Author Archives: Morgan Duerden

Mathew Sebastian, MD, PhD, joined the UNC IM Residency Program after  studying the role of Pglyrp3 in regulation of Breast Cancer metastases at the University of Florida. His ultimate goal it to work as a physician-scientist in the field of Oncology. Mat also enjoys running, cooking. 

Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. She specializes in environmental allergies (allergic rhinitis), chronic hives and swelling (urticaria and angioedema), food allergies (including alpha-gal allergy), and anaphylaxis. She first aspired to get a PhD in the 6th grade....

The 2023 Society of Hospital Medicine Converge took place in Austin, Texas and featured many of the Division of Hospital Medicine's talented and dedicated faculty members. In total seventeen vignettes, nine research posters and four talks were presented by our hospital medicine providers.

This year, we are proud to have physicians, mid-levels, fellows, and researchers represented in a variety of around 100 oral and poster presentations. To review UNC Gastroenterology’s 2023 Digestive Disease Week Activities, please click here.

Cristin Colford, MD, FACP, professor of medicine, has been appointed Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine. Deepa Kirk, MD, professor of medicine, has been named Associate Vice Chair for Outpatient Services.

Cassandra Donahue RDN, LDN, CDCES, and Karla Fulghum, RN, IBCLC, were honored with Research Staff Excellence Awards.

Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES, works in the Division of Endocrinology. Recently, she became a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and hopes to become a published researcher. When not working Cassandra enjoys hanging with her pup Louie and trying new foods in the area! 

The new National HHT Diagnosis and Treatment Initiative will provide 15 Centers of Excellence (CoE), including The University of North Carolina’s, with federal funding for the first time. HHT, a genetic disorder that causes some blood vessel to not develop properly, is the second most common genetic bleeding disorder in the...

The study evaluated whether pre-existing rheumatoid arthritis was associated with a higher mortality and risk for immune-related adverse events with immune checkpoint inhibitor use. Joining Dr. Ishizawar in conducting this research were UNC colleagues; Dr. Amanda Lusa, Dr. Todd Schwartz, Carolina Alvarez, and Shruti Saxena Beem. Learn more about the...

John Batsis, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, will lead a team of researchers at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in conducting a clinical study to determine best interventions to help older individuals lose weight and...

For the first time at the University of North Carolina, cardiologists were able to implant a percutaneous transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement device to treat severe tricuspid valve regurgitation. One of only around 50 sites in the U.S. participating in the TRISCEND II clinical trial, experts at UNC believe this therapy...

Last October, Clin-STAR selected David Lynch, MD as a Clin-STAR Transdisciplinary Aging Research Pilot Grant recipient. Recently, Clin-STAR posted a summary of the project along with a brief interview with Dr. Lynch. According to the summary, the long-term goal is, “to improve older adults’ physical function and quality of life...