HIV Research in the Time of COVID-19: Chunyan Li Studies Barriers to PrEP in Guangdong and a Unique Intervention

February 6, 2023
Chunyan Li is a social and behavioral researcher in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School applying socially innovative and community-engaged approaches to promote public health in global settings. For her dissertation, she worked with UNC Project-China to assess barriers to PrEP in the province of Guangdong. She also tested a phone app intervention to improve HIV/sexual health care.

UNC researchers review FemTech offerings: Which ones are backed by science?

January 30, 2022
FemTech refers to a variety of apps and devices that use technology to improve women's reproductive and sexual health. The sheer number of offerings inspired a team of UNC-affiliated researchers to review hundreds of FemTech companies and their associated clinical trials data.

Leveling up diagnostics for social good

January 26, 2023
Dr. Sean Sylvia is collaborating on a digitized way to make diagnostic training more accessible for health care providers with a new app called “CollectiveGoodMD,” which aims to test and grow diagnostic skills through gamification and peer-sourced knowledge.

Second Gillings Pitch Competition generates student-led public health solutions

January 20, 2023
The Gillings School recently wrapped its second Pitch Competition, where eight teams of students and alumni participated in a head-to-head challenge, leveraging their knowledge to explore innovative ideas to improve public health.

The Abstract: November 21, 2022

November 21, 2022
Faculty receive funding for new and interdisciplinary projects, and Gillings community members are honored for impact, research and scholarship.

Improved toilets have positive impacts on quality of life, new measure shows

October 13, 2022
New research in Maputo, Mozambique, suggests there are broader benefits of high-quality toilets beyond reducing infectious disease.

'Naloxone shortage is over,’ says co-founder of Remedy Alliance

October 3, 2022
“The affordable naloxone shortage is over,” says Dr. Nabarun (Nab) Dasgupta, Gillings Innovation Fellow and senior scientist at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. Dasgupta is describing his work with nonprofit organization Remedy Alliance/For The People, which recently shipped the first batches of a new, more affordable version of naloxone — a drug that reverses opioid overdose.

Could an app help scientists understand wildfire smoke’s impact on cognition?

August 16, 2022
With help from the brain training app Lumosity, environmental health scientists found that adult attention spans are significantly lower in the hours and days after exposure to fine particulate matter and wildfire smoke. This finding was especially prominent in the western U.S., where wildfires have been increasing.

Gillings faculty complete innovative Round 6, COVID-19 GILs

August 12, 2022
Gillings faculty have recently completed four GILs, including two from Round 6 of GIL funding and two from the special COVID-19 round of funding. The results of their work have furthered our understanding of energy storage, brain health, environmental exposures, viral transmission, pandemic response and more.

Villarreal finds inspiration as Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow

August 10, 2022
Naya Villarreal, MPH — global health associate director for Research, Innovation and Global Solutions and adjunct assistant professor of health behavior at the Gillings School — was part of the prestigious cohort of 2022 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellows.