Exhausted. Traumatized. These words describe what so many communities of color are feeling as we grapple with the seemingly never-ending instances of unarmed Black and Brown people losing their lives at the hands of police for either non-violent crimes or during everyday activities that most people take for granted.  Breona Taylor, an EMT, was gunned … Continued

Ross Simpson, Jr, MD, PhD, professor medicine in the division of cardiology, was interviewed for an MSN article “50 Warnings Signs You Have Heart Disease” that identifies a variety of signs, symptoms and risk factors that can help identify heart disease before it becomes life-threatening. “Chest pain is the most common and important symptom related … Continued

Cardiology nurse Charlene Whayne, RN, is back at the UNC Heart and Vascular Center, scheduling patients and preparing to reopen. But for nine weeks, she had a different job. Charlene worked at the Respiratory Diagnostic Center (RDC) in the Quick Treat, the outdoor tent facility for drive through COVID-19 testing and assessment. It was an … Continued

How hepatitis A virus (HAV) manages to enter liver cells called hepatocytes and initiate infection had remained a mystery for fifty years until now. University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers designed experiments using gene-editing tools to discover how molecules called gangliosides serve as de facto gatekeepers to allow the virus entry into liver … Continued

A nationwide collaboration of clinicians, informaticians, and other biomedical researchers aims to turn data from hundreds of thousands of medical records from coronavirus patients into effective treatments and predictive analytical tools that could help lessen or end the global pandemic. Through the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, about 60 clinical institutions affiliated with the National Institutes of … Continued

The UNC Health Respiratory Diagnostic Center (RDC) opened last month with a drive through Quick Treat and Care and Treat unit to monitor and screen patients with respiratory symptoms that may be associated with coronavirus. Led by David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, the RDC is enabling clinics to … Continued

A message from Janet Rubin, MD, Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the division of endocrinology and metabolism and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine. For the last two months, except the (many) researchers working specifically on Covid-19 related topics, our labs have been closed. People are taking advantage of … Continued

Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor of infectious diseases and director of infection prevention at UNC Medical Center, discussed the effectiveness of different face masks in a WRAL TechWire news article written by Mark Derewicz. UNC researchers measured the “fraction of submicron particles that penetrate into the breathing space of subjects wearing a mask while … Continued

Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor of infectious diseases and director of infection prevention at UNC Medical Center, explains how hospitals are staying clean during the COVID-19 pandemic in a new UNC Health Talk article. The article recognizes that hospitals are always committed to keeping their facilities clean and sanitary to prevent the spread of … Continued

David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, recommends in a News and Observer article that establishments adopt the model use in health care settings, which are designed to keep people from getting infected: people are kept from getting too close to each other, they wear masks and they clean surfaces … Continued