UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases

06/15/2026

A vaccine designed by colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Oxford, targets conserved regions of —those less prone to mutation—making it effective across diverse populations and viral strains of HIV. Our investigators led a new study to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine to boost CD8 , to help the body destroy HIV-infected cells. The results are advancing our understanding of HIV immunology while offering hope that these vaccines could contribute to novel, curative approaches against HIV.

UNC Department of Medicine UNC Health UNC School of Medicine NC Health News

T-cells are the immune system’s frontline defenders with a crucial role in controlling HIV. In a milestone clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine have demo...

06/03/2026

"We're funded to be able to respond if there’s a need, and that would include a repatriated American who has or suspected," said Dr. David Wohl about UNC's Regional Emerging Pathogen Response Center. HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response UNC Department of Medicine

UNC infectious disease expert David Wohl says the Ebola outbreak in the DRC highlights growing gaps in global disease surveillance, response coordination and public health preparedness.

05/22/2026

Lyme disease is no longer up north -- it's here in NC.
Ongoing research in Biltmore Forest found local ticks carrying the bacteria, confirming a real growing risk close to home.



NC Health News UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health UNC Department of Medicine UNC School of Medicine UNC Health

The town of Biltmore Forest has an irregular, oblong shape, hemmed as it is on all sides by natural and manmade barriers: Interstate 40 to the north; Hendersonville Road to the east; the Blue Ridge Parkway to the south; and, to the west, the thick woods of the Biltmore Estate and, beyond it, the Fre...

05/20/2026

Dr. David Wohl explains the ongoing outbreak in this conversation with Contagion Live, emphasizing --from quarantine protocols to monitoring and response.



UNC Department of Medicine HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

David Wohl, MD, provides information on this strain, the quarantine protocols, and what the public should know about when the virus sheds and transmissibilit...

05/15/2026

When people leave prison, they enter one of the highest-risk periods for acquiring HIV, often with the fewest resources and the greatest uncertainty about where to turn for care.

Dr. Lina Rosengren is working to close that gap through the RELEASE study, a first-of-its-kind effort to provide long-acting HIV prevention medication to individuals before they transition back into their communities. In partnership with Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing HIV treatment and prevention, the study combines research, clinical care, and North Carolina’s prison health network to reimagine what continuity of care can look like during one of the most vulnerable moments in a person’s life.

“Gilead has committed to helping us understand and support these individuals with access to one of the most exciting new long-acting medications for PrEP,” says Dr. Rosengren.

Chapel Hill, NC – When people leave prison, they enter one of the highest-risk periods for acquiring HIV—often with the least support, the fewest resources, and the greatest uncertainty about where to turn for care. It’s this critical gap that Lina Rosengren, MD, MPH, an infectious diseases ph...

05/15/2026

05/14/2026

UNC Health specialists are part of a small national network now coordinating the response to . UNC is one of 1️⃣3️⃣ federally designated HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Centers in the country, created to care for patients and manage exactly these kinds of emerging threats. WRAL TV NC Health News UNC Department of Medicine

North Carolina is home to one of just 13 specialized pathogen response centers in the country designed to prepare for rare infectious disease threats and quarantine patients like those infected with hantavirus after a cruise outbreak.