Category: Research

A systematic review led by Dorian Ho (UNC BSPH-2025), and Joseph Tucker, co-director of UNC Project-China and a member of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, found that givers leveraged altruism, agency, and relationality with recipients to improve distribution and use of health services in their social...

Cindy Gay, MD, MPH, and David Margolis, MD, and the UNC HIV Cure Center have launched two ambitious studies that are poised to advance HIV Cure science closer to ending the epidemic. The first uses highly engineered antibody-like molecules to help the immune system find and clear HIV‑infected cells, uniting...

Chapel Hill, NC— A newly published case study in the Journal of Correctional Health Care urges immediate action to strengthen syphilis screening protocols for pregnant individuals in U.S. jails and prisons. Researchers at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases recently published “Syphilis Screening Among Pregnant Individuals in Carceral...

William A. Fischer II, MD, Director of Emerging Pathogens at UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and Joe Eron, MD, UNC Chief of Infectious Diseases and chair of the ACTG, co-authored a study that found tecovirimat used to treat mpox does not shorten time to lesion resolution, reduce...

A trial led by Joe Eron, MD, a researcher with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, marks a significant milestone toward what could become the first complete long‑acting HIV regimen requiring dosing only twice per year. This new report is considered the first Phase 2 study to...

Chapel Hill, NC—A new study led by researchers at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill shows an urgent need for improved detection and treatment of Lassa fever, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Lassa fever–a severe...

Chapel Hill, N.C. — A Phase 2 study led by Dr. Joe Eron, a member of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, shows an investigational once‑weekly, all‑oral combination of islatravir (ISL) and lenacapavir(LEN) maintains high levels of virologic suppression through 48 weeks in adults living with HIV....

Since 2008, new HIV diagnoses in the US have been reduced by about half; however, progress is not equally distributed. In 2022, only about 65% of people diagnosed with HIV in the US—and North Carolina—were virally suppressed, falling short of the national target of 95% viral suppression. Southern states, including...

Chapel Hill, NC — Researchers with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID), in collaboration with the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UNC Project-Malawi, found adults receiving rituximab as part of cancer treatment face a significantly higher risk of developing symptomatic malaria in an endemic region....

Chapel Hill, NC – New research published in JAMA Network Open highlights a critical challenge facing people living with HIV as they re-enter the community after incarceration. A Zambia study led by Michael Herce, MD, MPH, MSCR, an investigator at the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases—in collaboration with colleagues...

Ciniso Shabangu shares how his scientific journey—from early hepatitis and cancer research in Taiwan to advanced NeuroHIV studies at the UNC HIV Cure Center—has shaped his commitment to understanding how viruses persist in the body. His work now focuses on uncovering how HIV hides in the brain and the technologies driving those discoveries. ...

Sean Connelly shares how a small‑town upbringing, a passion for community, and early research experiences led him to pursue a career dedicated to improving global health. Now an MD‑PhD student at the UNC School of Medicine, Connelly studies malaria drug resistance in East Africa, working with international partners to support...

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...

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s (ASTMH) Annual Meeting, Nov. 9-13 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, drew approximately 4,900 global health professionals from around the world. Investigators from the IDEEL Lab contributed new insights to the global conversation, drawing attention to a defining crossroads in East Africa’s malaria response....

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...

Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, FACOG, a member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology has been selected for the “Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award” (Winn CDA), a prestigious two-year national program that trains early-career physicians to...

In a commentary published by Nature Medicine, Dr. Myron Cohen and Dr. Joe Eron, leaders of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, identify numerous medical advances originating from U.S. federally funded HIV research. They say the future of HIV research and the U.S.’s scientific leadership depends on...

CHAPEL HILL, NC — (November 24, 2025) A multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by Jonathan Parr, MD, MPH, at UNC Chapel Hill’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, with partners at North Carolina State University, Emory University, Accelint’s SoarTech, and a network of international collaborators has received  $2.2 million...

High neighborhood deprivation is linked to both greater antimicrobial resistance and higher short‑term mortality in Enterobacterales infections. For North Carolina, the implications are clear. Tackling AMR requires not only new drugs and diagnostics but also addressing healthcare disparities that leave vulnerable populations at greater risk. Chapel Hill, NC — A...

Landmark research led by William Fischer II, MD, director of emerging pathogens for the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, describes the successful delivery of advanced care to patients with Marburg virus disease during Rwanda’s third largest outbreak on record, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseasesand The New...