News
Scientists Discover Key Neural Circuit Regulating Alcohol Consumption
The UNC School of Medicine lab of Zoe McElligott, PhD, found that alcohol consumption is regulated by the activity of a particular set of neurons in a specific brain region, a discovery that could lead to a better understanding of why some casual drinkers develop an alcohol use disorder.
Lily and Yuh-Nung Jan Named 20th Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize Recipients
The husband-and-wife scientists from UC San Francisco will be honored at a spring event at UNC-Chapel Hill for their seminal research discoveries on the development and function of the nervous system.
UNC HIV Researchers Featured
The Office of University Communications at UNC-Chapel Hill featured UNC School of Medicine researchers for their decades of dedication in fighting the HIV epidemic.
UNC Health Care Introduces App to Help Patients Navigate Hospitals, Clinics and Parking
Smartphone technology from Gozio Health provides directions, doctor directories and more
How Enzymes Reign Supreme in Worldwide Carbon Recycling
Richard Wolfenden, PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics, details how white rot fungi produce enzymes that turn out to be key players in the carbon cycle.
UNC Hosts World AIDS Day Event, CFAR Symposium
Friday December 6, the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and Center for AIDS Research will host event special event at the Bioinformatics Building. Elsevier Press recently reviewed the impact of institutions in HIV research worldwide, and UNC-Chapel Hill ranked fourth.
Machine Learning Helps Scientists Measure Important Inflammation Process
Led by the UNC School of Medicine lab of Leslie Parise, PhD, researchers created an artificial intelligence tool to measure NETosis, an important inflammatory process by which certain white blood cells trap invaders like bacteria. This work will help scientists find ways to stop or promote the process in disease states.
Surgical & Cardiology Team at UNC Children’s Help Infant Thrive
Margot Halpin is Flourishing After Heart Surgery at Four Months Old
Channing Der Named AAAS Fellow
Channing Der, PhD, in the UNC Department of Pharmacology and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, was named as one of 443 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences for 2019. He is one of three selected from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Hurricane Florence no Match for Doctors at UNC Children’s Hospital
Margot Halpin was born at Mount Sinai in New York City with a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Three months later the Halpin family moved to Chapel Hill and met with the Cardiology & Surgery teams at UNC Children’s Hospital NC Pediatric Heart Center to plan her care.
Pancreatic cancer tumor classification could optimize treatment choices
UNC Lineberger’s Jen Jen Yeh, MD, and Naim Rashid, PhD, reported findings on how two subtypes of pancreatic cancer respond to treatments differently. Importantly, they found that one subtype of the disease showed poor responses to common therapies, and also had worse survival rates.
Scientists Identify Underlying Molecular Mechanisms of Alexander Disease
Researchers led by UNC School of Medicine’s Natasha Snider, PhD, used human induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to make important basic science discoveries about the molecular underpinnings of Alexander disease, a rare neurodegenerative condition that is often fatal to young children.
Family Medicine Researchers Funded to Study Shift to Value-based Care
Led by Erin Fraher, PhD, MPP, associate professor of family medicine, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have been awarded a $255,000 grant from The Duke Endowment to study UNC Family Medicine’s shift to a value-based health care model.
Polygenic risk score improves psychosis risk prediction, study finds
A new study, led by Diana O. Perkins, MD, MPH, in the UNC Department of Psychiatry, finds that using a polygenic risk score (PRS) based on data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) improves psychosis risk prediction in individuals meeting clinical high-risk criteria.
International Group of Scientists Create ‘Imaging Africa’ Initiative
UNC School of Medicine’s Klaus Hahn, PhD, and colleagues from around the world will lead an intensive workshop and symposium to increase student knowledge of microscope technologies, including cellphone-based technology and super-resolution modalities. The workshop and symposium are free to all student scientists in Africa.
Study finds treatment inequities for pain following cesarean deliveries
Jasmine Johnson, MD, and Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, conducted research highlighting the need for continued efforts to undo biases in medical care. Many such efforts have been put in place at the UNC Medical Center, the UNC School of Medicine, and across the UNC Health Care system.
UNC Health Hospitals Earn Top ‘A’ Safety Scores from Leapfrog Group
UNC Medical Center, UNC REX, Johnston Health and Wayne UNC Health receive top grades
Ashkin, Rosen serve as co-guest editors for November issue of NCMJ
Evan Ashkin, MD, and David Rosen MD, PhD, are guest editors in the current issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal, which centers on health and the criminal justice system.
Researchers Link Specific Protein Mutations to Ataxia Disease Symptoms
Jonathan Schisler, MS, PhD, led research showing that limiting the activity of a mutant CHIP protein could decrease symptom severity for people with cerebral ataxia, a debilitating disease of the nervous system.
UNC awarded $2.91 million to create new ultra-long-acting HIV drug delivery implant
Led by J. Victor Garcia, PhD, biomedical researchers have begun a three-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and implement an effective ultra-long-acting antiviral delivery system to combat the spread of HIV.