Research News

The UNC Department of Medicine ranked 23rd in the country in total National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for federal fiscal year 2023 and 8th among peer public universities, according to a new report published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology Saira Sheikh, MD, Vimal Derebail, MD, … Read more

A recent review article published in JAMA by Drs. Edward Iglesia, Mildred Kwan, Yamini Virkud, and Onyinye Iweala reviewed the prevalence, diagnosis, and management of IgE-mediated food allergies in the United States. IgE-mediated allergic reactions to food are caused by immunoglobulin (Ig)E allergy antibodies. Such reactions typically occur within minutes of ingestion and may cause … Read more

Dougald Monroe, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and the UNC Blood Research Center, co-authored an article with Ammon Fager, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Duke University titled, “Stopping the bleed when platelets don’t stick” in Nature Cardiovascular Medicine. The commentary discusses a novel bifunctional antibody that brings factor VIIa … Read more

Cynthia L. Gay, MD, MPH, associate professor of infectious diseases, and David Margolis, MD, the Sarah Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology, and Epidemiology in the UNC School of Medicine, published results of a clinical trial showing that vorinostat and immunotherapy may modestly shrink the latent HIV reservoir. Antiretroviral therapies (ART) stop HIV … Read more

Division of Oncology Lisa Carey, MD, received a $225K grant titled, “Clinical implications of metastatic subtype, microenvironment, and organ of involvement.” Joannie Ivory, MD, was granted $240K for her project, “Participant Enrollment in a Multi-Site Randomized Clinical Trial of Endocrine Therapy Adherence Support.” Yara Abdou, MD, was awarded $240K to investigate molecular residual disease by ctDNA … Read more

A recent study analyzing data from four pivotal clinical trials—LEADER, STEP 2, SUSTAIN 6, and PIONEER 6—evaluated the impact of concomitant metformin use on gastrointestinal adverse events during the initiation and titration of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA). Klara Klein, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the UNC Division of Endocrinology led the … Read more

Edward Barnes, MD, MPH, co-first author, is an assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and John Haydek, MD, MSCS, author, is an advanced inflammatory bowel diseases fellow. The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released the first comprehensive evidence-based guideline on the management of pouchitis, the most common complication people with ulcerative colitis … Read more

A new study led by Walker Redd, MD, at the UNC School of Medicine, examines how multiple factors contribute to the miscommunication and understanding of the digestive disease, microscopic colitis. It’s a hidden cause of diarrhea and the development of the disease is poorly understood. Multiple factors work against the diagnosis of microscopic colitis, an … Read more

Doctors at the UNC School of Medicine, including Mildred Kwan, MD, PhD, and Cincinnati Children’s collaborate to develop an innovative, patient-initiated online platform designed to remove the penicillin allergy label from misdiagnosed pediatric patients. Here’s the scene. Your child appears to be sick. You take their temperature. Fever is over 100. Their throat hurts. You … Read more

The large, multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the ProTractX3™ TTS drug coated balloon for the treatment of benign esophageal strictures. News provided by GIE Medical via PRNewswire. MINNEAPOLIS – GIE Medical, a clinical stage company developing solutions for patients suffering from benign stricture(s) of the esophagus or bowel, announced … Read more

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has awarded UNC Lineberger’s Ethan Basch, MD, MSc, FASCO, $3 million in research funding to support a multi-institutional initiative to implement electronic patient-reported outcomes, or ePRO, in oncology practices across the country. “People being treated for cancer often experience a range of symptoms that can cause distress and impairment, … Read more

Division of Hematology Rafal Pawlinski, PhD, and Brandi Reeves, MD, were awarded a one-year $75,000 UNC School of Medicine Phase 2 Translational Team Science Award (TTSA) for their project, “evaluating the role of hypoxia inducible factors in endothelial and hematopoietic cells in myeloproliferative neoplasms.” Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism Emily Pfaff, PhD, spoke about a … Read more