The Year in Research

I am incredibly proud of our School of Medicine faculty for all that they have accomplished over the last year."

Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH Executive Dean at the UNC School of Medicine

In fiscal year 2025, UNC School of Medicine researchers led the drive toward important discoveries aimed at improving human health and the lives of people in North Carolina. Our researchers remain dedicated to UNC’s broader research missions by preventing and curing disease, optimizing brain health and well-being, and applying artificial intelligence to benefit and save lives.

Total research funding portfolio in 2025

From July 2024 through June 2025, the UNC School of Medicine research endeavor totaled more than $641 million, including $345 million from the National Institutes of Health.

“I am incredibly proud of our School of Medicine faculty for all that they have accomplished over the last year,” said Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, Executive Dean at the UNC School of Medicine. “In the face of tremendous uncertainty, our faculty doubled down, submitting 15% more proposals this year – often condensing a monthslong process into weeks. Because of their resilience, we closed the year at $641 million in federal research funding, which will translate into discoveries that advance science and accelerate development of innovative treatments to decrease suffering.”

Although the National Institutes of Health funds more than half of UNC School of Medicine, the school also receives research funding from the State of North Carolina, PCORI, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and many nonprofit organizations and private foundations.

The UNC School of Medicine developed and initiated a number of programs this year aimed at expanding infrastructure to help develop innovative breakthroughs, developing and retaining a research workforce to advance basic and translational research to improve patient care, and expanding access to clinical trials and health-related research through broader coordination/synergy across the UNC and the UNC Health organizations.

“I am profoundly grateful to our dedicated faculty, students, fellows, and staff who dedicate themselves to advancing biomedical research to benefit the people of North Carolina and the world. Their contributions to our research mission are invaluable.” said Blossom Damania, PhD, Vice Dean for Research at the UNC School of Medicine and Chief Scientific Officer of UNC Health, the Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The accomplishments of UNC School of Medicine researchers are too many to detail here, but you can find many more the UNC Health Marketing and Communications team covered in our newsroom: news.unchealthcare.org. You can even search by month or topic.

Below we highlight eleven unique research stories from fiscal year 2025 that our UNC Health team covered.

A Novel Multi-Nut Allergy Treatment Study

New sublingual immunotherapies (SLIT) have shown much promise for children allergic to peanuts – a legume grown from seeds planted in the ground — but treatment options for tree nut allergy lag behind.

To address this unmet need, Edwin Kim, MD, MS, division chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and director of the UNC Food Allergy Initiative at the UNC School of Medicine, was awarded a $1-million grant to investigate tree nut allergies in children ages 1-11 years old, with Kim will serving as principal investigator of the three-year research study.

It is the first time cashew and walnut have been tested with SLIT and the first study of the cross-desensitization potential with tree nut SLIT. Kim believes that showing efficacy to foods beyond peanut, and to multiple foods simultaneously, combined with the simplicity and safety of SLIT, could show that SLIT has high potential to be translated into widespread clinical practice.

Edwin Kim, MD, MS

A Personalized Treatment for Young Girls Living with Batten Disease

Yael Shiloh-Malawsky, MD

Batten disease is an inherited, fatal pediatric neurodegenerative disorder in which patients experience loss of abilities; from motor, communication and cognitive decline to vision loss. They also suffer from seizures, anxiety, pain, and systemic effects, such as feeding and breathing difficulties.

In June 2024, the ForeBatten Foundation, a nonprofit that funds juvenile Batten disease research and support for families affected by the disease, launched the “N-of-2” clinical trial: the first in human RNA treatment tailored to a rare mutation of CLN3.

The trial is the culmination of investigational drug development efforts, from laboratory research to manufacturing to establishing a trial protocol, with UNC serving as the study site. Yael Shiloh-Malawsky, MD, a professor of neurology at the UNC School of Medicine, leads the clinical study.

Over the past year, Zebronkysen proved to be well-tolerated and demonstrated benefit for the girls. The drug was created to help restore the function of Amelia and Makenzie’s CLN3 gene ultra rare mutation and prevent further decline.

“After four doses, 12 months from the first dose in June 2024, we have seen an impact that is more positive than what we expected on multiple domains,” said Shiloh-Malawsky. “… We did not expect to see improvement in addition to a slowing of decline, seeing improvements is more than we hoped for.”

The ForeBatten Foundation, Vanguard Clinical Rare Disease Foundation (VCRDF), and the UNC team are working to raise funding to develop treatment for other mutations that cause CLN3 Batten disease to benefit a larger patient population.

A Perspective on Medical Care and Accommodations for Autistic Individuals

Lauren Schiff, MD, is a gynecologic surgeon at the UNC School of Medicine and a mother of an autistic son. Like any dedicated and caring parent, Schiff takes her son to the pediatrician annually for check-ups. But for Schiff’s son, these visits are a series of unpredictable and overwhelming tasks, which cause him to shut down and seeking safety in the corner of the room.

“Through my experiences with my son, it has become very apparent to me that we are set up in ways that make it very challenging for autistic patients to feel comfortable and able to engage in their care in meaningful ways.”

Schiff and Ashley Hester, PhD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine and staff psychologist at UNC’s TEACCH, co-wrote a perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine highlighting the need for improved training and increased comfort in treating autistic people.

The researchers insist that thoughtful care and accommodations can improve healthcare for all, not just those with autism.

Lauren Schiff, MD

Ashley Hester, PhD

Closing Survival Gaps in Endometrial Cancer

Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD

Hazel Nichols, PhD

Unlike most cancers, both incidence and mortality rates for endometrial cancer are rising. It also represents a significant health disparity, with Black women having a five-year survival rate of 63%, compared with 84% for white women.

This year the National Cancer Institute awarded a five-year, $11.2 million Cancer Health Disparities Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Endometrial Cancer grant to cancer researchers Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, and Hazel Nichols, PhD, to help them better understand and improve outcomes for people with endometrial cancer.

UNC Lineberger is one of only 12 institutions nationwide to hold three or more SPORE grants, and the only one in North Carolina. The endometrial cancer SPORE team will build on UNC Lineberger’s Carolina Endometrial Cancer Study (CECS), a statewide, population-based study of more than 1,700 patients. Bae-Jump and Nichols will examine how factors like stress, immune function, metabolism, and gut health contribute to disparities.

“This SPORE grant is an incredible opportunity to transform how we understand and treat endometrial cancer, especially for those most affected by disparities,” Bae-Jump said. “By combining cutting-edge science with real-world community insight, we’re working toward a future where we can offer every woman with endometrial cancer access to better, more personalized care. This, ideally, will result in better outcomes.”

A Communal Effort to Combat Rare Mosquito Disease

In July 2024, rambunctious five-year-old Granger Horney was bed-ridden, vomiting, and experiencing seizures. As his seizures grew more frequent, the family rushed Granger to Mission Hospital in Asheville.

There, he was diagnosed with La Crosse virus, a relatively uncommon mosquito-borne disease found in western North Carolina. While adults are often asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms, children under the age of 18 are more likely to have severe, life-altering symptoms.

After recovery, Granger and his family became participants in the “La Crosse Virus (LACV) Study,” co-led by Ross Boyce, MD, MSc, an infectious disease expert in the UNC School of Medicine. The research involves collecting blood samples from patients and mosquitoes, and even tracking mosquitoes, to develop better diagnostics and treatment strategies for the condition.

“Western North Carolina is particularly affected by this neglected virus,” said Boyce. “Nationally, there’s probably been 60 to 70 cases per year over the past 40 years that we know of. It’s shameful because these are kids we’re talking about here. Kids who are often left with long-term disability. And it feels like, we, as a country should have the knowledge and resources to solve this problem.”

With more samples from courageous children like Granger, researchers studying the La Crosse virus will have the opportunity to develop new diagnostic tools, disease control methods, and potentially vaccines that can reduce the severity of the virus in children living in rural areas across North Carolina.

Western North Carolina is particularly affected by this neglected virus"

Ross Boyce, MD, MSc

A New Way to Reduce Cravings for Alcohol, Heavy Drinking

Klara Klein, MD, PhD

The blockbuster drug semaglutide, better known as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, could also help people cut down on their alcohol intake.

A new study co-led by Klara Klein, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the Department of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the UNC School of Medicine, showed that weekly injections of semaglutide – compared with placebo injections – reduced alcohol craving, drinking quantity and the frequency of heavy drinking days in adults with symptoms of alcohol use disorder.

The discovery, published in JAMA Psychiatry, could help address an important treatment gap in alcohol use disorder. The three drugs currently approved by the FDA to treat alcohol use disorder are under-utilized. But the popularity of Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists could increase the chances of broad adoption of these treatments for the disorder.

UNC Researchers Discover Method to Combat Antibiotic Treatment Failure

Since the 1940s, antibiotics have been our primary weapon against harmful bacterial infections. But some stubborn pathogens, like Staphylococcus aureus, can infect and hide within our own immune cells, making it incredibly difficult for antibiotics to reach and eliminate them.

Brian Conlon, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the UNC School of Medicine, and postdoctoral fellow Kuan-Yi Lu, PhD, have thought outside of the box.

Instead of focusing on stronger antibiotics, the researchers explored ways to alter our own immune cells to help antibiotics work more effectively in the body. Conlon and Lu have identified a small molecule that alters the body’s immune cells, forcing them to “wake up” dormant bacteria within and make them more vulnerable to antibiotic treatment.

As described in a paper in Nature Microbiology, the introduction of the small molecule was effective at helping antibiotics better eliminate the bacteria responsible for staph, tuberculosis, and salmonella infections—three of the most common and serious infections worldwide.

Brian Conlon, PhD

Kuan-Yi Lu, PhD

An Adaptable Treatment for Metastatic Breast Cancer

Developing better treatments for metastatic breast cancer starts with understanding how the cancer evolves over time"

Lisa Carey, MD

Metastatic breast cancer is aggressive and currently incurable. While 6-10% of patients are diagnosed with metastatic, or stage IV, disease, about 15-20% of early-stage breast cancer cases will become metastatic.

This year, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded up to $28 million by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to develop a next-generation clinical trial, one that involves analyzing changes in each patient’s cancer and adapting treatment plans in near real-time.

Lisa Carey, MD, the L. Richardson and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Distinguished Professor for Breast Cancer Research at UNC School of Medicine and the deputy director of clinical sciences at UNC Lineberger, is the study’s lead investigator.

“Developing better treatments for metastatic breast cancer starts with understanding how the cancer evolves over time,” Carey said. “This trial will let us act earlier, modify treatment when resistance begins—not just when symptoms return—and ultimately give patients more time, and better quality of life.”

A Study to Reduce Suicide Risk in Preteen Girls

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in 2020, young girls between the ages of 12–17 sought emergency care at alarmingly high rates due to suicidal thoughts or suspected suicide attempts. Suicide risk for teenage girls has remained historically high since 2020, and researchers have taken notice.

This year, Adam Bryant Miller, PhD and Andrea Pelletier-Baldelli, PhD, both psychiatrists and members of the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program (CHAAMP), were awarded a four-year, $2.5-million grant from the NIMH to investigate how childhood adversity exposure may lead to changes in the social motivation of preteen girls between 8- and 12-years-old.

Their research also involves identifying specific windows of time that girls are more vulnerable to social stressors and what, on a biological level, may explain this sensitivity to social stress. Hormones drive puberty, and this might make girls feel more vulnerable emotionally.

“…We hope this investigation into social motivation as new risk factors will help youth, their families, friends, and clinicians gain insight into how suicidal thoughts and behaviors develop in preteen girls,” said Pelletier-Baldelli.

Adam Bryant Miller, PhD

Andrea Pelletier-Baldelli, PhD

We hope this investigation into social motivation as new risk factors will help youth..."

Andrea Pelletier Baldelli, PhD

The Effects of Global Warming on Human Airways

Brian Button, PhD

Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico, PhD

This isn’t just a lab experiment — it’s a glimpse into how breathing hotter and drier air can result in more asthma flare-ups..."

Brian Button, PhD

As global temperatures climb due to climate change, air dryness in the atmosphere and water evaporation from ecosystems worldwide will have profound effects on both plant and human life.

Published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment this year, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins revealed how decreased humidity associated with global warming could exacerbate respiratory diseases by dehydrating and inflaming human airways, potentially worsening conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“This isn’t just a lab experiment — it’s a glimpse into how breathing hotter and drier air can result in more asthma flare-ups, worse allergies, and tougher breathing for millions of individuals,” said Brian Button, PhD, professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who is senior author on the paper. “It’s a public health red flag we can’t ignore.”

Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico, PhD, assistant professor of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, found that airway dehydration is a critical mechanism that links climate change to worsening lung health in susceptible individuals.

An Ultrasound Treatment for Essential Tremor

Essential tremor, a neurological condition that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking, can be so profound that typical life tasks become difficult to accomplish.

Neurosurgeons can perform a highly technical, incisionless focused ultrasound procedure to ablate (or inactivate) the diseased tissue in the brain. Although highly successful, some patients have significant tremors or a tremor originating from both sides of the brain. So, one course might not be enough to keep their symptoms under control.

A new study published in JAMA Neurology this year, co-led by Vibhor Krishna, MD, associate professor in the UNC Department of Neurosurgery, was the largest yet to assess whether bilateral magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is safe and effective for patients receiving the procedure. Clinical data from the trial was used for the approval of bilateral focused ultrasound thalamotomy by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Following the clinical trial, Krishna and other researchers in the field are exploring the possibility of using staged bilateral focused ultrasound treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.