“There are few people like him,” as a long-term collaborator and friend said. “Steve was so humble and generous that I don’t think he really understood the impact he had on the people around him. He profoundly changed for the better the lives of so many people he worked with and trained, without ever asking … Read more

  It’s hot (especially wearing full PPE), it’s tedious, and it’s critical. A volunteer team of UNC infectious diseases faculty members along with UNC hospitalists has been conducting drive-up testing for COVID-19 in Sanford, NC, about 35 miles south of Chapel Hill, twice a month since June, seeing roughly 1,000 local residents so far this … Read more

Five fellows joined UNC’s Division of Infectious Diseases in July for the 2020-2021 academic year. The trainees gain clinical and research experience along with career guidance and mentoring by the division’s faculty members. One of the fellows, Daphne-Dominique Henson Villanueva, MD, will be doing advanced training in immunocompromised host infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship.

In February 2020, as bits of data about the SARS-CoV-2 virus started to emerge, Cindy Gay, MD, MPH, and UNC infectious diseases colleagues began meeting to formulate a local response to the virus. They’ve met weekly ever since, resorting to Zoom calls once the university sent employees home in March. They’ve shared data, compared notes … Read more

Suzanne Maman, PhD, professor of health behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been appointed associate dean for global health, effective September 1, 2020. The associate dean for global health is the School’s chief global leader and liaison, responsible for evolving global strategy and global health initiatives. Maman succeeds Margaret (Peggy) Bentley, … Read more

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Myron Cohen, MD, director of UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and FHI 360 $9.2 million to support research through the new COVID Prevention Network (CoVPN). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health has formed the network to better … Read more

Four appointments in 2020 have expanded the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases’ Leadership Team. The team’s members bring unique expertise, experience, and perspectives from across the University of North Carolina’s health science schools to set strategy and lead the growth of one of UNC’s preeminent research centers. “Since our founding in 2007, the … Read more

By the spring of 2020, the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic caused many researchers affiliated with UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases to pivot their studies to focus on testing, treatment and prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, a look at some of the projects underway in the last two years.   Development … Read more

  Three Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases representatives joined the May 21 UNC Board of Trustees meeting to talk about COVID-19 and the university’s response to the pandemic. Institute Director Myron Cohen, MD, talked about how so many of our researchers have pivoted their work to COVID, working on the development of vaccine … Read more

  In the first COVID-19 case series of tocilizumab in the United States, UNC-Chapel Hill researchers report sobering results. They say the drug should be used judiciously until randomized clinical trials determine tocilizumab’s true efficacy. Meanwhile, medical students sidelined from clinical rotations by the virus conducted the research with lightning speed, all virtually. In the … Read more

  Large-scale study funded by NIAID and ViiV Healthcare halted early after cabotegravir, dosed every two months, shows higher efficacy than daily oral pill.   The decades-long search for a vaccine to prevent HIV reached a new milestone as results from HPTN 083, a global large-scale study, show that the long-acting drug cabotegravir (CAB LA) … Read more

    A new study by the Multi-Drug-Resistant Organism Network of the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) has found that strains of carbapenem-resistant enterobacterales (CRE), a major threat to vulnerable patient populations, are more diverse than previously thought. The MDRO Network is led by UNC Infectious Diseases investigator David van Duin, MD, PhD. Analyzing patient … Read more

A novel collaboration between UNC’s Department of Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases includes creating a multidisciplinary primary care clinic to serve people living with HIV. The new model lays the groundwork for multidisciplinary care in advance of the move to Eastowne. Led by Claire Farel MD, MPH, medical director of the UNC Infectious Diseases Clinic, Amy Durr, … Read more

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine in the infectious diseases division, and, Allison Aiello, PhD, MS, professor of epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, are leading a study along with Aaron Fleischauer, PhD, MSPH, at NC Department of Health and Human Services and other agency partners to understand how widespread … Read more

Myron Cohen, MD, Yeargan-Bate Distinguished Professor of medicine, microbiology, and immunology and epidemiology and director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and Wesley Fowler, MD, associate dean for medical alumni affairs and professor of obstetrics and gynecology,and have been inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece, UNC’s oldest and most prestigious … Read more

Asher Schranz, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, has received a grant from the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse for the project “Drug-use associated infective endocarditis: Post-hospitalization outcomes and patient treatment preferences.” Schranz’s research is broadly focused on the intersection of infectious diseases and substance use disorders. He … Read more

Watch animation video explaining UNC Project-China’s STI pay-it-forward study. Gonorrhea and chlamydia are two common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that increase HIV risk among many key populations, including gay and bisexual men. But most men are not tested for STIs, in part because of the cost and low community engagement. A new study from researchers … Read more

By Alyssa LaFaro As seven states now require masks and face coverings for visiting essential businesses or using public transportation, it seems like those spaces are where we are most at risk for COVID-19 infection. But, in truth, the riskiest place could be our homes — at least, if you live with someone who tests positive for the … Read more

Kathy James was watching the evening news a week or so ago when she saw a story about people in Winston-Salem who were organizing to bring food to local hospital staff fighting Covid-19. We need to do something like that for our people, she thought. James is an administrative coordinator at UNC’s Institute for Global … Read more

  By Myron Cohen, MD Our UNC infectious diseases community, encompassing many disciplines, has responded remarkably to COVID-19. Our physicians have been deployed to patient care and to advise the University and health system’s leadership. Researchers are quickly pivoting their work to focus on COVID. Among the many who have responded quickly: David Wohl and … Read more