News

Introductory Workshop on Chichewa Language and Malawi Culture

Kaimila Launches Study to Determine Feasibility of Endoscopic Screening for Esophageal Cancer in Malawi

UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program esophageal cancer and cancer clinic division lead Bongani Kaimila, MBBS, MSc, launched a cross-sectional study to determine the feasibility of endoscopic screening for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) precursor lesions in Malawi and the relationship with poor oral health. In Malawi, ESCC is the third commonest cancer nationwide. Among cancers … Continued

UNC School of Nursing Professor Helps Build Oncology Nursing Capacity in Malawi

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has appointed Ashley Leak Bryant, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN, as assistant director of Cancer Research Training Education Coordination (CRTEC). Bryant joins Bernard Weissman, PhD, and Jen Jen Yeh, MD, co-associate directors of CRTEC. The goal of CRTEC is to develop the next generation of cancer researchers and professionals by supporting … Continued

UNC Awarded NCI Grant to Strengthen Institutional Capacity for Cancer Research in Malawi

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was one of four institutions to be awarded a National Cancer Institute D43 grant to strengthen institutional capacity for cancer research in LMIC’s. The 5-year grant strengthens the partnership of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer center and establishes … Continued

UNC cancer researchers find combination chemotherapy beneficial and cost-effective in sub-Saharan Africa

Researchers at UNC Project Malawi and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrated in a clinical trial in Malawi that a five-drug combination chemotherapy provided curative benefit compared to current standard-of care-therapy in people diagnosed with lymphoma, and now they have determined this option is also cost-effective. The economic finding appeared July 22, 2021, in … Continued

Cancer Program Host’s Its 3rd Malawi Cancer Symposium

“Together Against Cancer” The UNC Project Cancer Program hosted its 3rd Annual Malawi Cancer Symposium on May 26th-27th, 2021. The symposium was organized by the UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program in collaboration with the Malawi Ministry of Health and with funding from the National Institute of Health. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 2 day symposium … Continued

Congratulations to the most recently funded pilot grant program awardees!

Left to right: Micheline Sanderson; Gerald Tegha; Shivani Sud; Maganizo Chagomerana Not pictured: John Chapola; Mako Mulongo Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC)/UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program Pilot Grant: The UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program has awarded three grants as part of the Mentored Pilot Grant Program funded by the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC). … Continued

Malawi-based team receives $500,000 to improve capacity for sickle cell care, research

A team of researchers led by UNC Project-Malawi has received a one-year, $500,000 grant to build clinical and research capacity in Malawi to better diagnose and treat children with sickle cell disease. The funding is a joint award from the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. … Continued

UJMT Fogarty Global Health Fellowship 2021-2022 Call for Applications

Since 2012, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Tulane University have offered exceptional global public health training through the UJMT Fogarty Global Health Fellowship program, funded by the Fogarty International Center within the National Institutes of Health. This consortium brings together four top-ranked universities and … Continued

UNC-led Consortium to Study HIV-related Cancers in sub-Saharan Africa

A team of UNC researchers are partnering with colleagues at four institutions in Africa to study HIV-associated malignancies. With a five-year, $6-million grant from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, the research consortium will look at screening and diagnosing innovations for three cancers common to people with HIV: Kaposi sarcoma, cervical cancer, and lymphoma.

IN MEMORIAM: UNC Project-Malawi colleagues pay tribute to Dr. Peter Kazembe

Our dear friend, Dr. Peter Kazembe, a Malawian colleague, pediatrician and adjunct professor of medicine with the University of North Carolina’s Institute for Global Health and Infection Diseases, died on August 11, 2020 at the age of 65 while receiving treatment for cancer in South Africa. He is survived by wife; Hilda, and three grown … Continued

Fogarty Awards Two of Five U.S. International Research Scientist Development Awards to Malawi Cancer Program Faculty

To bolster promising global health research careers, Fogarty and its partners are awarding up to $9.9 million over five years through two career development programs. The grants will help ensure that advanced postdoctoral scientists and junior faculty have a pathway to independence, with protected time for research activities under the guidance of experienced mentors in … Continued

Award-Winning Artist, UNC Physician Partner to Raise Over $154,700 for Pediatric Cancer in Malawi

  Mark Robinson visits with a therapy dog at UNC Hospitals. Grammy-nominated musician, record producer, and Chapel Hill native Porter Robinson first met pediatric oncologist Dr. Kate Westmoreland in November 2016, when Porter’s younger brother Mark came into Dr. Westmoreland’s care at UNC Hospitals. Three years later, they have raised more than $154,700 to support … Continued

Backed by grant, fundraiser, Westmoreland to launch study to improve survival for teens with blood cancer in Malawi

University of North Carolina’s Kate Westmoreland, MD, has been amazed and excited by a surge of support for her work to improve treatment for adolescents and young adults with Burkitt lymphoma in Malawi, a country in Sub-Saharan Africa where this type of blood cancer is more common and deadly than in the United States. Westmoreland recently … Continued

UNC-Led Team Awarded $5.1 Million for Cervical Cancer Prevention Effort in Malawi

Jennifer Tang, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine, is co-principal investigator for this USAID grant to more effectively combat cervical cancer, the leading cause of death among women in Malawi. CHAPEL HILL, NC — Backed by a $5.1-million grant, University of North Carolina and University of Malawi College … Continued

Meet Malawi’s First Female Pathologist

Q: What attracted you to the field of pathology? A: The need for more pathologists in Malawi. When I was a medical student 1999-2003, there were only two pathologists in Malawi and I saw how they struggled to keep pathology services growing in the country. One day when I was in my third year, I observed … Continued

Dr. Satish Gopal Delivers Winter Commencement Address

UNC Lineberger’s Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, delivers UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2017 Winter Commencement address, advising graduates to, “Be audacious in your pursuits, but not in a flashy, shallow way.”

From the Ground Up: The State of Cancer Care in Malawi

“The only way to make these programs work is to be on the ground, actively partnering, identifying research priorities, identifying the most promising young clinicians and investigators and helping them propel their careers forward.”

Proposal for clinical research on pediatric Burkitt Lymphoma approved

The center for global health of the National Cancer Institute has awarded funding for the research plan proposed by UNC/LCCC and Baylor College of Medicine.The proposal has three aims, all to promote clinical research on pediatric Burkitt Lymphoma in Malawi

UNC Project-Malawi laboratory wins award

The UNC-Project Malawi lab was presented with four-star status by the Honorable Minister of Health. Congratulations to our staff there, especially to lab directors Gerald Tegha and Rob Krysiak.