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(10/21/09 3:37am)
As the swine flu vaccine enters the state in waves, UNC-system schools and local health departments are trying to determine how the limited supply of vaccines could best be distributed.There is no official policy for how the vaccine should be distributed, but it will be based on population and the number of people considered high-risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Amy Caruso, public information officer for the N.C. immunization branch of the Division of Public Health.Last week, North Carolina received 52,000 doses of the nasal spray vaccine from federal providers. Local health departments are allocating those vaccines to universities and doctors’ offices.UNC-system schools have requested different amounts of the vaccine depending on their vaccination targets.Some schools are trying to vaccinate their entire student and staff population, while others are only trying to vaccinate those that lie within the CDC high-risk groups.Currently there is no systemwide mandate for who should receive the vaccines, said Brent Herron, associate vice president of campus safety and emergency operations for the UNC system.“Each person has to make a decision about what they want to do,” Herron said.But the requested amounts will be filled gradually.“They wont get everything at one time. They will get a certain amount at a certain time and they will continue to get more as more supply is available,” Herron said.Appalachian State University requested — and expects — only 700 doses of the vaccine, the number of standard vaccines it receives during a normal flu season.Because the vaccine can only be given to healthy students, the goal is to protect people with a high chance of contracting H1N1 by vaccinating the low-risk students, according to ASU’s Student Health Service.But East Carolina University requested 30,000 doses — enough for vaccinating all students, faculty and staff.UNC-Chapel Hill is doing the same. Campus Health Services ordered more than 30,000 doses — one for each student, faculty member and staff member, said Mary Covington, assistant vice chancellor of Campus Health Services. Weekly shipments will contain 1,500 to 2,000 doses, she said.Although the vaccine is coming in gradually, federal providers have assured health care professionals that requests will be met.“The number of providers that showed interest in providing the vaccine will be able to,” Caruso said.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/07/09 3:00am)
After almost a century, the relationship between the UNC system and the N.C. High School Athletic Association is coming to a bittersweet end.When the UNC system mandated 900 administrative cuts earlier this year, it also told the association to cut a position.The association’s board of directors didn’t feel that the association could serve its best interests while obeying the mandate, so the two decided together to sever ties.“You can’t serve two masters. We can’t have the University telling us to do one thing and our board of directors telling us to do another,” said Charlie Adams, executive director of the association.“We only have 16 people total with six administrators. With 150,000 boys and girls and 24 sports over 386 schools, we just didn’t feel like we could lose any administrators,” Adams said.The association is not funded by the UNC system. Costs, including the salaries of its 16 employees, are covered with revenue from ticket sales, corporate sponsors and membership dues, Adams said.“We pay our own way. There is no University money going into our program” he said. The association coordinates all of the playoff and championship games for the state’s public high schools.“Whether it’s through UNC, N.C. State or ECU, it’s already coordinated for us by the association,” said Tod Morgan, athletic director at Chapel Hill High School.The termination of the 97-year relationship will not affect University or high school students, Adams said. High school teams will continue to use University facilities when needed.“We will still be playing as many of our championships here as we can,” Morgan said.The University created the association in 1913 to standardize eligibility and playing rules for high school sports throughout the state and to coordinate high school conferences’ playoff and championship game venues.High school superintendents took over in 1947, but the association and UNC system remained closely associated for the past six decades. The 16 association employees still hope to receive state retirement and benefit plans, even though they might not qualify without the affiliation with the UNC system.The split comes just months before Adams leaves his position, which he has held since 1967. But Adams said the split is not related to him stepping down.“I think it has more to do with the times, the tough economy, layoffs and the University being under scrutiny for doing the things they are responsible for,” he said.“I guess maybe the shelf life ran out on us.”Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/30/09 5:58am)
The UNC system is reaping the benefits of its focus on research.The 16 universities have generated more than 400 inventions and 272 patents in the past few years, which include advances in agriculture, medicine and industry.Research projects also mean big money. In 2007, patents and inventions from four UNC-system schools alone brought in close to $3 million for the system. The UNC system receives the third-most research funding in the country among public university systems. That funding constitutes up to 15 percent of its annual operating budget.More than 90 percent of the total funding goes to the system’s two main research universities — UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University, said Steven Leath, vice president of research for the UNC system. That’s up from about 80 percent in 2008.The rest is predominately centered at East Carolina University, N.C. Agricultural & Technical University, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro.The funding for research at UNC-CH reflects the University’s recognition of the importance of research. Last year, UNC brought in $716 million in research grants and contracts, up 5.6 percent from last year and nearly double what was spent a decade ago, said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development.In 2007 alone, 113 inventions were disclosed and 72 patents were filed.“It reflects the high quality of faculty, staff and students who write these funded proposals that have them compete and be more successful than many of our peer institutions,” Waldrop said.Beyond dollars and cents But the benefits go beyond financial gain, administrators say.“The revenue brought in by these inventions and patents is not the only measuring stick by which success should be measured,” said Billy Houghteling, director of the office of technology transfer at NCSU.“Our job is to improve life for Carolinians in general. These patents and inventions also generate jobs from the startup companies … as well as provide products that improve the quality of life for North Carolina residents,” he said.One of the most notable innovations is SmartFresh technology, which generates more revenue for the UNC system than any other product, Leath said.SmartFresh is used by commercial produce growers, packer-shippers and distributors to maintain the freshness, quality and flavor of their produce. It’s patented to NCSU biochemistry professor Edward Sisler and NCSU Department of Horticultural Science associate dean Sylvia Blankenship.The technology protects produce from a natural ripener by preventing further ripening after harvesting. One of UNC-CH’s most well-known products is Stasilon, a surgical textile produced by UNC-CH startup company Entegrion.The product is a surgical pad designed to stop bleeding by improving the rate of blood clot formation.Intended for use by the military and emergency responders, Stasilon is currently used on a daily basis in a variety of surgical applications as well as in UNC Hospital’s burn unit.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/30/09 4:36am)
The UNC system is reaping the benefits of its focus on research.The 16 universities have generated more than 400 inventions and 272 patents in the past few years, which include advances in agriculture, medicine and industry.Research projects also mean big money. In 2007, patents and inventions from four UNC-system schools alone brought in close to $3 million for the system. The UNC system receives the third-most research funding in the country among public university systems. That funding constitutes up to 15 percent of its annual operating budget.More than 90 percent of the total funding goes to the system’s two main research universities — UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University, said Steven Leath, vice president of research for the UNC system. That’s up from about 80 percent in 2008.The rest is predominately centered at East Carolina University, N.C. Agricultural & Technical University, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro.The funding for research at UNC-CH reflects the University’s recognition of the importance of research. Last year, UNC brought in $716 million in research grants and contracts, up 5.6 percent from last year and nearly double what was spent a decade ago, said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development.In 2007 alone, 113 inventions were disclosed and 72 patents were filed.“It reflects the high quality of faculty, staff and students who write these funded proposals that have them compete and be more successful than many of our peer institutions,” Waldrop said.Beyond dollars and cents But the benefits go beyond financial gain, administrators say.“The revenue brought in by these inventions and patents is not the only measuring stick by which success should be measured,” said Billy Houghteling, director of the office of technology transfer at NCSU.“Our job is to improve life for Carolinians in general. These patents and inventions also generate jobs from the startup companies … as well as provide products that improve the quality of life for North Carolina residents,” he said.One of the most notable innovations is SmartFresh technology, which generates more revenue for the UNC system than any other product, Leath said.SmartFresh is used by commercial produce growers, packer-shippers and distributors to maintain the freshness, quality and flavor of their produce. It’s patented to NCSU biochemistry professor Edward Sisler and NCSU Department of Horticultural Science associate dean Sylvia Blankenship.The technology protects produce from a natural ripener by preventing further ripening after harvesting. One of UNC-CH’s most well-known products is Stasilon, a surgical textile produced by UNC-CH startup company Entegrion.The product is a surgical pad designed to stop bleeding by improving the rate of blood clot formation.Intended for use by the military and emergency responders, Stasilon is currently used on a daily basis in a variety of surgical applications as well as in UNC Hospital’s burn unit.Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.