Health

Health: Conquering Physical, Mental, and Public Challenges

Esther Kwon

August 1, 2018

Rising senior Esther Kwon is an undergraduate researcher and recent SURF recipient within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences majoring in biology, with a minor in chemistry. Her research focuses on two different types of histones — proteins found in chromatin — and how they function within fruit flies.

Cathi Propper

July 25, 2018

Cathi Propper is senior scientist within and interim director of the UNC Center for Developmental Science. Her research focuses on the physiological functioning, temperament, and genetics of infants and how their early experiences influence their social-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development.

Tori Ehrhardt

July 18, 2018

Tori Ehrhardt is a rising senior in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, double-majoring in psychology and biology. She is also an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Psychiatry within the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the use of probiotics in pregnancy and their effects on the microbiome.

Deep-Rooted Data

July 17, 2018

The Carolina Population Center is in it for the long haul. The 52-year-old institution leads data-driven studies that span decades, enriching population research across the world.

Cheryl Giscombe

July 11, 2018

Cheryl Giscombe is the Melissa and Harry LeVine Family Professor of Quality of Life, Health Promotion, and Wellness within the UNC School of Nursing and a Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholar. Her research focuses on developing ways to resolve stress and its effects on health behaviors, physiology, and health outcomes.

Hometown Health Hero

July 10, 2018

Alice Ammerman is a powerful force for nutrition research and community-based health promotion. Her nearly 40-year career heavily influences her personal approach to public health; by establishing relationships with community partners and making an effort to understand the context of community health, she aims to form lasting connections and accomplish real change.

Fighting Emerging Diseases at UNC

June 28, 2018

Imagine a drug that could cure everything from Ebola to the common cold. Utilizing the expertise of the Baric Lab at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Gilead Sciences is making breakthroughs in developing drugs to fight some of the world's deadliest viruses.

Min Zheng

June 27, 2018

Min Zheng is a research associate in the Department of Ophthalmology within the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on using nanotechnologies in gene and drug delivery for treating ocular disorders.

Rachel Noble

June 20, 2018

Rachel Noble is the Mary and Watts Hill Jr. Distinguished Professor at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences. She is also a professor in the Department of Marine Sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences and director of the Institute for the Environment’s Morehead City field site. Her research focuses on understanding the abundance and ecology of dangerous bacteria and viruses that are found in the ocean and within seafood.

Like Mother, Like Child

June 15, 2018

One in nine new moms struggle with depression — but single moms, immigrants, and those in low socioeconomic situations are even more susceptible. And their children, whose brains triple in size and make nearly 1,000 nerve connections in the first three years of their life, are directly affected. To combat this, UNC nurse scientist Linda Beeber has spent the past two decades developing mental health interventions that treat both the mother and the child as a unit, called the “dyad.”