Category
Harness Big Data for Health, Well Being and the Environment

Leveling up diagnostics for social good

January 26, 2023
Dr. Sean Sylvia is collaborating on a digitized way to make diagnostic training more accessible for health care providers with a new app called “CollectiveGoodMD,” which aims to test and grow diagnostic skills through gamification and peer-sourced knowledge.

Study links N.C. hog feeding operations to acute gastrointestinal illness

November 23, 2022
North Carolina’s rapidly growing human population is nearly matched by the number of hogs, which at nine million, makes N.C. one of the highest hog producers in the country. Examining the health impact of large hog operations on nearby communities, a group of UNC researchers found significantly elevated rates of acute gastrointestinal illness — with the greatest impact on rural, Black and American Indian populations.

Could an app help scientists understand wildfire smoke’s impact on cognition?

August 16, 2022
With help from the brain training app Lumosity, environmental health scientists found that adult attention spans are significantly lower in the hours and days after exposure to fine particulate matter and wildfire smoke. This finding was especially prominent in the western U.S., where wildfires have been increasing.

Gillings faculty complete innovative Round 6, COVID-19 GILs

August 12, 2022
Gillings faculty have recently completed four GILs, including two from Round 6 of GIL funding and two from the special COVID-19 round of funding. The results of their work have furthered our understanding of energy storage, brain health, environmental exposures, viral transmission, pandemic response and more.

Study shows COVID-19 vaccines provide lasting protections

January 12, 2022
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that, despite breakthrough infections, COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death. The findings support the use of boosters to provide ongoing protection.