Giving a global voice to minority smoking inequities
June 22, 2020 A UNC-Chapel Hill student-led public health team places third among 3,500 participants in Oxford University’s global systems mapping competition, exploring racial and ethnic disparities in tobacco control.
Gillings alumnus Handzel named CDC’s global water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator
June 15, 2020 The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently appointed UNC Gillings School alumnus Dr. Tom Handzel as global WASH coordinator at their Center for Global Health. (WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.)
UNC-Chapel Hill researchers create new type of COVID-19 antibody test
June 15, 2020 Scientists have created a test that pinpoints human antibodies specific to a unique part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The test can help document COVID-19 infections, identify asymptomatic virus infection and measure the level of immunity in individuals.
Researchers map how coronavirus infection travels through cells of nasal cavity and respiratory tract
June 2, 2020 A major study of novel coronavirus infection in human airways adds to evidence that wearing a mask is an important step toward limiting transmission of COVID-19. The lead authors of the study in the journal Cell are UNC-Chapel Hill virology expert Dr. Ralph Baric and pulmonary expert Dr. Richard Boucher.
‘Landmark’ study finds long-acting injectable drug highly effective in preventing HIV
June 1, 2020 A large-scale HIV study funded by NIAID and ViiV Healthcare halted early after cabotegravir, dosed every two months, showed higher efficacy than a daily oral pill.
The Gillings Community Responds to COVID-19: Global Outreach
June 1, 2020 The novel coronavirus pandemic has created and magnified health challenges on a global scale. In Africa, alumni Michael Wilson and Dr. Laura Hoemeke are working on both a grassroots and a policy level to protect communities and health care services that are most vulnerable.
Gillings researchers advance in the quest for a dengue vaccine
May 13, 2020 Dengue viruses are estimated to cause ~390 million infections and 100 million cases each year around the globe. Because infection with one of the four unique dengue strains does not provide lasting immunity to the other strains, it has been especially difficult to create an effective vaccine.
ITA, co-founded by a Gillings student, offers support to Spanish-speaking parents during COVID-19
May 12, 2020 The website papita.com is home to ITA, an artificial intelligence program that offers unique childcare tips to Spanish-speaking users based on their personal information. The site’s developers hope to promote healthy family habits while lowering parents’ stress — especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic has families on lock down at home.
Adults in Mexico are consuming fewer soft drinks three years into a sugary-beverage tax
May 6, 2020 “These results show that the tax is lowering the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks among an adult cohort over the first three-years of the tax implementation,” says Dr. Shu Wen Ng. “In particular, it lowered the proportion of medium and high consumers of the beverages, while increasing the share of adults who were low-consumers and non-consumers.”
How important is therapy for expectant mothers with depression? Researchers found mental and financial benefits seven years later.
April 30, 2020 When pregnant women are depressed, how important is it that they receive therapy? A first-of-its-kind study found outsize positive effects on mothers’ mental health, financial status and parenting skills even seven years after the birth of their child — and the results could lead to big changes in global public policy. (Photo by Jake Brewer)
