Author Archives: Morgan Duerden

As part of the continued support of the Accelerate Forward Together Strategic Plan, the UNC School of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) supports a small number of clinicians committed to translating research findings to advance the practice of medicine in addition to providing clinical care and teaching. PSTP is a pipeline...

A five-year, multisite clinical trial will compare two medication strategies for advanced chronic kidney disease, enrolling 1,350 participants nationwide. Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 1 million people in the US. Individuals with advanced CKD have high risks of kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation, cardiovascular events, hospitalizations, and...

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc, is one of four UNC Health teammates honored by the Triangle Business Journal as recipients of a 2026 Health Care Leadership Award. Dr. Boyce, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was honored with the Doctor of the Year award. The TBJ published...

Less than half of people with HIV in the U.S. stay consistently connected to outpatient HIV care, a gap that limits access to lifesaving medications and increases the risk of HIV transmission. Hospitalizations are especially common among people who are already disconnected from care. Among the nearly 200,000 hospitalizations among...

The University of North Carolina Internal Medicine Program has announced the following chief residents who will serve during the 2027-2028 academic year. The administrative chief resident is a position of distinction, professionalism and leadership. These appointed physicians will lead and mentor residents, as they continue to align the training program...

Dr. Darren DeWalt, chair of the UNC Department of Medicine, shared the following message on the passing of Dr. Sarah Smithson.  Dear Colleagues, It is with great sadness that I write to share the news that Dr. Sarah Smithson passed away unexpectedly earlier this week after a brief, serious illness....

Years of hard work and dreams were folded into envelopes. On March 20th, medical students discovered where their career journey would take them for residency. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Internal Medicine Residency Program paired 31 categorical residents, 8 preliminary residents, and 7 Medicine/Pediatrics residents. This curriculum...

The Medical Staff Physician Excellence Committee (MSPEC) announced Dr. Thelsa Weickert, associate professor in the Division of Cardiology, and Dr. Jonathon Heath, associate professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine, as recipients of the 3rd annual Medical Staff Physician Clinical Excellence Award. This prestigious award celebrates UNC clinical physicians who exemplify excellence in...

Millie Long MD, MPH, Chief of the UNC Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, will be recognized as the 2026 Woman of Distinction in Medicine by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. The 33rd annual awards luncheon will be helped in New York City in April. Since 1993, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation...

Dr. Ross Boyce, a researcher with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, tested a military uniform treatment idea on wraps used to carry babies in many parts of Africa and South America. Would treating these baby wraps with permethrin protect babies in Uganda from malaria? The answer...

A study co-authored by Onyinye I. Iweala, MD, PhD, of the UNC Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology and the UNC Food Allergy Initiative has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study found that select alpha-gal-specific human immunoglobulin E (IgE) clones can promote both...

UNC researchers have received ~$7.3M from NHLBI to lead the Rare Bronchiectatic Diseases Consortium, advancing research on four rare lung diseases that cause progressive bronchiectasis. The effort builds on UNC’s national leadership and aims to accelerate discovery, clinical trials, and new therapies for underserved patient populations. UNC Chapel Hill researchers...