News

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

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

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

Iglesias, Team Awarded Duke Endowment Grant to Improve Care for Black and Hispanic Women Through Perinatal Care

Dana Iglesias, MD, MPH, Medical Director of the Chatham Hospital Maternity Care Center, has been awarded a grant from The Duke Endowment to help improve the quality and the continuity of care provided to Black and Hispanic women by implementing a perinatal interdisciplinary inter-agency care coordination program in Chatham County. The project will build upon … Read more

Family Medicine Center Lobby Renamed Longiotti Family Lobby

In June, The UNC Family Medicine Center at Chapel Hill lobby was renamed “The Longiotti Family Lobby” in recognition of a generous gift from Mr. Samuel Longiotti, in honor of his father, Nazzareno Longiotti. Originally from Corropoli, Italy, Nazzareno Longiotti immigrated to the United States after losing his father, settling in Greenville, Pennsylvania, where he … Read more

Barzin Wins Massey Award

Amir Barzin, DO, MS, Associate Professor and Medical Director of UNC Health Virtual Care Services and UNC Nurse Connect, recently won the 2022 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award along with UNC School of Medicine Carolina Together Testing Program collaborators Susan Fiscus, PhD, and Amy James Loftis. UNC’s publication The Well recently featured Dr. Barzin … Read more

Shoenbill Named Director of Tobacco Treatment and Weight Management Programs

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Family Medicine is pleased to announce that Kimberly Shoenbill, MD, PhD, has been selected as the new Director of the UNC Tobacco Treatment and Weight Management Programs (TTP/WMP). Formerly the Associate Director of Research and Quality for TTP/WMP, Shoenbill is dually board certified in Family … Read more

Standard Black Doula Program Awarded Duke Endowment

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the United States, childbirth mortality rates for Black pregnant persons are 3-4 times greater than their white counterparts, no matter their socioeconomic or education status. Given this alarming disparity, Family Medicine assistant professor Venus Standard, MSN, CNM, founded the Alliance for Black Doulas for Black Mamas (ABDBM), which … Read more

Family Medicine Faculty Secure $5 Million HRSA Grant for Residency Training Technical Assistance Center, Boosting Health Workforce Funding to Nearly $13 Million

Just prior to Thanksgiving break, UNC was awarded a 3-year $5 million HRSA grant to create a Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Technical Assistance Center (THCPD-TAC). The new funding is in addition to $4.3 million awarded in August 2021 and $3.6 million awarded from 2018 through 2020 from the HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy … Read more

Thomas named “Community Star” for NC by National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health

UNC Family Medicine Associate Professor Gayle Thomas, MD, has been named North Carolina’s 2021 Community Star by The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) for her vital work as Medical Director of the NCDHHS Office of Rural Health’s NC Farmworker Health Program. From the NOSORH Community Stars publication: “Gayle Thomas has been a Community Star Her whole … Read more

Coe Named to AAMC Board of Directors

Family Medicine Assistant Professor Catherine Coe, MD, has been named to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Board of Directors. The AAMC made changes to the board structure for its 2021-2022 contingent, expanding from 17 to 19 voting members with the intent to create a more “diverse and flexible board structure.” The recently approved additions … Read more

Ranney, team receive $1.2 million NIH grant to study cigar warnings for adolescents

Family Medicine assistant professor Leah Ranney, PhD, Director for the Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program (TPEP), and Jennifer Cornacchione-Ross, PhD, Assistant Professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine, received an NIH (R01) three-year award in the amount of $1.2 million for the research study Strengthening Cigar Warnings to Prevent Adolescent Use. The study seeks to improve … Read more