Author Archives: Morgan Duerden

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...

Each year, UNC Hospitals administers the Press Ganey Medical Practice survey to solicit feedback from patients. The survey asks our patients about their likelihood of recommending their provider’s practice to their friends and family. This year, 202 UNC physicians and advanced practice providers received the highest recommendations, which places them...

Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD, associate professor of medicine, discusses her research into the bacterial communities that live inside our guts and offers tips on how you can maintain a healthy microbiome. Bacteria have thousands of genes and functions that we, the human host, do not have. For instance, bacteria can help...

Nicole Orzechowski, DO, and Vimal Derebail, MD, were featured as vasculitis experts by Healio in a new video series of medical perspectives.

The clickable links below navigate directly to outside media articles which featured Department of Medicine faculty throughout the month of March.  Vimal Derebail, MD, MPH, presented at the Kidney Disease Clinical Trialists meeting. Evan S. Dellon, MD, MPH, was interviewed about the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis and the limitations of his team’s...

Preterm birth is common and increases one’s risk for kidney disease. Keia Sanderson, MD, MSCR, has received an NIH K23 award, supported by the NIDDK, to identify maternal and neonatal risk factors to help predict childhood kidney disease earlier. This is a 3-year career development award. Dr. Sanderson, MD, will...

Match Day arrived after an exciting interview season in which 35 outstanding candidates from 20 different states were selected to interview with our program from over 200 applicants. The Department of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program was successful in our recruitment efforts and we are pleased to announce two new...