This Week @ Gillings: The Abstract

March 28, 2022

Whether you’re local or global, student or alumni, the Abstract’s weekly news digest will help you stay in the loop with our amazing Gillings School community.

Hincapie-Castillo appointed president of National Pain Advocacy Center board of directors

Dr. Juan Hincapie-Castillo

Dr. Juan Hincapie-Castillo

Juan M. Hincapie-Castillo, PharmD, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, was recently appointed as president of the board of directors for the National Plan Advocacy Center (NPAC). NPAC is a non-profit (non-industry funded) organization whose mission is to advance the health and human rights of people in pain. NPAC is an alliance of scientists and clinicians, civil rights advocates, and people with lived experience aiming to transform the systems and policies that pose barriers to the health of people in pain.


Gillings expertise featured in latest North Carolina Medical Journal issue

The March/April issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal features work from several Gillings School researchers in Chapel Hill and Asheville, North Carolina.

Adjunct Professor Ellis Matheson, PhD, at colleagues at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), are co-authors on an article titled “Project ECHO® in Primary Care: Informing Providers about COVID-19 and Its Impact on Health Care Delivery.”

In response to COVID-19, on March 30, 2020, MAHEC launched two COVID-19-related Project ECHO® series aimed at educating providers and disseminating best practices as the delivery of care changed rapidly. The Primary Care COVID-19 Collaborative series focused on clinical topics while the Practice Support for COVID-19 Preparedness series focused on practice management topics. The Project ECHO® format allowed MAHEC to rapidly update providers in its region on practice implications and clinical management of patients in the context of COVID-19.

Dr. Kelly Evenson

Dr. Kelly Evenson

Professor Kelly Evenson, PhD, in the Department of Epidemiology, co-authored “Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Services, Participants and Workforce in North Carolina: Results of a 2019 Survey of Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Directors.”

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can improve quality of life and reduce subsequent hospitalizations for individuals with cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, CR is underutilized, and less is known about the current content, patient population and workforce of CR programs in North Carolina. The study aimed to describe CR services, patient participation and workforce in N.C. in order to characterize CR infrastructure and identify opportunities to improve CR use. They found that CR programs in North Carolina offer a range of services and while half of patients referred to CR initiate services, interventions are needed to improve initiation and adherence to CR.

 


Sotres to serve on NIH Biostatistical Methods and Research Design Study Section

Dr. Daniela Sotres-Alvarez

Dr. Daniela Sotres-Alvarez

Daniela Sotres-Alvarez, DrPH, associate professor of biostatistics, has been invited by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to serve as a Member of the Biostatistical Methods and Research Design Study Section (BMRD), Population Sciences and Epidemiology Integrated Review Group (PSE), CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW (CSR), for a term beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2026.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort, and Sotres-Alvarez was nominated because of demonstrated competence and achievement in her scientific discipline, as evidenced by the quality of her research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.


In memoriam of alumna Aliza Liebman

Aliza Liebman

Aliza Liebman

The Gillings School mourns the passing of Aliza Liebman, an MSPH alumna from the Department of Epidemiology. Liebman was a founding member of the UNC Gender-Based Violence Research Group.

“Aliza was passionate about her career in epidemiology and global public health,” her family wrote in her memorial. “She enjoyed women’s lacrosse, cooking and attending book club at the Milford Chabad. She loved community events of all kinds and frequently attended them with her partner Ted. Together, they enjoyed taking walks, going to craft fairs, and taking care of their dogs Oreo, Mason and Molly. Above all, Aliza’s son Ethan was the center of her world. She will truly be missed.”

Read the full memorial online.

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