Study evaluates added sugars in packaged beverages, finds black and low-income families most at risk
June 7, 2017 Dr. Shu Wen Ng led a study that lays the groundwork for monitoring the sugar content of pre-packaged sweetened beverages and the purchases of those beverages over time. The data will be an important baseline before and after July 2018, when a federal requirement will oblige manufacturers to list "added sugars" on nutritional labeling.
Obese adults experience increased influenza risk despite being vaccinated, study finds
June 6, 2017 Melinda A. Beck, PhD, of the UNC Gillings Department of Nutrition, is the corresponding author of a new study in the International Journal of Obesity. The study found that, compared to adults of healthy weight, obese adults are twice as likely to contract the flu or a flu-like illness despite being vaccinated.
Initiatives to reduce salt in packaged foods have worked, but more can be done
June 5, 2017 Gillings School researchers have found that Americans are getting significantly less sodium from packaged foods than they did 15 years ago – but they still take in too much salt from these products.
Drug rebates: Who pays, who profits, how can we make drug prices more equitable?
June 5, 2017 A new study led by Dr. Stacie Dusetzina examines how drug rebates result in disparities in medication costs. She and colleagues show that rebates may increase costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and the federal Medicare program, while decreasing costs for drug manufacturers and Part D (drug) insurance plans.
Mayer-Davis featured in The Lancet as leader in diabetes research
June 2, 2017 Nutrition chair and distinguished professor Elizabeth Mayer-Davis is profiled in the June 1 issue of The Lancet as a leader in diabetes research.
New study investigates perceptions, ethics of treatment interruptions in HIV cure research
June 2, 2017 Two faculty members from the Gillings School investigated how stakeholders respond to the concept of using analytical treatment interruptions to test the efficacy of potential HIV cure research strategies in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.
Drug company payments associated with physicians’ prescribing choices for cancer drugs
June 2, 2017 Gillings School investigators found an association between physicians receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies for meals, talks and travel and those physicians prescribing the companies' drugs for two types of cancer. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
ESE student awarded American Water scholarship
May 26, 2017 ESE doctoral student Alma Beciragic has been awarded the American Water Works Association (AWWA) 2017 American Water Scholarship.
Mayer-Davis awarded $1.9M to accelerate solutions for young adults with Type 1 diabetes
May 24, 2017 Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis has received a four-year, $1.9 million National Institutes of Health grant to help young people with Type 1 diabetes better control their glucose levels and weight.
Researchers call for transnational perspective to improve migrants’ health
May 23, 2017 In a systematic review of the literature, Gillings School researchers consider whether and how studies of migrants’ health practices and behaviors to date have considered the migrants’ transnationalism as a factor in those practices and behaviors.
