La Reezy says. “We have a life. We’re here for a reason. We find our purpose and we execute that. No matter where you’re from, you’re capable.”
— JAKE CLAPP
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