Author Archives: Rita Kazezian

Amogh Rao is an undergraduate student at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and a lab assistant in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL) at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. This past summer, he visited Kenya to research malaria resistance and the threat of treatment...

Dr. Scott Commins, a member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, commented on the death of a 47-year-old man from Alpha-Gal Syndrome in an NBC News story. Dr. Commins studies the tick-bite induced red meat allergy that affects a growing population and describes the biggest risk factors for severe reactions, such as...

The Institute’s Global HIV Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) has long been recognized for its scientific rigor, research excellence, and a consistent ability to meet complex regulatory compliance. Its systematic approach, vital to producing reliable and trustworthy evidence for new drug trials, ensures the safety and well-being of human participants are...

Artemisinin partial resistance, driven by Plasmodium falciparum K13 mutations, threatens malaria control. Zanzibar is vulnerable to the spread of artemisinin partial resistance but lacks molecular surveillance. Sean Connelly, an MD-PhD candidate, led a study with the IDEEL Lab team that sequenced samples in Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania, collected from 2022 to...

Gina Chowa, PhD, MSW, conducted a study examines the association between program design and youth employability outcomes. Using longitudinal survey data from the Siyakha Youth Assets project in South Africa, she analyzed responses from a sample of 1809 youth enrolled in eight different employment programs across the country. These findings...

Esther Kip, PhD, is a WARMHEART Fellow in Malawi, a postdoc training program named for the “warm heart of Malawi.” In the following interview, she explains her interest in adolescent mental health, how her research is building momentum, and a UNICEF experience remains a driving force behind her work.  What...

This year’s ID Week will take place October 19-22, 2025, in Atlanta, GA. ID Week is the joint annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the HIV Medicine Association, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists....

Briefly summarize your background and interests, and how you came to the Institute. I originally trained as a biomedical engineer and gained experience with in-host modeling of influenza during my Master’s degree at the University of Virginia. I was interested in continuing to work on infectious disease modeling, but wanted...

In a recent podcast, The Lone Star Tick & One Patient’s Experience With Ehrlichiosis, Dr. Ron Falk speaks with Dr. Ross Boyce, an expert in tick-borne illnesses, and Dr. Katherine Huffman-Falk, a retired nephrologist who was recently bitten by a tick. This podcast talks about what a tick-borne disease is...

UNC at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress in Montreal UNC Chapel Hill was well represented at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress. Centered on the theme “Sexual Health for All,” the congress took place in Montreal, Canada, from July 27 to 30, 2025. This biannual congress, organized by...

Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, FACOG, has been awarded $2.5M over five years by the National Institutes of Health for her research focused on improving human papillomavirus (HPV) treatment outcomes in women living with HIV (WWH) in Africa. Dr. Mungo is an Assistant Professor in the UNC Department of Obstetrics and...

Higher drug levels and combination therapy with low-dose oral methotrexate (LD-MTX) may reduce anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment failure in pediatric Crohn’s disease. David Wohl, MD, conducted a post hoc analysis of the COMBINE trial, which compared anti-TNF monotherapy to combination therapy with LD-MTX. The study concluded that the LD-MTX...

Edward P. Browne, PhD, conducted a review that outlines current model systems of HIV latency and their analysis with single-cell omics technologies. Several recent papers have applied cutting-edge single-cell omics methods to model systems of HIV latency. Single-cell technologies provide sensitive detection of cellular subpopulations that contribute to proviral reactivation...

Successful retention in care of people living with HIV remains a challenge and a cornerstone of ending the epidemic. Audrey Pettifor, PhD, conducted a population-based cohort study of individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in ten health care facilities within the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System site in Mpumalanga, South...

To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI), abdominal adiposity, handgrip strength, and physical function in people with HIV (PWH), and to explore the potential influence of physical activity and diet on this relationship. Dr. Prema Menezes, PhD, conducted a PROSPER-HIV Study at four clinical sites across the United...

Ronald Futila Kyong-Shin works in the IDEEL (Infectious Disease Epidemiology Ecology) lab, studying malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He says he enjoys working on projects that impact people’s daily lives, and he especially likes population genetics and evolutionary biology, which can make him feel like a time...

The prevalence of neurological complications among people with HIV (PWH) is expected to increase as PWH live longer due to increased access to antiretroviral treatment (ART). In a study conducted by Monica Maria Diaz, MD, MS, some findings highlight the need for comprehensive healthcare strategies to manage neurological complications in...

Faith Kanjira is a Regulatory Assistant during her summer break.  She began her journey at UNC in Malawi in 2017 and was later promoted to Regulatory Officer. Her calling is deeply personal to her and has inspired her to do what she does today. The best advice she’s ever been...

Ashenafi Assefa Bahita is a scientist who studies malaria in the IDEEL Lab. He is originally from Ethiopia and came to the US to collaborate with the CDC on his studies on malaria in an advanced laboratory setting. Ashenafi serves as a member of the National Malaria Technical Advisory Committee....

Afreen Hameed works as a research technician in the Archin Lab. Her work in the HIV CURE Center aims to find prevention and cure strategies for HIV. She says the best piece of advice she has received is that not everything is under our control.  What do you do at...