News

NCDHHS, FIT Wellness Highlight Importance of Healthcare for the Formerly Incarcerated

FIT Wellness, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition (NC FIT) Program, is dedicated to supporting justice-involved individuals by providing comprehensive behavioral health services and substance abuse treatment for patients with Severe Mental Illness (SMI). Recently, FIT Wellness and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), which supports the program, held … Read more

Vielot Receives K01 Grant to Reduce HPV Vaccination Disparities

UNC Family Medicine Assistant Professor Nadja Vielot, PhD, was recently awarded a four-year K01 grant totaling over $620K by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The grant, “Developing and piloting an intervention to reduce human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination disparities in rural adolescents,” aims to improve HPV vaccination … Read more

UNC Family Medicine Researchers Awarded Grant to Improve Cannabis Warnings

UNC Family Medicine faculty Leah Ranney, PhD, Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and team were recently rewarded a five-year, $2.9 million grant studying cannabis warnings. The award from the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will go towards research involving a legal analysis of existing cannabis warning regulations, interviews with cannabis regulators, the development of … Read more

UNC Family Medicine Annual Report Out Now

The Department of Family Medicine has released its 2024 Annual Report, which highlights the accomplishments of our talented faculty, learners, and staff members in meeting our mission of exemplary patient care, education, research, and service to the people and communities of North Carolina and beyond. Thank you to all who are part of a Department … Read more

Documentary Featuring LEADoula Program Wins Emmy Award

The LEADoula program (formerly the Alliance for Black Doulas for Black Mamas) was an integral part of the WRAL documentary Critical Term: Why are Black Mothers and Babies Dying?, which recently won a regional Emmy Award. The documentary features LEADoula founders Venus Standard, MSN, CNM, (UNC Family Medicine, which hosts the program) Jacquelyn McMillian Bohler, … Read more

FIT Wellness Receives $5.5 Million Investment from NCDHHS

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services NCDHHS is investing $5.5 million to expand the FIT Wellness program, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program (NC FIT) led by Evan Ashkin, MD, in the UNC Department of Family Medicine. The investment aims to improve reentry services for the justice-involved population. FIT … Read more

Ruiz Highlights Community Efforts at UNC Chatham Hospital in Improving Rural Maternity Care

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Jesus Ruiz, MD, has published an “Innovations in Primary Care” article in Annals of Family Medicine addressing the community impact on UNC Chatham Hospital’s Maternity Care Center. The article, “Closing the Gap: How a Community Effort Can Improve Rural Maternity Care,” addresses how UNC Chatham Hospital, a critical access hospital in Siler … Read more

Family Medicine, Internal Medicine Named National HIV Residency Pathway Consortium Site

UNC was recently named a National HIV Residency Pathway Consortium Site and awarded a year-long $68,000 grant to support its efforts in training family medicine and internal medicine residents in caring for people with HIV. UNC’s site Investigators, Family Medicine’s Rick Moore, MD, and Internal Medicine’s Louise Rambo King, MD, have a storied history of … Read more

Piedmont Health Announces New CEO

Piedmont Health Services (PHS) has announced that Daniella Jaimes-Colina, Ph.D., will become the organization’s next chief executive officer. Dr. Jaimes-Colina, who brings a wealth of experience in public health administration and strategic planning, will be the first female to lead the organization. She will succeed current CEO Brian Toomey, MSW, who will officially step down … Read more

Adams Serves as Head Team Physician for US Track & Field at Pan American Games

Nailah Adams, MD, MS, CAQSM, was the head team physician for USA Track and Field for their 2023 Pan American Games contingent in Santiago, Chile, October 20th-November 5th. During this 2-week experience, Adams worked with a multidisciplinary team, including Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, Massage Therapy, and Sports Psychology, to take care of athletes and supporting … Read more

Family Medicine, Piedmont Health Collaborate on Grant to Improve Training in Overcoming Language and Disability Barriers

A UNC Family Medicine collaboration with Piedmont Health Services (PHS) and partners has resulted in a $3 million Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to improve training in overcoming language and disability barriers, which limit access to care for many patients. The 5-year project, “Primary Care Training and Enhancement – Language and Disability Access … Read more

Family Medicine, Interdisciplinary Team Receive $18.6 Million NIH Grant for Center for Tobacco Regulatory Science

Stark disparities remain in who uses tobacco products and their resulting health outcomes. The University of North Carolina has received a competitive, five-year $18,600,000 grant from the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration to be one of seven Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science nationwide. UNC’s Center, titled “Advancing Tobacco … Read more

Lombardi Leads New Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center

Brianna Lombardi, Ph.D., MSW, and Family Medicine colleagues are recipients of a recently awarded $4.5 million five-year HRSA grant to form a new Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center (BHWRC) at UNC. Lombardi is the Primary Investigator and the Director of the BHWRC, which will function as a sister center to the Carolina Health Workforce Research … Read more

UNC Department of Family Medicine Authors Second Edition of Chronic Illness Care Textbook

Springer recently announced the publication of the second edition of Chronic Illness Care, Principles and Practice, which was edited by Timothy P. Daaleman, DO, MPH, and Margaret R. Helton, MD, from the University of North Carolina Department of Family Medicine. Faculty members in the Department of Family Medicine, faculty across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, and other national … Read more

Goldstein Represents UNC at White House Smoking Cessation Forum

Adam Goldstein, MD, MPH, traveled to the White House on June 1 for the Cancer Moonshot Smoking Cessation Forum. The meeting highlighted the Biden Administration’s commitment to tackling the single biggest driver of cancer deaths in this country—smoking—and efforts underway across sectors to equitably expand access to effective smoking cessation support. “My visit to the … Read more

UNC Family Medicine Innovations Award – Special Call for Behavioral Health Projects

UNC Department of Family Medicine (DFM) is interested in supporting the growth of the department’s behavioral health research through this special call for applications. Projects funded under this call will facilitate future successful grant proposals focused on behavioral health. This call uses the same submission and review mechanism as the DFM’s Innovation Awards [https://www.med.unc.edu/fammed/research/research-funding-programs/innovation-award/] but … Read more

Coe to Serve as Assistant Dean for UNC School of Medicine Clinical Curriculum

Catherine L. Coe, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, will serve as the UNC School of Medicine’s assistant dean for clinical curriculum beginning on March 20. In the role, Coe will oversee clinical educational activities across all four years of the curriculum in the Offices of Medical Student Education. Coe will ensure … Read more

Farahi, UNC Team Partnering to Navigate Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Narges Farahi, MD, MPH, of UNC Family Medicine is PI for a grant to develop and test a holistic polycystic ovary syndrome management program within a federally qualified health center. An interdisciplinary group of co-investigators from UNC OB-GYN, UNC School of Social Work, Piedmont Health, GWU, and the Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health are … Read more

Enyioha Receives Career Development Award to Study Culturally Adapted Intervention for African American Smokers

Chineme Enyioha, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, was recently awarded a K23 Career Development Award from the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for a study entitled, “Development of a prototype for a mobile health intervention for smoking cessation with features culturally adapted for African American smokers.” Enyioha … Read more

Kowitt Awarded K01 to Help Communicate Harms of Multiple Tobacco Products to Youth

Sarah Kowitt, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, was recently awarded a five-year, $762,196 grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01 grant) focuses on tobacco regulatory research in youth, specifically on how to communicate the harms … Read more