UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

10/16/2026

Are you ready to mentor the next generation of public health professionals?

UNC Gillings School Master of Public Health students are currently seeking Spring and Summer 2027 practicum opportunities. Alumni and partner organizations can play an important role by hosting MPH students and supporting them as practicum preceptors.

Practicum experiences give students the opportunity to apply what they are learning while contributing to meaningful public health work under the guidance of experienced professionals across public health, health care, government, nonprofit and private-sector settings.

Students can support a wide range of projects and deliverables, including:
- Program evaluation
- Data analysis
- Policy briefs and advocacy tools
- Surveys and assessment tools
- Community engagement initiatives
- Health communication materials
- Logic models, reports and presentations

New and returning preceptors interested in hosting a student are encouraged to begin planning now! Spring 2027 opportunities should be shared in early fall, while Summer 2027 recruitment typically continues through early spring.

Visit our Preceptor Information page to review recruitment periods, learn more about hosting a student and submit a practicum opportunity: https://sph.unc.edu/resource-pages/mph-practicum-preceptor-information/

10/14/2026

What will it take to make the future of food healthier?

This week, the Gillings School welcomed Dr. Anna Maria Siega-Riz, dean of the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences and recipient of a 2026 University Distinguished Alumni Award, for the Dean’s Lecture Series on “The Future of Food.”

An alum of Gillings' nutrition department, Dr. Siega-Riz spoke with students, faculty and alumni about why food is a public health issue, and how nutrition, access, policy and prevention shape health across the lifespan.

After the lecture, she joined Dean Nancy Messonnier and Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis, dean of The Graduate School at UNC and Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine at Gillings, for a conversation about where nutrition is headed and what public health can do next.

We’re grateful for an afternoon centered on a universal question: How can we help more people eat well?

10/12/2026

For Leah Frerichs, service starts with listening. Even to 16-year-olds. Even when they tell her she’s wrong.

That approach has shaped her work across areas as diverse as youth mental health, insurance coverage and colorectal cancer screening: Start with the people closest to the problem, listen carefully and build solutions with them rather than for them.

This , Carolina is honoring Dr. Frerichs — a faculty member in the Gillings School's Department of Health Policy and Management and associate director of UNC’s Center for Thriving Communities — with the 2026 Edward Kidder Graham Faculty Service Award.

Her work with Project GRACE in rural eastern North Carolina offers one example of her service. When high school students kept steering conversations about physical activity back to stress and peer conflict, she listened. The group ultimately co-created a different intervention centered on what students said they actually needed.

Experiences like that have shaped what Dr. Frerichs teaches Carolina graduate students: Build relationships. Show up reliably and be honest. Slow down. Share power. And expect to be corrected — sometimes by a 16-year-old.

October 8, 2026 The 2026 faculty service award winner tackles complex health challenges with community partners while training Carolina students to do the same.

10/10/2026

North Carolina has spent nearly 40 years building a nationally recognized early childhood system. Dr. Iheoma Iruka says the next 40 should start with a harder question: Who is that system working for?

In a new EdNC perspective, Dr. Iruka — a professor of maternal and child health at the Gillings School — argues that strengthening early childhood systems requires looking beyond average outcomes to examine community-based differences in classroom quality, special education access, family partnership, discipline and workforce conditions.

Her research shows why that matters: Children can experience progress in one part of the system while still facing inequities in another. She also makes the points that supporting children means supporting the caregivers, educators and families around them.

Read her full perspective in EdNC:

Dr. Iruka writes on the importance of considering equity in early childhood, understanding both the history and current needs of families.

10/09/2026

A breast cancer walk in Charlotte is helping fuel research at Carolina.

This year’s Susan G. Komen MORE THAN PINK Walk will support efforts to address breast cancer across North Carolina — including a $200,000 Leadership Grant awarded to Dr. Melissa Troester of the UNC Gillings School. (The award brings Komen’s total investment in Dr. Troester's lab to $1 million.)

Her research examines how immune cells and cancer cells interact inside tumors, with the goal of better understanding what drives breast cancer progression. That work matters immensely in a state where breast cancer remains a major public health challenge and where racial disparities in outcomes persist.

Read more:

Charlotte's Komen walk lands at a historic stadium — and the state's cancer numbers show why it matters.

10/08/2026

Health insurance costs are expected to rise again in 2027, and UNC Gillings' Dr. Jonathan Oberlander says consumers may feel the increase in more than one place.

“[People] can expect to pay more,” he told CNBC. “Not just in terms of premiums — but also in terms of deductibles and copayments.”

The story looks at several pressures behind rising costs, including higher employer health spending and proposed premium increases in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Oberlander also notes that most ACA enrollees receive subsidies that protect them from the full effect of premium increases, while people without that assistance may face much steeper costs.

Read more:

Many consumers are likely on the hook for an increase of about 10% or more in 2027, experts said.

10/07/2026

A little love in a lunchbox can go a long way.

Dr. Iheoma Iruka of the Gillings School explains why small gestures — like a drawing, joke or sticker tucked in with lunch — can help children feel connected to home during the school day.

“Most kids truly appreciate a small act of love in their lunches,” she says. And the benefit goes both ways. “A special treat or family joke in a lunchbox can be an opportunity for parents and kids to connect,” she adds. “It can make them feel closer, even when they’re spending much of the day apart.”

Supporting children’s well-being doesn’t always require a big intervention. Sometimes, it’s a silly doodle on a napkin. 🩵

Read more: https://www.parents.com/lunchbox-surprises-for-kids-12147295

I wanted something extra special to put in my daughter’s lunchbox, so I asked all the parents in my circle for tips. Some surprised even me.

10/06/2026

Drones can move medical supplies quickly, but getting medicines to patients takes more than transportation.

A new randomized trial led by researchers at the UNC Gillings School found that drone delivery to remote health facilities in Madagascar did not significantly reduce shortages of most essential medicines or increase contraceptive use.

The reason wasn’t that the drones didn’t work. They did — completing more than 1,500 successful flights to extremely hard-to-reach facilities. The bigger challenge was the health system around them: inventory tracking, forecasting, ordering, procurement and knowing when shortages were about to happen.

The study, led by Drs. Tara Templin and Katherine Tumlinson with collaborators in Madagascar, underscores an important lesson for public health innovation: New technology can help, but it works best when the systems around it are strong enough to use it well.

September 30, 2026 Findings from UNC Gillings researchers highlight the need to pair faster transportation with stronger inventory management, forecasting and procurement to help essential medicines reach patients.

10/05/2026

Gillings alum Amanda Kwong knows that public health communication isn't just about sharing information. It's about building trust.

In the latest installment of The Pivot, Amanda shares how she moved from advertising and brand strategy into public health leadership, and how her time at Gillings helped her connect strategic messaging, human behavior and health outcomes.

Today, as director of the Public Health Communications Collaborative, she develops evidence-based tools and trainings that help public health practitioners communicate clearly despite noise, misinformation and uncertainty. Her guiding principle is simple: Clear and empathetic communication is vital to protecting communities and improving health.

Read her full interview:

Amanda Kwong equips public health practitioners with the tools to build trust and support well-being. What’s your role in public health? As the director of the Public Health Communications Collaborative... Read more »

10/03/2026

New research is adding to what we know about ultra-processed foods and long-term health.

A large review of 51 studies involving more than 8.8 million adults found that people who ate more ultra-processed foods tended to have higher rates of several chronic health conditions and early death.

In Everyday Health, the Gillings School's Dr. Lindsey Smith Taillie offers a practical takeaway: This isn’t about eating "perfectly." Instead, she suggests making more room for less-processed foods — like fruits and vegetables, beans, rice, pasta, plain meats and dairy — when possible.

A new research analysis pooled data from 51 studies to evaluate the impact of ultra-processed foods on disease risk across a variety of serious health conditions from heart disease to depression.