Category: UNC Project-Malawi

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....

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) remains one of the most aggressive and least understood subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly in regions with high HIV prevalence. Despite its severity, data from sub-Saharan Africa have been limited, constraining clinicians and policymakers in developing effective strategies for early detection and treatment. At the First Annual...

The African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) held the 15th international conference on cancer from November 2-5, in Hammamet, Tunisia. UNC Project Malawi investigators participated, with groundbreaking presentations from Dr. Amon Chirwa, cancer medical officer; Tarsizious Chikaonda, data scientist and study coordinator for the TINY Ulysses Study;...

Supported by a Conquer Cancer grant, Matthew Painschab, MD, a member of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, helps improve outcomes for patients through optimizing infection management and mitigating antibiotic resistance. As an assistant professor of medicine, Painschab’s research focuses on...

The Malawi HIV Implementation Research Scientist Training (M-HIRST) program, competitively renewed with partners at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), will continue to strengthen Malawi’s capacity for mentored HIV and implementation research training. Funded by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the renewal builds...

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...

Talent and ambition are universal, but opportunity, not always. When eight youth from Ascent Soccer visited UNC Project Malawi’s Lab for a day of science, it wasn’t just about microscopes and lab coats—it was a reminder that sport can be a gateway to new opportunities. The event was also a...

Without access to subspecialty training, physicians in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unequipped to treat the high volume of patients presenting with cancer, who need subspecialized care for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and other gynecologic malignancies. With rising rates of cancer in LMICs, there is a...

Africa faces a rapidly growing cancer burden, driven by both population growth and the high prevalence of HIV.  By 2030, cancer incidence in Africa is expected to double, and by 2040, low- and middle-income countries are expected to account for 70% of global cancer deaths. The number of people with...

UNC’s ASOD-Global (Adams School of Dentistry) Program works in partnership with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, UNC Global Affairs, and other Health Sciences schools to make global interests a priority within the school and University. ASOD-Global’s primary aim is to preserve and strengthen Carolina’s ability to...

Matthew Painschab, MD, has been accepted into the 2025-26 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Leadership Development Program. He is one of 16 program participants chosen nationally, to cultivate valuable leadership skills and impact the future of cancer care. Dr. Painschab is a member of the Institute for Global Health...

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In Malawi, frequent stockouts of essential medicines and the widespread dispensing of antibiotics without prescriptions have exacerbated the AMR burden, highlighting the urgent need for robust antimicrobial stewardship interventions. A study led by researchers at UNC...

Claire Pedersen was a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill when the COVID-19 pandemic upended daily life, forcing students into remote learning with stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, her mother Susan Pedersen, the Clinical Director of the UNC Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases was working to...

HIV index case testing (ICT) aims to identify people living with HIV and their contacts, engage them in HIV testing services, and link them to care. Enhancing capacity through centralized face-to-face training is logistically complex and expensive. A decentralized blended learning approach to HCW capacity-building, combining synchronous face-to-face and asynchronous...

Despite the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS) increasing the amount of blood collected since its inception in 2004, Malawi remains with a 27% deficit in required blood supplies nationally. Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH, and researchers sought to understand the facilitators and barriers to blood donation among secondary school students in...

In a pilot study, Lauren M. Hill, PhD, and  Benjamin H. Chi, MD, MSc, evaluated a combination adherence support package for HIV antiretroviral therapy, for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV in Malawi, which included an adapted motivational interviewing-informed counseling approach (Integrated Next Step Counselling, iNSC) and an optional...

A collaborative study that included the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, UNC Project-Malawi, and the UNC Center For AIDS Research (CFAR), compared the contraceptive effectiveness of a typical-use LNG implant and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injectable during efavirenz use. The study included women living with HIV (WLHIV) on...

Dr. Mina Hosseinipour’s interest in infectious diseases and medicine began when she was a medical resident in Houston, Texas. Many patients were immigrants, and she was treating several for HIV using a new combination of anti-HIV drugs commonly known as HAART. “It made me want to understand why certain diseases...

Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest global health threats. Countries with limited resources, such as Malawi, are particularly vulnerable to its impact, with resistant infections threatening to undo decades of medical progress.  While antibiotics are a cornerstone of modern medicine, less than 2% of the 50,000 medical laboratories...

Dr. Jennifer Morgan, under the mentorship of Dr. Katie Reeder Hayes, Associate Professor of Oncology and Dr. Tamiwe Tomoka, UNC Project-Malawi Cancer Program Co-Director, describes breast cancer treatment patterns by stage and curative-intent guideline-concordant treatment (GCT) receipt among Malawian women in BMC Women’s Health. A prospective cohort of breast cancer patients was enrolled...