Annual Water and Health Conference convenes global experts to learn and share the latest on water

December 2, 2021
The Water and Health Conference hosted by the Water Institute at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health has become the world’s largest annual international conference on water and health. This year’s conference, which was held virtually for the second time ever, brought together stakeholders from 122 countries around the world to advance their shared goal of increased access to water, sanitation and hygiene worldwide.

Checking in with COVID-19 Gillings Innovation Labs

November 24, 2021
Five of the COVID-19 research projects funded through a special round of Gillings Innovation Laboratory awards (GILs) have now been completed, and the two remaining are expected to wrap in early 2022. Their work has been critical in influencing local and global pandemic response efforts through policy, practice and community engagement.

Governor Cooper appoints Greene as chair of NC State Health Coordinating Council

November 23, 2021
Dr. Sandra Greene, co-director of the program on healthcare economics and finance at the Sheps Center and professor of practice in health policy and management at the Gillings School, was recently appointed as Chair of the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council by Governor Roy Cooper’s office.

First-of-its-kind joint MPH degree tackles rural health challenges

November 22, 2021
The Gillings School, UNC Asheville and the Mountain Area Health Education Center will now offer a jointly conferred Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in place-based health after the UNC System Board of Governors approved the program as a joint MPH degree. Graduates will now receive their diploma from both UNC Asheville and the Gillings School.

Baric among 9 to receive 2020-21 North Carolina Awards, state’s highest honor

November 18, 2021
Dr. Ralph Baric has been selected as a recipient of the state’s highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award. He will receive the 2020 North Carolina Award for Science to recognize his work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gillings alum receives $3.7m to develop chatbot for new parents

November 18, 2021
Epidemiology alum Quynh Nguyen, PhD, is part of a research team that received a $3.7 million grant from the NIH to develop a tool that will provide information for new parents. The chatbot, named Rosie, is designed to reduce postpartum depression and improve infant health by providing immediate and accurate information that is tailored to the individual.

On the frontlines of the pandemic

November 17, 2021
As the COVID-19 pandemic began making an impact in the United States in March of 2020, Carolina alumnus Joseph Engeda found himself using his doctoral degree in epidemiology to respond and understand a growing threat.

9 Gillings School faculty members named to Clarivate's annual Highly Cited Researchers list

November 16, 2021
Nine academics from the Gillings School were recently named to the 2021 Highly Cited Researchers list from Clarivate. The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.

UNC awarded $5M for READDI collaboration to prevent future pandemics

November 11, 2021
RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, announced the winner of its Forethought Research Collaboration Challenge. The group of researchers working to combat the next pandemic, led by experts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will receive $5 million in seed funding to produce antiviral drugs for the future.

Gillings faculty, students and alumni track human rights effects of COVID-19 response

November 10, 2021
The public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic was uniquely widespread and rapid, with equally widespread potential for human rights impacts across nations and throughout the world. A group of faculty members, students and alumni of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health created a database that uses media coverage to monitor potential violations of human rights.