Endowment honors Aitken’s commitment to innovation during Environmental Science and Engineering centennial
February 7, 2022 As part of a series of events to mark its centennial, the UNC Gillings Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering held a symposium in early November that included a special dedication to the late Dr. Michael Aitken and the announcement of an endowment established in his name.
COVID-19 vaccination higher in LGBT communities, CDC reports
February 4, 2022 Gay and lesbian adults are more likely to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and have confidence in the safety of vaccines than heterosexuals, according to a CDC report that features research from Dr. Noel Brewer. The data can help public health officials tailor education and outreach to further overcome barriers that prevent LGBT people from getting vaccinated.
Smith named vice dean of UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
February 2, 2022 Dr. Robert Smith III has been named vice dean of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, beginning Feb. 28, 2022.
Picture warnings on sodas? A promising tool to fight childhood obesity
February 1, 2022 A study in PLOS Medicine is the first to examine in a realistic setting whether pictorial health warnings on sugary drinks influence which beverages parents buy for their children. The findings are promising: The warnings reduced parental purchases of sugary drinks for their kids by 17 percentage points.
Impact Awards: 3 Gillings students lead research and discovery in NC
February 1, 2022 The UNC Graduate School has named 11 students as recipients of its 2022 Impact Awards, which celebrate research that contributes to the well-being of North Carolina communities and citizens. Three of the awardees are graduate students in the Gillings School.
Woods brings science to N.C. communities’ fight against environmental hazards
January 31, 2022 For more than a decade, Dr. Courtney Woods has focused on participatory research – a method that allows her to tap local expertise to support communities experiencing environmental racism. With funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, she created the Environmental Justice Action Research Clinic. It will function like a legal clinic to provide timely technical support to local responses to critical environmental health concerns.
UNC researchers to lead 2 centers for $170M NIH Nutrition for Precision Health Consortium
January 31, 2022 Understanding how people differ in both their metabolism and their bodily response to what they eat and drink is critical to tailoring diets for an individual’s optimal health. To that end, Gillings School researchers will direct both a $13 million Nutrition Precision Health Clinical Center and a $19 million Metabolomics and Clinical Assay Center.
COVID-19’s indirect effects are claiming more lives than we realize
January 26, 2022 Social isolation, economic insecurity, barriers to health care access – Gillings epidemiologists have found that these indirect consequences of the pandemic are claiming lives that are not being reported in COVID-19 surveillance data, especially among populations of color and young people.
Phares appointed chief scientific officer at National Pharmaceutical Council
January 25, 2022 The National Pharmaceutical Council named Dr. Sharon Phares as their new chief scientific officer. In this role, the UNC Gillings alum will direct strategy and oversee research related to policy issues relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.
