Category: Research News
Mofiyin Obadina and Erica Sparkenbaugh Awarded $50k for Project on Sickle Cell Disease in Pregnancy
Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD Mofiyinfoluwa Obadina, MD Mofiyin Obadina, MD, and Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD, assistant professors in the Division of Hematology and the UNC Blood Research Center, received $50,000 from NC TRaCS for their TTSA proposal entitled, “Hypoxemia-Induced Platelet Activation in Sickle Cell Disease Pregnancy: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets.” This award supports t … Read more
Anisha Ganguly Co-Authors Study on Residency Application Disparities in Abortion-Restrictive States
Anisha Ganguly, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Medicine & Clinical Epidemiology, co-authored a study revealing a significant disparity in residency program applications in states with more restrictive abortion laws. Published in JAMA, the research analyzed nearly 24.2 million applications submitted to 4,315 residency programs across all me … Read more
Sawyer Accelerates the Fight Against Childhood Malaria
Ross Boyce, MD, MSc Dr. Ross Boyce, a researcher with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, tested a military uniform treatment idea on wraps used to carry babies in many parts of Africa and South America. Would treating these baby wraps with permethrin protect babies in Uganda from malaria? The answer was yes. In a six-month study that included 400 mother- … Read more
Olivier, Hatcher, Boucher Awarded $7.3 Million to Advance Research on Rare Bronchiectatic Diseases
UNC researchers have received ~$7.3M from NHLBI to lead the Rare Bronchiectatic Diseases Consortium, advancing research on four rare lung diseases that cause progressive bronchiectasis. The effort builds on UNC’s national leadership and aims to accelerate discovery, clinical trials, and new therapies for underserved patient populations. Drs. Kenneth Olivier and Richard Boucher UN … Read more
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 lead study to understand earliest effects of Type 1 Diabetes in young children
Janice Hwang, MD, MHS, chief of the UNC Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, is a Principal Investigator for BRAINY-T1D along with Drs. Aysenil Belger and Nina Jain. BRAINY-T1D is a nationwide effort aimed at understanding the earliest effects of Type 1 Diabetes in young children. Spanning eleven campuses from UC Davis to UNC-Chapel Hill, the study goes beyond typical T1D re … Read more
Sheikh and team publish guide for conducting CAR T-cell trials for patients with SLE
Saira Sheikh, MD Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, best known for its cancer-treating abilities, are being explored as an option for managing autoimmune rheumatic diseases. A team of investigators, including Saira Sheikh, MD, published a guide in ACR Open Rheumatology, providing a detailed exploration of the framework required for rheumatologists to initiate and s … 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
Hwang to Lead UNC Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Health, Funding by NIDDK Renewed
Diabetes and obesity are two of the most pressing health challenges in North Carolina. More than 1 million North Carolinians live with diabetes, and over 2 million struggle with obesity. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, and cardiovascular disease, significantly shortening lives and contributing billions of dollars in health care costs. Drs. J … Read more
UNC Health, Blue Cross NC Study Offers Clinical Evidence on How Food Delivery Models Can Reduce Food Insecurity and Improve Health Outcomes
UNC researchers, including Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, and Darren DeWalt, MD, MPH, found that a monthly $40 food subsidy improved blood pressure among people facing food insecurity. The results were published in JAMA Internal Medicine. A first-of-its-kind clinical study shows that offering modest monthly grocery cards for produce leads to improvements in blood pressure compared to d … 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
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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