“We at the Institute for Global Health and infectious diseases are a large community of multi-disciplinary investigators,” said Sonia Napravnik, PhD, in her webinar welcome message during University Research Week. “And essentially, we all focus on improving health globally and locally, here in North Carolina and across the US.”
“Our focus is really on research, training and service to the communities that we work with, globally and locally. And one of the discussions we’ll have today is how all the global work that we do comes back here to Chapel Hill and to the people across the state of North Carolina.”
As an associate core director for the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and associate professor of infectious diseases and epidemiology, Dr. Napravnik leads HIV research and she teaches students. On October 22, she introduced the Institute and mission to put learning into practice for Carolina students at all levels.
Then, she led a discussion about global health threats to North Carolina and what members of the Institute are doing to address them.Dr. Napravnik’s first question recognized pressing health threats in North Carolina (and beyond). Panelists responded with infectious diseases (especially emerging and respiratory threats like bird flu), healthcare access issues, ongoing and potential epidemics, vector-borne diseases (like West Nile), the impact of climate change, substance use and overdose mortality, rising congenital syphilis rates, and HIV/AIDS, highlighting the need for system-level solutions and prevention strategies. Following are brief summaries from the participating panelists.
Dr. David Wohl emphasized that pandemics will likely be more frequent, and that unpredictability requires constant vigilance and preparedness. He also stressed concerns about health system issues such as insurance coverage and access, describing preparations akin to emergency response teams (regular drills, maintaining supplies, simulating scenarios) and highlighted the value of learning from both clinical experience and previous pandemics (HIV, Ebola, COVID-19).
Dr. Ross Boyce described the impact of climate change and severe weather events on disease patterns, noting specific outbreaks in North Carolina and resource limitations in public health response (e.g., lack of entomologists and timely contracts for spraying). He described research in mosquito-borne diseases, highlighting Durham’s recent West Nile outbreak, challenges in responding to such outbreaks (including lack of resources), and the historic and current difficulties in vector control.
Dr. Vivian Go talked about public health crises related to substance use, using the opioid epidemic and overdose mortality rates as key examples (over a million US deaths; 3,000 expected in North Carolina in 2024). She also pointed out the gap between evidence-based interventions and actual implementation due to barriers on both provider and user sides, stressing the need to understand systemic/structural issues limiting intervention uptake.
Dr. Sarah Rutstein focused on sexually transmitted infections (notably congenital syphilis and HIV), systemic breakdowns, and rural/underserved access barriers, citing a dramatic increase in congenital syphilis and rising challenges in HIV prevention and care. She identified system-level failures as a root cause, such as policies affecting access to care and specific difficulties in rural settings.