Latest News
UNC Health Care Hospitals Ranked Nationally and Rated as “High Performing”
UNC Medical Center nationally ranked in five adult specialties, scored as high performing in five more. Four other UNC Health Care hospitals rated high performing for common adult procedures and conditions.
Doctor-patient discussions neglect potential harms of lung cancer screening, study finds
UNC Lineberger researchers led by Daniel Reuland, MD, MPH, report in JAMA Internal Medicine that their analysis of 14 audio-recorded office visit discussions between doctors and patients found the quality of the conversation about lung cancer screening was “poor” and discussion of the potential harms of screening was “virtually nonexistent.” In addition, the doctors spent less than a minute, on average, discussing the issue.
UNC School of Medicine Welcomes Class of 2022
The UNC School of Medicine welcomed the Class of 2022 to campus with orientation activities beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 1.
Bright Delivers Whitehead Lecture
This year’s Whitehead Lecture was delivered by Cedric Bright, MD, Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, Director of the Office of Special Programs.
Review of scientific evidence on effectiveness of fertility awareness-based methods for contraception underscores need for higher quality studies
The systematic review led by UNC’s Rachel Peragallo Urrutia, MD, was published this week in Obstetrics and Gynecology. It reviewed 53 studies of the effectiveness of fertility awareness-based methods and rated the studies for their quality.
Jonas publishes two JAMA Evidence Reports on ECG Cardiac Screenings
Dan Jonas, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine and deputy director for research at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, found that using electrocardiography in screening asymptomatic adults for cardiovascular disease may cause more harm than good.
Researchers find potential key to unlocking the immune system in pancreatic cancer
In the journal Cancer Immunology Research, scientists led by UNC Lineberger's Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, revealed that a molecule called interleukin-35 plays a role in suppressing cancer-fighting immune cells in pancreatic cancer.
Sebastian's Story
Sebastian Gonzalez and his family traveled from Costa Rica to North Carolina for one reason: to be treated by Andrea Hayes-Jordan, MD. Hayes-Jordan serves as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the UNC School of Medicine, and Surgeon in Chief at the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. She's also one of the few physicians in the world to specialize in the treatment of Desmoplastic small round cell tumor, Sebastian’s rare form of cancer.
Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Chair Dale Jenkins Announce Search Committee for Successor to William L. Roper, MD, MPH
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol L. Folt and UNC Health Care Board of Directors Chair Dale Jenkins have named Robert A. Blouin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as chair, and Charles D. Owen, vice chair of the UNC Health Care Board of Directors, as vice chair for the search committee.
Researchers Reveal Hidden Rules of Genetics for How Life on Earth Began
UNC researcher Charles Carter, PhD, and Peter Wills, PhD, from the University of Aukland, show how genes were first translated into proteins to offer insight into a long-time scientific mystery.
Can Scientists Leverage Mysterious Mossy Cells for Brain Disease Treatments?
UNC School of Medicine neuroscientist Juan Song, PhD, and colleagues show how specific brain cells communicate with adult neural stem cells, a discovery that could open new investigations into potential treatments for some neurological disorders and brain injuries.
Child Maltreatment Outreach Service connects UNC Health Care hospitals via Telemedicine
A grant from The Duke Endowment funded the creation of the Telemedicine Child Maltreatment Outreach Service. The service connects six UNC Health Care facilities to the UNC Child Protection Team for consultation in suspected cases of child abuse.
These Gummy Bear-Looking Things Will Inherit the Earth
What can we learn from tardigrades, aka ‘water bears,’ these ultimate survivors? And what might they help us figure out regarding human health and disease?
Discovery of kidney cancer driver could lead to new treatment strategy
In a study published in the journal Science, researchers led by UNC Lineberger's Qing Zhang, PhD, suggest that ZHX2 is a potential new therapeutic target for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, which is the most common type of kidney cancer.
Buy your tickets to Be Loud! 2018, a concert to support AYA cancer program at UNC Lineberger
The Be Loud! Sophie Foundation will hold its annual concert weekend fundraiser at Cat's Cradle August 24 and 25. Tickets are now available. ALL proceeds fund the AYA Cancer Support Program at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Researchers find that private insurance pays more for emergency department visits
UNC researchers led by Jonathan Yun, MD, MPH, find that private insurance had the greatest average annual increase in spending for each ED visit between 1996 through 2015.
UNC School of Medicine graduate students earn prestigious HHMI Gilliam Fellowships
Megan Agajanian, in the lab of Ben Major, PhD, and Juanita Limas, in the lab of Jean Cook, PhD, will receive up to $150,000 each to support their biomedical research at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
By sending tests in the mail, researchers boost colorectal cancer screening
Alison Brenner, PhD, MPH, and Stephanie Wheeler, PhD, MPH, researchers with UNC Lineberger’s Carolina Cancer Screening Initiative, in collaboration with the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte, examined the impact of targeted outreach to more than 2,100 people insured by Medicaid who were not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.
UNC Health Care first in NC to integrate with NC Controlled Substance Reporting System
Giant step forward in empowering physicians to address the opioid epidemic.
SOM Office of Research appoints Christopher Gregory director of Office of Research Technologies
Christopher Gregory, PhD, has been appointed director of the Office of Research Technologies to increase interdisciplinary science and maximize resources available to UNC School of Medicine researchers.