Latest News
UNC Health Alliance, Blue Cross NC Collaborate to Ease Burden on Practices During COVID-19 Pandemic
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina working with UNC Health Alliance to advance performance bonuses to network primary care practices across the state as part of its Blue Premier program. Bonuses will be paid several months early to help practices struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gillings, School of Medicine Researchers Team with State, Local Agencies to Study COVID-19 Cases with Mild or No Symptoms
This COVID-19 testing project will be led by Ross Boyce, MD, MSc, at the UNC School of Medicine, Allison Aiello, PhD, MS, professor of epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Aaron Fleischauer, PhD, MSPH, at NC Department of Health and Human Services, along with coordination by John Wallace, PhD, senior data advisor at NC Institute of Public Health.
Damania Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Blossom Damania, PhD, vice dean for research at the UNC School of Medicine, was the only member of the UNC-Chapel Hill community selected as one of 276 new members to the oldest honorary society in the United States.
Cell Types Underlying Parkinson’s Disease and Other Brain Disorders Identified
Patrick Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, Yeargan Distinguished Professor in the departments of genetics and psychiatry, is a co-lead author of the study.
UNC Students, Biomedical Engineers, Designers Create Masks to Protect Pediatric Patients
To help address shortages of pediatric PPE due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering created task forces of students, faculty, and designers to make more than 1,000 pediatric masks for UNC Health in just over a week.
UNC Begins Plasma Collection for Treating COVID-19 Patients
The UNC Medical Center is now collecting convalescent plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to help current UNC Health COVID-19 patients, under FDA guidelines. UNC School of Medicine researchers are planning a clinical trial to analyze coronavirus antibody responses in patients who receive convalescent plasma.
Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Genetic Structural Secrets of Schizophrenia
A study co-led by Jin Szatkiewicz, PhD, Patrick Sullivan, MD, and colleagues at UNC-Chapel Hill and four Swedish universities found that extremely rare variants affect the boundaries of a 3D genome structure called topologically associated domains in people with schizophrenia much more than they affect people without the condition.
UNC Receives NIH Diabetes Research Center Grant with Partner Institutions
John Buse, MD, PhD, will lead the UNC site in a $5.7 million diabetes research collaboration with Duke, Wake Forest, and NC A&T, funded through the National Institutes of Health.
UNC Health Workers Called to Join National PCORnet® Study to Fight COVID-19
The HeroesResearch.org clinical research registry is designed to answer crucial questions about the impact of novel coronavirus on health care workers’ lives, and includes a multi-site clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine led at UNC by Ross Boyce, MD, assistant professor of medicine.
ERNIE BOVIO & JANET HADAR: A message of gratitude from UNC hospitals
This piece by Ernio Bovio, President of UNC REX Healthcare, and Janet Hadar, President of UNC Hospitals, was originally published at WRAL.com on Sunday, April 12.
Researchers Identify Strategies to Ensure, Sustain Health Workforce During Pandemic
Health Workforce Research Center Directors, including Erin Fraher, PhD, MPP, in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, highlight strategies to sustain the healthcare workforce to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Open Science Drug Discovery Partnership, READDI, Aims to Invest $125 Million to Prevent Future Pandemics
The Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative (READDI) involves researchers from the UNC School of Medicine, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
New Antiviral Drug Heading into Clinical Trials Offers Hope as COVID-19 Treatment, Could be Taken as a Pill
A study co-led by the lab of Ralph Baric, PhD, found that a compound called EIDD-2801 can prevent severe lung injury in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Berkowitz Proposes Innovative Methodological Approach to Studies that Address Health-Related Social Needs
Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, proposes the use of cash benchmarking to better study programs aimed at addressing health-related social needs in a new article published in Health Affairs.
COVID 19: Why It’s Even More Crucial to Quit Smoking Now
COVID-19 falls under the coronavirus family of diseases, which are known to cause respiratory illness. People with any underlying lung condition, including people who smoke, have much higher rates of death if they become infected with COVID-19.
Meet UNC School of Medicine’s COVID-19 Research Heroes
The UNC School of Medicine has researchers across disciplines working together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
MAHEC receives $1 million to expand treatment capacity for opioid use disorder in NC
Funding supports development of regional addiction medicine hubs and community-based treatment.
Food Lion Donates $500,000 to UNC Health for COVID-19 Research
The North Carolina-based retailer donated $3.1 million this week for local hunger-relief efforts and COVID-19 research on vaccines and treatments at UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine.
SOM Students Rally to Help Health Care Workers through the Fight Against COVID-19
UNC School of Medicine students across campuses are organizing multiple volunteer projects all with one aim – help hospitals safely and effectively combat COVID-19. From making PPE to organizing child care, these students are doing whatever they can to make a difference.
UNC Medical Students Make Face Shields for Healthcare Workers
Be a Maker and students from the UNC School of Medicine team up with Duke and NC State to design and produce thousands of face shields for healthcare workers.