Category: News

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have developed a tool that can identify airway mucus abnormalities in patients with chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or asthma before symptoms start. The study, led by Mehmet Kesimer, PhD, is described in a new paper published in NEJM Evidence. Read...

Marsico Lung Institute faculty, postdoc, student, and collaborator publications for December 2025 and January 2026 included papers appearing in Nucleic Acids Research, European Respiratory Journal, and GigaScience. Check out the full list below: Leigh MW, Shapiro AJ, Chawla KK, Hazucha MJ, Brown DE, Lin FC, Jiang L, Carson JL, Davis SD,...

Brian Conlon, PhD, and microbiologists from his lab in the UNC School of Medicine point to a specific protein that interferes with common antibiotics and their abilities to completely kill off bacteria. Read the full story on the UNC Health Newsroom website here: https://news.unchealthcare.org/2026/01/unc-research-finds-immune-system-protein-drives-antibiotic-tolerance/ This study is also featured in articles...

Neil Alexis, PhD, was consulted for an article in NPR on the link between eating fish and relief for the effects of asthma, particularly for kids in polluted environments. The article, “Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better,” can be read on NPR’s website here: https://www.nhpr.org/2019-03-30/eating-fish-may-help-city-kids-with-asthma-breathe-better

Marsico Lung Institute faculty, postdoc, student, and collaborator publications for November 2025 (and a couple of strays from October) included papers appearing in Pharmacological Reviews, Nature Microbiology, and the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Check out the full list below: Ankrum AL, Caceres SM, Torsell M, Epperson E, Calado...

Marsico Lung Institute faculty, postdoc, student, and collaborator publications for October 2025 included papers appearing in Nature Nanotechnology, JAMA, and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Check out the full list below: Brocke SA, Smyth T, Dang H, Speen A, Kim YH, Christianson C, Kovalcik K, Pancras...

Ling Sun, PhD, was featured in the “Emerging Investigators Highlight” of the October 2025 issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The Highlight is published monthly to feature some of the emerging investigators who worked on articles in each issue. Dr. Sun was the first author...

Microscopic “DNA flowers” created in the lab of Ronit Freeman, PhD, at Carolina could deliver medicine exactly where it’s needed. Read the full story on the UNC website here.

Michelle Hernandez, MD, was the focus of a story in UNC’s newsletter, The Well, highlighting the work she’s doing as director of the NC Child Health Research Network to make access to care and research studies easier for all. Read the full story at The Well here.

Brian Conlon, PhD, and postdoctoral fellow Kuan-Yi Lu, PhD, have identified a molecule that helps boost antibiotic effectiveness against staph, tuberculosis, and salmonella. Read the full story on the UNC Health Newsroom website here.