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August 23, 2023

New Mental Health Partnership Looks to Explain Biological Factors Behind Substance Use in Adolescents Experiencing Anxiety

Through a new $3.8-million, five-year NIH-funded project, UNC School of Medicine researcher Aysenil Belger, PhD, and Diana Fishbein, PhD, at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute will examine neurological and psychological factors that lead some adolescents with anxiety symptoms to use controlled substances. The goal is to improve precision-based, targeted interventions for these teens.

August 4, 2023

Kowitt, Team Develop Effective Cigar Warning Signage

A new study published by UNC Family Medicine’s Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and colleagues looked at the impact of different types of warning signs for large and premium cigars sold individually at the point of sale. The team’s newly developed graphic and text warnings were more effective than the FDA’s proposed text-only warnings and could potentially increase the effectiveness of warning signs for large and premium cigars.

November 9, 2022

Kowitt Awarded K01 to Help Communicate Harms of Multiple Tobacco Products to Youth

Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, was recently awarded a five-year, $762,196 grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01 grant) focuses on tobacco regulatory research in youth, specifically on how to communicate the harms of multiple tobacco products that youth may be using—referred to as multiple tobacco product (MTP) use—instead of just one product at a time.

November 9, 2022

Enyioha Receives Career Development Award to Study Culturally Adapted Intervention for African American Smokers

Chineme Enyioha, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, was recently awarded a K23 Career Development Award for a study entitled, “Development of a prototype for a mobile health intervention for smoking cessation with features culturally adapted for African American smokers.” Enyioha will focus her work on creating a mobile cessation system specifically targeted at African American smokers.