Psychoneuroimmunology. It's a mouthful, but it’s also a burgeoning field addressing how psychological stress impacts the brain and the body. Keely Muscatell is one of just a few scholars conducting research within this realm and is working closely with two PhD students to uncover the short- and long-term effects of one particularly ugly social experience: racial discrimination.

Karen Bluth has a mission to teach youth how to be compassionate with themselves. As a psychiatry professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, she researches how effective self-compassion practices are at improving the depression and anxiety of transgender teenagers.

In the United States, suicide, suicidal ideation, and self-harm are public health crises among children and teens. To reduce these behaviors, researchers in the UNC School of Education and School of Medicine are addressing how school systems can help students return from hospitalization after a suicide-related crisis.

With the shift to online health care during the pandemic, media law expert Amanda Reid questioned how copyright affects the work of music therapists. After learning how it can dictate care, she wrote a paper proposing that Congress create an exemption for these services.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill and Michigan State University is conducting a long-term study to determine how poverty-induced stress might impact an infant’s ability to grow and develop. They're collecting their data from two places: the brain and the gut.

Stephanie Caddell is a sophomore studying environmental science in the Department of Earth, Marine, and Environmental Science within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies how to connect the needs of humans with the needs of the environment to protect the earth.

Luca Maini is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He studies how drug manufacturers compete and how the government regulates prices to get needed drugs into the hands of as many patients as possible.

Researchers across UNC-Chapel Hill are using advanced imaging technologies and techniques to improve our understanding of cellular processes — with visually stunning results. Collected from a variety of labs, these images showcase the incredible projects our researchers are working on and the beauty of the human body in all its forms.

For most of his life, Juan Álamo has used music to connect to and communicate with others. As a skilled marimba player, he uses his talent and passion to teach the next generation of musicians to do the same.

Friends are essential to our happiness and health. Because they’re such a large part of our lives, Tatum Jolink wants to know how these lasting bonds begin. What occurs during our initial interactions with others that lays the foundation for long-lasting friendship — or even love?

For decades, philosophers have pointed to reason as the trait that differentiates humans from other beings. Now, as many scholars identify what makes humans similar to other creatures, philosophy professor Susan Wolf strives to discover other attributes that make us unique.

Iheoma U. Iruka is a research professor in the Department of Public Policy within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences and founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition within the FPG Child Development Institute. She studies how to promote the health, wealth, and educational excellence of minoritized children and children from low-income households.