Students' winning policy proposal calls for COVID-19 care navigation in NC prisons, jails

September 15, 2020
UNC Gillings student Nikhil Rao and his team won a recent COVID-19 Policy Hackathon. The team’s winning policy proposal, titled "Need for Care Navigation Program for Inmates within North Carolina Public Carceral Facilities," called for the N.C. Department of Public Safety and Department of Health and Human Services to intervene to alleviate COVID-19 burden on one of the state’s most vulnerable populations.

UNC faculty support new public campaign urging North Carolinians to “Get Behind the Mask”

September 11, 2020
The “Whatever Your Reason” campaign, a new statewide public effort to encourage every North Carolinian to wear a mask in the collective fight against COVID-19, was launched recently by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Two Gillings School researchers advised on the campaign.

Are first-year students first-aid ready?

September 10, 2020
Kate Leo and Hannah Tuckman — both juniors at the Gillings School — have launched an effort to provide UNC students with first-aid kits while sharing campus health care resources.

Google.org funds UNC, VUMC research into COVID-19 genetic impact

September 10, 2020
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been awarded $500,000 by Google’s philanthropy, Google.org, to study how COVID-19 alters gene expression in some people in ways that may be linked to their risk of severe illness and death.

Golden named vice chair of Department of Health Behavior

September 8, 2020
Dr. Shelley Golden, associate professor of health behavior at the Gillings School, was named vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Health Behavior. The appointment became effective September 1.

Villanueva launches fund to aid Native American communities during pandemic

September 8, 2020
Gillings alumnus Edgar Villanueva started the Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) to help funders give more equitably. The DWP’s Liberated Capital fund recently launched the Native American Community Response Fund, directing $2 million to help heavily impacted communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To reduce food waste, changes in date labeling, marketing and consumer behavior are needed

September 2, 2020
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) identifies promising strategies for reducing consumer food waste nationwide, including a national campaign to change consumer behavior, federal standardization of food date labeling, and changes to retailer marketing and food service practices, among other measures.

New study links particulate matter pollution to brain damage, depression

September 1, 2020
Recent research by a team that included Drs. William Vizuete and Marc Serre adds to mounting evidence that long-term exposure to particulate matter pollution contributes to memory loss and may accelerate aging of the brain, especially later in life.

Study finds source of COVID-19 messaging impacts effectiveness

September 1, 2020
According to new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, COVID-19 prevention messaging is more effective when attributed to a health organization rather than the president of the United States.

Building early warning systems against pandemic threats

August 31, 2020
The nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance has announced its latest program: The Emerging Infectious Diseases Southeast Asia Research Collaboration Hub. This is one of a new group of research centers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and faculty at the UNC Gillings School are key collaborators.