Skip to main content

Healing at High Altitudes, a UNC Med Student’s Himalayan Adventure

November 6, 2024

What’s it like to provide medical assistance in locations only accessible by foot? Harini Sridhar, a fourth-year medical student at UNC School of Medicine, discovered the answer firsthand this summer. With the support of the Office of Global Health Education, through the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, she joined a group of 20 attending … Read more

Applying Army Skills to Public Health Challenges

November 6, 2024

In his Carolina office, above a collage of drawings by his three young children, Dr. Ross Boyce displays a 20-year-old photo of himself with 29 other soldiers. The photo captures a proud memory of U.S. Army service for the man who is now a leading epidemiologist and a research expert on diseases caused by ticks … Read more

IDEEL Lab Student Applies Public Health Learnings to Pediatric Care in the DRC

November 5, 2024

The applied nature of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Ecology Lab (IDEEL), at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, has a direct impact on the health and well-being of millions of individuals around the globe, while also having an immediate effect on health policies at all levels. Jessica Lin, MD, MSCR, calls it science … Read more

A Quest to Save Sight, Unlock Human Potential

November 5, 2024

Globally, the World Health Organization reports at least 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment. Many of those affected live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), but they also live in rural areas of the U.S. and North Carolina. Encouragingly, more than 90% of people with vision impairment have a preventable or treatable condition. Sustainable … Read more

Syphilis Researchers Receive $1.6M to Expand LMIC Genomic Data and Advance Vaccine Development

November 4, 2024

Syphilis vaccine development remains a high priority with a rising number of congenital syphilis cases worldwide. Unfortunately, vaccine development is still in a pre-clinical phase, and ongoing translational work is needed to identify vaccine candidates targeting highly conserved surface-exposed antigens expressed by geographically diverse strains of Treponema pallidum (TPA). But most TPA genomic sequences originated … Read more

Bourbon Virus Infections in North Carolina

October 30, 2024

Vector-borne diseases are a growing public health issue in the U.S. with more than 70,000 cases of tick-borne disease reported in 2022 alone. While the majority of these cases are due to bacteria that cause Lyme disease, tick-borne viruses represent an emerging but poorly understood threat. The Bourbon virus (BRBV) is a relatively newly discovered tick-borne … Read more

Federal Funding Award Will Enhance HIV Prevention for Formerly Incarcerated African American Women

October 28, 2024

African American women in the criminal justice system face a heightened risk of acquiring HIV, particularly during the critical transition from incarceration to the community. Despite this, many lack access to essential prevention services and effective treatments like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Becky White, MD MPH, an infectious disease physician and member of the UNC Institute … Read more

Pilot Project Aims to Create New Pipeline for Microbial Research

October 23, 2024

There are plenty of benefits that come with major academic health systems like UNC Health. Doctors and nurses get to work alongside researchers studying new advances in medical science, researchers get a first-hand look at the fundamentals of medical practice, and patients get access to a wealth of resources and specialists. And as the science … Read more

Kovarova Receives Grant to Develop Long-Acting Tuberculosis Treatment Option for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

October 15, 2024

Martina Kovarova, PhD, a member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and associate professor of infectious diseases, has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop new Tuberculosis treatment options using ISFI (in-situ forming implant) technology. The TB Alliance, the global not-for-profit developer of TB drugs, is collaborating … Read more

ID Faculty Members, Fellows Present Studies During ID Week

October 10, 2024

ID Week took place October 16-19 in Los Angeles, CA, 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. UNC’s Division of Infectious Diseases was well represented at the event. … Read more

Katrina McGinty Receives Grant to Support Radiology Education in Malawi

October 2, 2024

Katrina McGinty, MD, an Associate Professor of Abdominal Imaging and Director of Global Radiology was awarded a $20,000 Educational Grant from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) for “Virtual MRI Education in Low Resource Setting.” McGinty is a member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that … Read more

Benjamin Chi Successfully Renews K24 Mentoring Grant

October 2, 2024

Benjamin Chi, MD, MSC, the Institute’s Associate Director of Fellowship Programs, has successfully renewed a K24 mentoring grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. This will be the second five-year grant cycle for which Dr. Chi has received this award. Dr. Chi is a Distinguished Professor … Read more

Routine Pet Dog Checkup Data Can Be Used to Understand Risk of Lyme Disease

October 2, 2024

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc, a member of the Institute and assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology, working with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina State University and the Animal Hospital of Boone, found data collected from pet dogs at routine veterinary checkups can be used to approximate the risk of … Read more

Mungo Appointed to Board of International Papillomavirus Society

October 1, 2024

Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, a member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, has been appointed to the Board of the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), the leading global authority on HPV (Human Papillomavirus)-related research and advocacy. The IPVS plays a crucial role in advancing scientific understanding, prevention, and treatment of HPV and associated … Read more

Undergraduate Student Evaluates HIV Programming in Malawi for Senior Thesis

October 1, 2024

Michaela Tse is a Senior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Global Studies and minoring in both Business and Japanese. This past summer, she spent eight weeks in Malawi to do research for her senior thesis, mentored by Professor Irving Hoffman, PA, MPH, UNC Project Malawi’s International Director. The opportunity came about after she joined the … Read more

Researchers Awarded NIH UM2 to Advance the Science and Practice of Dissemination and Implementation Science Research in Low-to-Middle Income Countries by Adapting Evidence-Based HIV Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults

September 30, 2024

Suzanne Day, PhD, MA, Weiming Tang, PhD, and Joe Tucker, MD, PhD, members of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, have been awarded an NIH UM2 cooperative grant. The project is called the”Innovative Network on the Science and Practice of Implementation, Research, and Engagement Center (INSPIRE)” and is part of a broader US … Read more

Painschab Receives Five-Year NIH Director’s Pioneer Award

September 30, 2024

In Sub-Saharan Africa, deaths occur in 5-10% of people living with HIV during the first year after initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the causes for these early deaths are not clear. Matthew Painschab, MD, member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and an assistant professor of hematology, is a clinician and researcher … Read more

Engaging Family Members to Support Breastfeeding and Anti-Retroviral Therapy, to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

September 29, 2024

Children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected experience poor growth and development compared to children who are HIV-unexposed and uninfected. Exclusive breastfeeding with adherence to anti-retroviral therapy is a recommended practice for preventing mother-to-child transmission, but there are barriers to adherence.   A pilot study led by Stephanie Martin, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department … Read more