Author Archives: Kim Morris

Construction for UNC Eastowne’s Administrative Call Center and Patient Access Center at The Parkline, the former Blue Cross Blue Shield building on 15-501, is on schedule for completion. Phased moves are expected to begin mid-November and run through mid-December for the initial phase of occupancy. The UNC Eastowne Medical Office...

Attitudes and behaviors of medical providers have been identified as one of the many factors that can contribute to health disparities. Implicit bias describes thoughts and feelings that people unknowingly hold and express automatically, without conscious awareness. Project EMBRACE, the acronym for “Ending Medical Bias and Racism by Advocating for...

Catherine Wilson, a medical interpreter at the UNC Internal Medicine Clinic in the Ambulatory Care Center, received the inaugural “Dulce Garcia Award for Outstanding Medical Interpreter” on October 15. Selected by faculty and staff, the award was created to recognize an outstanding interpreter and role model from the UNC Medical...

Hip fracture is a common and morbid condition, and prior studies have shown that the majority of patients with fragility fracture are not treated for underlying osteoporosis.  A pre-post study led by John R. Stephens, MD, professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of hospital medicine, was designed to...

An essay written by Marjory Charlot, MD, MPH, MSc, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, recounts a recent experience with racism directed towards her from a patient on the inpatient oncology service. The incident occurred during morning rounds while she was supervising two medical interns. Charlot writes how she...

Joanne Jordan, MD, MPH, emeritus professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, has received the “distinguished clinical investigator award” from the American College of Rheumatology for outstanding clinical research in osteoarthritis. As the founding principal investigator and director of the ongoing Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project (JoCo...

When President Donald Trump was hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), he received an experimental treatment that is still in clinical trials, including at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill. Monoclonal antibody treatment uses antibodies manufactured in a laboratory that are designed to attached to the coronavirus to prevent it from entering...

Stanley M. Lemon, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and department of microbiology and immunology, and his lab, with GSK colleagues, have discovered the majority of rhinoviruses need a human protein called STING to infect cells and replicate to cause disease. Published in the Proceedings of...

Martha Dell Strayhorn, MPH, FNP-C, nurse practitioner in the division of hematology, was recognized in a UNC Health Carolina Care Highlight. Here’s what one of Strayhorn’s patients said about her: “Dell Strayhorn is a treasure. Always prepared, always well-informed, always positive and cheerful. Excellent with follow-up–if she promises to follow-up...

Tocilizumab, used for rheumatoid arthritis because it suppresses part of the immune response, has now been widely used for Covid-19 patients, but new studies cast doubt on the drug and the “hypothesis underlying its use.”  A New York Times and Washington Post article recognized two studies in JAMA Internal Medicine...

Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, associate professor of infectious diseases and director of infection prevention at UNC Medical Center, told The Washington Post that regardless of how the virus may be transmitted — either through aerosolization or via surface contamination — preventive measures remain the same: Wear a mask and practice...

Lisa Carey, MD, is one of the top 10 breast cancer experts in the country, ranked by Expertscape, which is an online database that accesses the expertise and contributions of physicians and medical institutions worldwide. She is the only physician ranked in North Carolina. Carey is the L. Richardson and...