Promote Healthy People, Healthy Planet and Improve Care for All

Does air pollution increase women’s risk of dementia?

November 18, 2020
New study finds high levels of fine particle pollution in the air are associated with brain shrinkage patterns that are common in Alzheimer’s.

New CDC tool aims to help communities promote more physical activity

November 18, 2020
The new Active Communities Tool, developed by a team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that included Dr. Kelly Evenson, is now available for use by communities seeking to improve the built environment to promote access to safe and convenient places for physical activity for people of all ages and abilities.

Common SARS-CoV-2 mutation may be more susceptible to vaccine

November 12, 2020
A new study published in Science confirms that the D614G spike mutation allows the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 to replicate faster, outcompete and transmit more easily between hosts compared to the original virus. However, the mutation that enabled this strain to spread so quickly around the globe may also make it more susceptible to a vaccine.

UNC partners with NCCU to enhance diversity in nutrition and obesity research

November 5, 2020
The UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center's Pilot & Feasibility (P&F) Program has received funding to establish a process to increase the number of new investigators from underrepresented minority groups who become established investigators in nutrition and obesity research.

Planey pinpoints health disparities in COVID-19 testing and workers with disabilities

November 5, 2020
Geographic analysis can help identify those that are at higher risk of specific disparities due to social and geographic factors. Dr. Arrianna Planey is a co-author on two recent studies that used such analysis to identify potential health disparities in North Carolina and New York.

Researchers receive $900K+ in grants to investigate links between arsenic exposure, COVID-19 risk

October 30, 2020
Researchers in the UNC Superfund Research Program will use two new grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to research how exposure to arsenic and other environmental contaminants may contribute to SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and severity.

Study finds more physical activity, less TV equals more years cancer-free

October 28, 2020
Increasing physical activity and watching less TV may help people live more years cancer-free. Dr. Carmen Cuthbertson, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology, shared these findings in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Lab-grown mini-lungs mimic the real thing — including COVID-19 infection

October 23, 2020
Living human lung air sacs in tiny dishes promise to accelerate COVID-19 research.

NIH funds community engagement research efforts in areas hardest hit by COVID-19

October 19, 2020
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a $12 million award for outreach and engagement efforts in ethnic and racial minority communities that are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The award — made to RTI International — will support teams in 11 states that are part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. In North Carolina, the CEAL principal investigator is Dr. Anissa I. Vines of the UNC Gillings School.

WaSH deficiencies identified in response to COVID-19 require urgent attention

October 19, 2020
A recent review that features work from the UNC Water Institute has shown that deficiencies in water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) strategies are limiting our ability to fight the pandemic.