March 21, 2022
Nominate a Super Antimicrobial Steward
Super Steward Awards recognize colleagues’ meaningful contributions to support the appropriate and effective use of antimicrobials at UNC Medical Center.
Category: Infectious Diseases
February 24, 2022
Chimerix, READDI at UNC Announce Preclinical Data on COVID Anti-viral Treatment
The compound CMX521 significantly reduced lung viral titer and symptoms in a SARS-CoV-2 mouse model, as reported by biomedical company Chimerix in collaboration with the Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative at UNC-Chapel Hill. UNC School of Medicine faculty Nat Moorman, PhD, and Mark Heise, PhD, are key researchers in this program.
February 8, 2022
Vogt and Hernandez on Pandemic Preparedness in Lancet Microbe
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated a critical need to establish a pre-emptive stockpile of tangible immunobiological countermeasures to accelerate the response to potential pandemic threats. To address this need we have established a pandemic response repository through microbial and immunological surveillance and epidemiology (PREMISE) initiative.
January 26, 2022
Pharmacist’s Update: COVID-19 Therapeutics
Current therapeutic options and resources to aid appropriate selection.
January 26, 2022
Precision Medicine Approaches to Addressing COVID-19 Mini-Symposium
Join the UNC Program for Precision Medicine in Health Care (PPMH) for Precision Medicine Approaches to Addressing COVID-19, a free virtual mini-symposium from 1:00-3:00pm on Wednesday February 23, 2022. Presenters will explore how data has informed our response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the collection, analysis, and interpretation of COVID-related data.
December 15, 2021
Reminder: Eshelman Institute Grant Funding Available
The Eshelman Institute for Innovation recently opened its pre-proposal application for the 2022 annual grant cycle. The Institute seeks to fund translational research related to therapeutics focused on oncology, infectious disease, and neuroscience, including rare diseases, and all digital health technologies. The Institute also welcomes ideas for devices and diagnostics, and other therapeutic areas and services.
November 29, 2021
DCRI, UNC CHER, and Partners Launch Free Testing Project to Slow the Spread of COVID-19
The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), Center for Health Equity Research at UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC-CHER), and Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) today announced plans to deliver their You & Me COVID-Free testing project in Merced County, Calif., in partnership with United Way.
November 23, 2021
InsideTraCS with Emily Pfaff, PhD
Emily Pfaff, PhD, is Co-director of Informatics and Data Science at NC TraCS. She has a PhD in Health Informatics and a master's in Information Science, both from UNC. Her primary expertise and research interests are in "computable phenotyping" and clinical data modeling in support of translational research. We recently spoke with Pfaff about improving/refining health data collection and analysis, COVID research, and the role of informatics in solving today's pressing health problems.
November 18, 2021
Shortest Effective Durations of Antimicrobial Therapy focus of UNC Medical Center’s observance of World Antimicrobials Awareness Week
Patients sometimes receive treatment that is longer than needed for common infections. Evidence-based best practices can help reduce unnecessary antimicrobial exposure and reduce potential patient risk.
November 18, 2021
Progress in Fight Against Surgical Site Infections at UNC Children’s Hospital
A quality improvement effort led by CASP’s Bill Wilson, PharmD, was recognized by UNC Medical Center Improvement Council’s Quality and Safety Awards with an honorable mention for their work to prevent surgical site infections in the Children’s Hospital Operating Room.
November 2, 2021
Gracie Howell, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Participant, Returns to Receive Booster Shot
Gracie Howell, Moderna COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participant, continues her journey. Hear her story as she returns nine months later to receive her booster shot and why she values participating in COVID-19 research.
October 7, 2021
Penicillin allergy assessments expand to UNCMC inpatient areas
You have a patient with a penicillin allergy documented in their chart. Typically, you would prescribe amoxicillin for their infection, but that is not an option because it is a penicillin-class antibiotic. Instead, you prescribe a broader-spectrum antibiotic–not your first choice except for the allergy. But, what if you learned that it is not a true allergy?