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Student research, fellowship training and mentorship awards go to the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at UNC Chapel Hill.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found that the 22q11 gene deletion – a mutation that confers the highest known genetic risk for schizophrenia – is associated with changes in the development of the brain that ultimately affect how its circuit elements are assembled.

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UNC's Morgan Giddings, Ph.D. and Xian Chen, Ph.D., have been awarded a $1.6 million 2-year “Grand Opportunities” (GO) grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to accelerate this research. Their effort will be part of a consortium of investigators studying the human genome blueprint, titled the “ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements” (ENCODE). The consortium’s overall goal is to assemble a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome.

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A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher has been awarded a four-year, $507,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center to study the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines in the Central American nation of Nicaragua.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded a five-year, $6.2 million renewal grant to continue its work as part of the National Institutes of Health’s Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN).

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This study found that children with functional abdominal pain who used audio recordings of guided imagery at home in addition to standard medical treatment were almost three times as likely to improve their pain problem, compared to children who received standard treatment alone.

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This study suggests that a single gene, called GSK-3, controls the signals that determine how many neurons actually end up composing the brain. This has important implications for patients with neuropsychiatric illness, as links have recently been drawn between GSK-3 and schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.

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Treating pregnant women for mild gestational diabetes resulted in fewer cesarean sections and other serious birthing problems associated with larger than average babies, according to a study conducted in part at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of twelve centers announced today by President Obama as part of an unprecedented large-scale, collaborative effort by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to systematically characterize the genomic changes that occur in cancer.

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Michael Pignone, M.D., M.P.H., reviews the pros and cons of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening in an editorial he wrote for the Sept. 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

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UNC awarded $8.6 million from NIH over five years to fund center for research in underlying causes of psychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, and responses to drug therapy.

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UNC expert available to discuss latest development in search for AIDS vaccine.

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Three scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have received prestigious awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at encouraging “high risk” and innovative research.

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A new study shows that parents are more likely to understand a body mass index (BMI) chart if it’s color-coded, like a traffic light, than the standard charts currently in use.

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The findings, published in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, could give important insights into the formation of the vasculature needed to feed new tumors.

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A UNC study, which appears in the Sept. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), could lead to earlier detection and diagnosis of cystic fibrosis liver disease and better treatment options for the patients affected by the disease.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have now discovered that establishing the neural wiring necessary to function normally depends on the ability of neurons to make finger-like projections of their membrane called filopodia.

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Researchers from the UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases have received $2.7 million from the National Institutes of Health to discover drugs that can completely “purge” HIV from the system, including the reservoirs where it hides from current antiviral therapy.

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Giving insecticide-treated bed nets to nearly 18,000 mothers at prenatal clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented an estimated 414 infant deaths from malaria, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

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Black patients with high blood pressure experience poorer communication with their doctors than white patients do, a study led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher has found.

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A simple test that measures blood flow through the ankle helps identify people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) before they start showing symptoms, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers has found.

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UNC brain surgeon Anand Germanwala, M.D. and ENT surgeon Adam Zanation, M.D., collaborated to develop through-the-nose approach to repair a patient's ruptured brain aneurysm.

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New technique expected to enhance understanding of how cancer spreads .

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New research led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a drug target that suggests a potent way to kill colon cancers that resist current drugs aimed at blocking a molecule found on the surface of cells.

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A team of scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, and the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences will be working with the National Cancer Institute as part of a national effort to bring more targeted cancer therapies to patients as quickly as possible.

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According to a new study, women with a family history of breast cancer were 59 percent less likely to develop breast cancer themselves if they breastfed their children.

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Pneumonic plague expert available for interview at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies that viruses, like the one that causes AIDS, use to infect humans.

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UNC School of Medicine experts offer story ideas for back to school, including: sleep apnea and tonsils, kids with restless leg syndrome and returning to normal sleep habits; an STD reality check for teens; how to return to school with prescription meds; overcoming social anxieties and phobias (for kids and parents); and heart health advice.

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A UNC-led study finds that 75 percent of Cambodians believe the Khmer Rouge trials will provide justice and promote reconciliation, but more than 87 percent of people old enough to remember the torture and murder during the Khmer Rouge era say the trials will rekindle "painful memories."

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A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that exercise may be an effective way to combat the debilitating fatigue that leukemia patients experience.

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Men who have a regular, ongoing relationship with a health care provider are more likely to receive prostate cancer screening and less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, regardless of their race, according to a University of North Carolina study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer.

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Giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breastfeeding infants or treating their HIV-infected mothers with highly active antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast milk, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill investigators has found.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine scientists have found what may be the most efficient way to deliver a corrected gene to lung cells collected from cystic fibrosis patients.

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In an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine, UNC's Daniel Clarke-Pearson, M.D. reviews the current state of ovarian cancer screening and explains why it should be limited to women with indicators suggesting they are at high risk.

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A mother's weight and the amount she gains during pregnancy both impact her daughter's risk of obesity decades later, according to a new study by Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Medicine. "If we can help women reach a healthy weight before they start a family, we can make a difference for two generations," Stuebe says.

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A new UNC study appearing online July 1 in the journal Nature disputes current scientific belief by showing that X-inactivation can occur even in the absence of a gene previously thought to be the trigger of the process.

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The finding suggests that schizophrenia is much more complex than previously thought and can arise not only from both rare genetic variants but also from a significant number of common ones.

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A recent study led by Blossom Damania, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focuses on the intersection of these two scientific puzzles, resulting in new discoveries about how one herpesvirus known to cause cancer may reactivate when the infected cell senses another type of virus entering it.

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Boot Camp for New Dads reveals the mysteries of a new baby, and offers these five tips any first-time dad should to deal with situations from crying to understanding the new mom's emotions.

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In a series of recently-published articles, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has uncovered clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients.

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A team of UNC researchers has proven that a key protein called p16INK4a is present in human blood and is strongly correlated both with chronological age and with certain behaviors such as tobacco use and physical inactivity, which are known to accelerate the aging process.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in collaboration with lead investigators at the University of Kentucky have identified a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in older Americans.

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Scientists at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center report finding a new angiogenesis protein, SFRP2, found in the blood vessels of numerous tumor sites, including breast, prostate, lung, pancreas, ovarian, colon, kidney tumors, and angiosarcomas.

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A drug commonly given to autistic children to reduce repetitive behaviors is ineffective and may increase repetitive behaviors. "The short term message is, this treatment didn't work. That surprised us. More importantly, we have to do large, scientifically-sound comparative studies, not rely on doctors' and families' impressions," says co-authorLin Sikich, M.D., at the UNC School of Medicine.

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Study shows prescription drug promotion to physicians may result in overprescribing and subsequent overuse of even mildly effective drugs before adequate information on their health risk is available.

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A landmark clinical trial led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher concludes that radiofrequency ablation is an effective treatment for dysplasia in people with Barrett's esophagus, a condition that can lead to deadly gastrointestinal cancer. The study is published in the May 28, 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

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A disagreement between Nancy Allbritton, M.D., Ph.D. and David Lawrence, Ph.D. over which cancer -- breast or prostate -- should be the higher priority in their partnership resulted in two successful NIH grant proposals. Lawrence is taking the lead on a prostate cancer grant while Allbritton leads a breast cancer grant "“ totaling almost $5 million over the next five years.

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There is more medical evidence that pregnant women should steer clear of advice to "eat for two." Alison Stuebe, M.D., at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine, found that women who consumed extra calories, as well as fried foods and dairy, had excessive gestational weight gain. The good news: there are concrete messages care givers can provide to women to prevent unhealthy weight gain.

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Researchers from North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center are combining their expertise to pinpoint the cause of -- and improve treatments for -- non-Hodgkin lymphoma in human and canine patients.