Each year the AMA’s Women Physicians Section honors outstanding doctors who are recognized for having offered their time, wisdom and support to advance women with careers in medicine. Dr. Joanne Jordan was selected as a recipient of the 2017 “Inspirational Physician” Award, which serves as a platform to showcase the accomplishments of women physicians, and highlights advocacy needs related to professional concerns of women physicians and health issues affecting women patients.

UNC is one of only several locations in the United States that is conducting clinical studies of a meat allergy some people develop after being bitten by a tick. Dr. Scott Commins, a researcher and leading expert on this unusual food allergy, was recently interviewed by WUNC Public Radio to help increase public awareness for an increasingly common health condition that too often goes undiagnosed.

There was a time when Sandy Vargas could walk from her bedroom to her kitchen, but only if she would then be able to lie down to rest afterwards. Now she is a distance swimmer, and walks a dozen miles daily. Here is the inspirational story of how a patient and her UNC doctor teamed up to achieve lasting results.

Scientists are working hard to learn more about a little-known meat allergy that can appear suddenly among people with no previous history, and is believed to be related to tick bites. The allergy — known as alpha-gal — can sometimes go undiagnosed for months or even years, because it does not behave like other food allergies. UNC is one of a handful of institutions in the U.S. that are conducting clinical studies related to alpha-gal. Dr. Scott Commins, who is one of the first scientists to study this allergy was recently interviewed by USA Today. Read on to learn more…

Ronald Falk, MD, Chair of UNC’s Department of Medicine has announced that Beth L. Jonas, MD, will lead the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology.
Leadership transitions for the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center have also been announced, made by Wesley Burks, MD, Executive Dean for UNC’s School of Medicine.

Medical research conducted in controlled environments has repeatedly proven that weight loss and exercise can offer significant benefits such as pain reduction for many people with osteoarthritis (OA), including knee OA. But researchers want to know more about how well these kinds of programs work (and can be optimized) in “real world,” community settings.
Arthritis researcher Leigh Callahan, PhD, with the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center is leading a clinical trial in Johnston, Forsythe and Haywood Counties in NC. To learn more, click this (Link).

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand is a common condition that causes serious limitations in the daily activities of millions of Americans. The scientific community has statistics on the lifetime risk of developing symptomatic OA of the knee and hip. And now, thanks to the work of leading researchers, it is has data illuminating the risk of symptomatic hand OA. To learn more, click this (Link).

When the leading osteoarthritis (OA) thought leaders from across the globe recently gathered in Las Vegas, NV, experts from the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center were there to share insights gleaned from important new research. While speaking in venues ranging from plenary sessions to poster presentations, Thurston scientists shared finding on topics ranging from how knee shape affects OA, to studies of the genetic influences on the development of OA.

The topic of arthritis is more complicated than it might seem, with over 100 form of this sometimes debilitating disease affecting people of all ages. To help shed light on the subject, leading rheumatologist Beth Jonas, MD, recently joined Joe and Terry Graedon to answer listener’s questions on The Peoples’ Pharmacy.
For a link to this episode of The People’s Pharmacy click here.

Allergist Edwin Kim, MD, recently hosted a video interview on Facebook Live to educate viewers on many topics related to food allergies. The lively and dynamic event invited people to write in their allergy related questions, which were answered by Dr. Kim.

For a link to the video click here.