Category: Research
New Once Weekly Investigational Oral Regimen Shows Strong 48 Week Results, Highlighting the Need for Easier HIV Treatment Options
A Phase 2 study led by Dr. Joe Eron, chief of the Division of Infectious diseases and a member of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID), shows an investigational once‑weekly, all‑oral combination of islatravir (ISL) and lenacapavir(LEN) maintains high levels of virologic suppression through 48 weeks in adults living with HIV. Published in the Annals … Read more
Investigators named to Clarivate’s 2025 Highly Cited Researchers
Annually, Clarivate releases a list of scientists who demonstrate significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research. The following UNC Department of Medicine faculty were recognized for their work in 2025: John Buse, MD, PhD, Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology (Category: Clinical Medicine) Lisa Carey, MD, L. Richards … Read more
Evan Dellon Leads Phase 3 Trial on Cendakimab for Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Evan Dellon, MD, MPH, a Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UNC and the Director of the Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, led a Phase 3 Trial on using Cendakimab for Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). His study was published in NEJM Evidence with positive findings. Cendakimab is a high-affinity monoclonal antibody that blocks IL-13 by prevent … Read more
Sheikh, Lee & Niethammer Receive $4.4 Million 2-Year NIH Award to Advance Multi-Modal Machine Learning for Earlier Diagnosis of Lupus
From left to right: Saira Sheikh, MD, Yueh Lee, MD, PhD, Marc Niethammer, PhD A rheumatologist, neuroradiologist, and computer scientist have joined forces to blend medical expertise with AI/machine learning to reimagine the future of lupus diagnosis and care. Saira Sheikh, MD, the Linda Coley Sewell Distinguished Professor of Medicine at UNC and Chair of the Lupus Clinical Inves … Read more
John Buse Co-Publishes ‘STEP UP T2D’ on the Efficacy of Higher Semaglutide Doses
John Buse, MD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the UNC Diabetes Care Center, co-authored STEP UP T2D an international trial. STEP UP T2D found that a higher maintenance dose of semaglutide (7.2 mg once weekly) leads to significantly greater weight loss and improved blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity, compared w … Read more
Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease Receives 40th Consecutive Year of NIH Funding
Pictured are Dr. Robert Sandler and Julianne O’Daniel. Robert Sandler, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGIBD), has announced the renewal of the Center’s P30 Center grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). This renew … Read more
Gaurav Dave to serve as Research Director for NIH’s Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Program
UNC-Chapel Hill has been announced as the recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) award. Created by the Office of Research on Women’s Health in partnership with NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices, BIRCWH is a mentored career-development program designed to connect junior faculty to senior faculty … Read more
Shehzad Sheikh Identifies CADM1 as a Key Driver of Gut Inflammation in IBD Patients
Shehzad Z. Sheikh, MD, PhD A groundbreaking study co-led by Shehzad Z. Sheikh, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the UNC Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Matthew N. Poy, PhD, associate professor of medicine with Johns Hopkins University, reveals Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (CADM1), a surface protein involved in cell-cell adhesion, is significantly elevated in the int … Read more
Ria Dancel Collaborates on Creation of Internal Medicine Residency POCUS Recommendations
Ria Dancel, MD Ria Dancel, MD, FACP, SFHM, FAAP, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the UNC Division of Hospital Medicine, collaborated with a group of academic teaching physicians to develop the first expert and evidence-based consensus on the core components of a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum for internal medicine residency training in the United States. Thei … Read more
Joseph Eron on New HIV Prevention Breakthrough
Joe Eron, MD Joseph Eron, M.D., the Herman and Louise Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine at UNC School of Medicine and director of the Clinical Core at the UNC Center for AIDS Research, is spotlighting the potential of lenacapavir, a new FDA-approved, twice-yearly injectable medication for HIV prevention. In clinical trials, lenacapavir showed 99.9% effectiveness—surpassin … Read more
M. Bradley Drummond Found Promise in Using Digital Inhalers to Predict COPD Flare-ups
Dr.Brad Drummond M. Bradley Drummond, MD, MHS, a Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Obstructive Lung Diseases Clinical and Translational Research Center at UNC, published a pilot study in the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation suggesting that digital inhaler technology may help predict worsening symptoms in COPD patients up to two we … Read more
Christopher Dittus Completes Meaningful Lymphoma Study He Started as a Fellow
Christopher Dittus, DO, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director of the lymphoma program, is the senior author of a newly published study in the British Journal of Haematology evaluating a novel treatment approach for aggressive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), a rare and deadly subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that primarily affects ethnic minority populat … Read more