July is Sarcoma Awareness Month. Sarcoma is a broad term that refers to over 50 rare cancers that form in the bones or soft tissues of the body. They are rather diverse, too. The cancers can grow in the fat cells, muscles, cartilage, and other connective tissues of the body. Sarcoma can be caused by … Read more

In 2019, North Carolina ranked 6th for new HIV diagnoses, with a concentrated epidemic among young sexual and gender minorities, including men who have sex with men and transgender women. In North Carolina, two-thirds of all new adult or adolescent HIV infections were among African Americans/Blacks. With a grant from the National Institutes of Health, … Read more

Chris Evans, DNP, MSN, a research instructor and assistant professor of clinical education in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was one of three recipients of the 2022 Claude Paoloni Preceptor of the Year Award! The Claude Paoloni Preceptor of the Year Award recognizes preceptors for outstanding contributions to the educational development of future pharmacists. These … Read more

June is a month full of festivities and events commemorating love, equity, and liberty. While many of these holidays and observances are based on historical events, they also emphasize the idea that there is still work to be done in the present and the future. LGBTQ+ Pride Month Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) … Read more

Medicine, like any other scientific field, cannot progress forward without the hard work of new, cutting-edge researchers. In the Department of Medicine, three physician scientist trainees are working to improve the lives of patients who have inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and food allergies. In light of their promising, hard work, all three have received support … Read more

An independent expert advisory committee recommended 21-0 that the FDA grant emergency use authorization for a fourth COVID-19 vaccine, made by Novavax. We sit down with Cindy Gay, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine to discuss the Novavax data, its effectiveness, and how … Read more

Outbreaks of hepatitis A, a highly contagious viral infection involving the liver, have been on the rise since 2016. What initially began as outbreaks in a handful of states has since led to ongoing or recent hepatitis A outbreaks in 33 states across the country. Patients under the care of the Veterans Health Administration have … Read more

COVID-19, a communicable disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a relatively new pandemic in the public’s eye, but it is only one of the many infectious diseases that epidemiologists like David J. Weber, MD, MPH, are continually facing. “I was at UNC for the onset of the HIV pandemic, 2001 … Read more

Tessa Andermann, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of infectious diseases, has received a pilot award from the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGBD) for the study “Investigating the role of secondary bile acid derivatives in Th17-mediated disease: A pilot study of multiple myeloma and treatment response.” Dr. Andermann presented the proposed study … Read more

If you’ve ever felt your insides twist in knots before a big speech, you know the stomach listens carefully to the brain. In fact, the entire digestive system is closely tuned to a person’s emotions and state of mind, says William E. Whitehead, PhD, a professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology … Read more

People with advanced cancer who communicated their symptoms weekly using an electronic survey had about a one-third better physical function and over a 15% better control of their symptoms compared to those who were evaluated less frequently via in-person clinical visits, according to findings from a multi-state study conducted at 52 community cancer clinics. The … Read more

A paper published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. For the small study, all 18 patients were given dostarlimab, a checkpoint inhibitor. The results were astounding. Every patient’s cancer disappeared, undetectable by physical examination, endoscopy, PET scans, or M.R.I. scans. Dr. Hanna K. Sanoff, MD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine in the … Read more