Britton confronts COVID-19 on the front lines of the opioid pandemic
December 11, 2020 As president and chief executive officer of the largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider in the United States, Dr. Thomas Britton was already working to confront the opioid pandemic when COVID-19 began spreading. He says his training at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Public helped him in unexpected ways when he found himself at the convergence of the two greatest public health threats the country faces.
Colville to lead North Carolina Institute of Medicine
December 11, 2020 The NCIOM recently selected Dr. Kathy Colville to serve as its next president and chief executive officer. In this role she will lead the NCIOM’s work in advising state policymakers and executive agencies, developing robust partnerships, publishing state health policy research and convening diverse state stakeholders to identify actionable solutions to our state’s health policy and public health challenges.
Study shows new machine learning method may lead to optimal cancer treatment decisions
December 4, 2020 Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University have developed a computational framework to generate evidence-based optimal cancer treatment decisions informed by a patient’s genomic biomarkers. The findings, which may aid in the development of precision cancer treatments, are published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association.
Groundbreaking study on staff wellness in child care centers named Paper of the Year
December 4, 2020 Child care workers are among the lowest paid workers in the United States, and they face a variety of health concerns. A 2020 study that sets the stage for a Total Worker Health® approach to improving their health outcomes has been named Paper of the Year by the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
ACS/Pfizer grant funds research into racial disparities in breast cancer care quality in North Carolina
December 3, 2020 The grant is part of a national campaign focused on optimizing cancer outcomes for people of color by identifying and eliminating systemic race-related barriers and disparities in the delivery of care that impact outcomes across all cancer types.
Ten years with the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina
December 3, 2020 In honor of the tenth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, researchers from the Department of Health Policy and Management have published a series of articles in the North Carolina Medical Journal reflecting on the legislation’s impact on health coverage in North Carolina.
NSF grant supports research into droughts, electric power, air pollution and health
December 1, 2020 Droughts disrupt electric power system operations by reducing the availability of hydropower and nuclear power — the latter is vulnerable to insufficient cooling water supply. One result of droughts, then, is an increased reliance on fossil fuel power plants, which emit pollutants that contribute to poor air quality.
Smith named 2020 AAAS Fellow
November 24, 2020
Dr. Richard Smith has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions to statistics, particularly the statistical analysis of extreme events and environmental applications including climate change and air pollution.
Virtual Water and Health Conference gives new platform to necessary WaSH conversations
November 24, 2020 For the first time since it was established in 2009, the UNC Water Institute held the 2020 Water and Health Conference online. The conference saw record attendance as it brought together experts and policymakers from around the world to examine the latest trends and evidence to inform policy and practice in water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH).
Gillings students and alumni provide community COVID-19 testing
November 24, 2020 Dr. Jan Lee Santos – who holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from the Gillings School’s Department of Health Policy and Management – is working with several other Gillings alumni and students at Piedmont Health to bring COVID-19 testing to the places it’s needed most in North Carolina.
