Research News

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. … Read more

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 … Read more

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 successfully … Read more

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. … Read more

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. … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 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 … Read more