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. Scientists at the … Read more

Edward L. Barnes, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology, is a recipient of the 2021 Sherman Prizes and Sherman Emerging Leader Prize, recognizing excellence in the field of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). “When I started doing IBD research, it was the best … Read more

Imagine: 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 … Read more

Hyman Muss, MD, the Mary Jones Hudson Distinguished Professor of Geriatric Oncology in the Division of Oncology, recently received three research awards. From the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), Muss received $190,000 in funding for “p16INK4a Expression, Chemotherapy Toxicity, and Aging in Women with Breast Cancer.” There is significant variability in chemotherapy-related toxicity in women of … Read more

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD, received an NC TraCS pilot grant award. Division of Geriatric Medicine Joshua Niznik, PharmD, PhD, received an NC TraCS pilot grant award. UNC’s Center for Aging and Health received a two-year Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services grant (with University of Louisville’s Trager Institute) … Read more

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience long-term progressive damage to their lungs which worsens airflow and typically leaves a person short of breath. Patients with COPD frequently experience acute worsening in their breathing, called an acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). AECOPDs are a known predictor of COPD disease progression, overall mortality and have … Read more

Jonathan Serody, MD, the Elizabeth Thomas Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and chief of the Division of Hematology, received an NIH (NHLBI) R01 grant of $3.4M to evaluate epigenetic changes in innate lymphoid cells as a mediator of acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GvHD) after stem cell transplantation. The grant is in collaboration with Samantha Pattenden, … Read more

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has awarded 6 Bedtower (6BT) a gold-level “Beacon Award for Excellence” at UNC Medical Center. The Beacon application unfolds a story of a nursing unit’s continuous pursuit of excellence and often tells a story of resilience. Patient Services Manager Turkeisha Brown, MSN, RN, NE-BC, says the three-year recognition … Read more

NC TraCS recently announced the recipients of new pilot grant awards, and five recipients are from the Department of Medicine. Following is a list of the recipients and their project titles. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD (Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology) Project Title: Safety, Tolerability, and Biosignature of Humanized Prebiotics in Healthy Adults Joshua Niznik, … Read more

Evan Raff, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of hospital of medicine, and Lauren Raff, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, were awarded a NC TraCS Health Equity Award to improve rapid response outcomes in patients whose primary language is Spanish. The project “Reducing Health Inequities in the Rapid Response System … Read more

There are many social, ethical, and legal challenges associated with obtaining consent for young people to participate in HIV research studies. As a result, youth are often excluded from HIV research, resulting in data gaps. Suzanne Day, PhD, MA, and Joe Tucker, MD, from the division of infectious diseases, are seeking to address this gap … Read more

A major tool against malaria in Africa has been the use of rapid diagnostic tests, which have been part of the “test-treat-track” strategy in Ethiopia, the second most-populated country in Africa. But researchers studying blood samples from more than 12,000 individuals in Ethiopia now estimate these tests missed nearly 10% of malaria cases caused by … Read more