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Category: Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology

  • Sofija Volertas

    Volertas Offers Allergy Treatment Tips As Pollen Count Soars

    An ABC-11 news report with data from the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, shows pine and oak trees are a few of the culprits making people uncomfortable. Pollen season is also getting longer and worse, one study found. Sofija Volertas, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, explained treatment and tips for preventing al … Read more

  • Penicillin Allergy Assessment Tool Kit Released to Improve Antibiotic Stewardship

    Mildred Kwan, MD, PhD A tool kit developed by Mildred Kwan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, and Renae Boerneke, PharmD, will educate patients and train healthcare providers to proactively assess penicillin allergies. Delabeling patients who are not truly allergic to penicillins is an important stewardship tool that … Read more

  • onyi-iweala

    COVID or Allergies?

    Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD As the pollen count rises in North Carolina, some allergy symptoms have people questioning if they are experiencing COVID-19.  Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, explained how people can decipher beween the two, in an ABC-11 news report. “There is some confusion now that environmental aller … Read more

  • March- Grants and Funding

    Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: March 1 – March 31, 2021

    Division of Hematology Patrick Ellsworth, MD, received a Research Restart Award from the American Society of Hematology, which helps ensure research continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigel Mackman, PhD, received a grant award for “Tissue factor-dependent coagulation in thrombosis and immune responses” from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Division of Infe … Read more

  • Amanda Nelson, MD

    Nelson Discusses the Use of Tanezumab For Osteoarthritis Pain in USA Today Article

    Amanda Nelson, MD Amanda Nelson, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, was featured in a USA Today article discussing the use of tanezumab as a treatment for osteoarthritis pain. Pfizer has tested the drug in more than 40 clinical trials and a long list of patients have reportedly gotten substantial relief. But in some cases, … Read more

  • edwin-kim-helio-perspective-peanut-allergy

    Peanut Sublingual Immunotherapy Provides Desensitization to Peanut in Toddlers

    Edwin Kim, MD Edwin Kim, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, led a study presented at the 2021 AAAAI Virtual Annual Meeting, showing that this therapy could be an option for early peanut allergy intervention. Accompanying this article is a video featuring Dr. Kim, whose children suffer from nut and legume all … Read more

  • Rumey Ishizawar, MD

    UNC’s New Immuno-Oncology Prospective Database and Registry is Now Open for Patient Enrollment

    Rumey Ishizawar, MD, medical director of the UNC Rheumatology Clinic, founded the multi-disciplinary UNC Immuno-Oncology Group (IOG) in 2017 to optimize clinical management of cancer patients who develop immune related adverse events (irAEs). The goal of the IOG is to develop a research infrastructure to facilitate the study of mechanisms of autoimmunity versus tolerance in the i … Read more

  • onyi-iweala

    CRISPR Could Make Wheat Safe for Celiac Disease. What About Peanut Allergies?

    Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD Onyinye Iweala, MD, PhD, was featured in a FreeThink article about biotech startup Ukko, which is looking to use CRISPR gene editing — along with computational biology, protein engineering, and immunology techniques — to design foods that are both safe and delicious for those suffering from celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. The article recognizes Uk … Read more

  • leigh-callahan

    Callahan Offers Perspectives On Health Disparities in Podcast

    Leigh Callahan, PhD Leigh F. Callahan, PhD, was a recent guest on the “Movement for Life” Podcast. She discussed perspectives on health disparities through an epidemiology lens and shared important findings on how a range of disparate outcomes and health disparities could be addressed. Listen to the podcast here. Callahan is the Mary Link Briggs Distinguished Professor of Medicin … Read more

  • Fellows Match to the Department of Medicine

    While the pandemic made this year particularly challenging for fellowship recruitment efforts and interviews, a series of videos showing each program’s strengths was a creative solution, introducing viewers to faculty and current fellows, with a brief glimpse into what it might be like to join the program. And although it was impossible to replicate the experience of visiting in- … Read more

  • edwin-kim-helio-perspective-peanut-allergy

    Kim Says Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccine Likely To Be Extremely Rare

    Edwin Kim, MD As the US Food and Drug Administration considers whether to authorize emergency use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, medical experts are paying close attention to reports of allergic reactions to the vaccine. Edwin Kim, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology, says it’s not immediately clea … Read more

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    Sheikh Leads Largest Ever Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled SLE Study

    Saira Sheikh, MD Saira Sheikh, MD, led the “BASE” study, now published in The Lancet Rheumatology, which found mortality, AESIs among SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) patients taking Benlysta similar to placebo. Learn more from the UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine Newsroom.