October 1, 2021
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill research set the stage to seek emergency authorization of the first oral antiviral drug to treat COVID-19, a pill developed by the pharmaceutical companies Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. William Fischer, MD, at the UNC School of Medicine led pivotal clinical trials on the drug molnupiravir.
September 28, 2021
UNC School of Medicine, the World Health Organization, and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute conducted a joint study to find that malaria parasites are spreading undetected across the Horn of Africa, posing a major health threat to the region. Lead UNC lead investigator Jonathan Parr, MD, MPH, is senior author of this Nature Microbiology paper.
September 23, 2021
Hongwei Du, PhD, and Gianpietro Dotti, MD, published research in Nature Cancer showing that a dual-threat CAR-T immunotherapy was effective in animal models of neuroblastoma, a nerve cell cancer.
September 22, 2021
Jonathan Berg, MD, PhD, at the UNC School of Medicine, is a principal investigator of The Clinical Genome Resource, a multi-institution consortium initially launched in 2013 by the National Human Genome Research Institute to provide evidence-based evaluations of clinically relevant genes and variants.
September 22, 2021
The UNC School of Medicine lab of Mehmet Kesimer, PhD, has further illuminated the molecular intricacies of mucus and its role in pulmonary diseases, laying more groundwork for better therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other airway conditions. The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
September 15, 2021
With a $3.2-million dollar investment, Blue Cross NC is collaborating with UNC Health and UNC-Chapel Hill researchers to conduct a first-of-its-kind clinical study to establish sustainable best practices for helping individuals put nutritious food options on the table and improve health.
September 10, 2021
Hyejung Won, PhD, is principal investigator of five-year project, part of the NIH’s $185-million Impact of Genomic Variation on Function consortium. UNC’s Karen Mohlke, PhD, and Michael Love, PhD, are co-investigators.
September 9, 2021
The NIH-funded center of excellence will focus on identifying early changes in dementia and factors driving disparities. The UNC-Chapel Hill principal investigator is Gwenn Garden, MD, PhD, chair and professor of the UNC Department of Neurology.
September 7, 2021
Principal investigators James Hagood, MD, and Richard Boucher, MD, at the UNC School of Medicine will lead a multinational, $3.5-million project funded through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to map crucial cellular roles in human health and disease.
August 18, 2021
A study in Lancet Global Health led by UNC School of Medicine’s Peyton Thompson, MD, MSCR and Jonathan Parr, MD, MPH showed the feasibility and acceptance of hepatitis B virus testing, treatment, and vaccination programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
August 17, 2021
The National Institutes of Health will award $53 million annually to 10 research organizations over the next five years to continue working toward curative therapies for HIV. The Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication (CARE), led at the UNC HIV Cure Center by David Margolis, MD, is one of two programs to have received funds for all three five-year grant cycles since 2011.
August 11, 2021
Led by UNC-Chapel Hill researchers, a new JAMA study showed that an additional $40 per month for SNAP beneficiaries substantially increased the purchase of healthier food options for people who struggle with food insecurity.