News & Press Releases
January 2022 – Ally Thorson receives Lucas Scholarship Award! Congrats Ally!
The program was named to honor UNC’s Biomedical Engineering Department founding chair, Dr. Carol Lucas, and also to recognize her contributions to the field of biomedical engineering.
New Exciting R01 Grant to Develop a First-in-line Injectable MPT for Prevention of HIV & Unplanned Pregnancy!
https://news.unchealthcare.org/2021/04/benhabbour-receives-3-74-million-to-create-injectable-technology-for-contraception-hiv-prevention/
Isabella Young Receives a Prestigious NSF Predoctoral Fellowship Award & Honorable Mention for the Ford Foundation!
Congrats Isabella!!!
Clinical & Translational Research at UNC Chapel-Hill
The NIH-funded NC TraCS Institute at UNC is a CTSA hub founded as a service to the research community— guiding investigators and study teams through clinical trials and regulatory approval, all the way to implementation … Continued
Carolina Awarded $2.91 Million to Create New Ultra-long-acting HIV Drug Delivery Implant
HIV clinical trials have shown that the protective efficacy of daily antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of HIV transmission correlates with adherence – whether an uninfected person takes the prescribed medication at proper times. But … Continued
AnelleO: 3D Printing to Create Devices for HIV Prevention, Birth Control and Infertility
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, comprising more than half of the estimated 37.9 million people living with the disease. Moreover, according to United Nations AIDS, some regions of the world, … Continued
HIV Drug Delivery Made Easier with Long-Acting Implant
Adherence to a strict HIV regimen is an essential part of effective HIV treatment. Medication should be taken every day, at specific times of the day, and with or without certain kinds of food. Making … Continued
Chapel Hill Startup AnelleO, Founded by UNC Professor, Creating Breakthrough in Women’s Health
Rahima Benhabbour has always been an advocate for women’s health issues. As an assistant professor in the UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering and an adjunct professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, … Continued
Personalized Drug Delivery in 3D
On a mission for innovation and translational science, Rahima Benhabbour is using 3D-printing technology and her startup company AnelleO to create a breakthrough in women’s health.
Carolina Stories
Dr. Soumya Rahima Benhabbour is from the North African country of Morocco where, according to UNAIDS, there has been a 42 percent reduction in new HIV infections since 2010. That’s good news to Benhabbour, whose … Continued
Long-acting Injectable Implant Shows Promise for HIV Treatment and Prevention
The long-acting antiretroviral drug formulation, developed by UNC School of Medicine researchers Rahima Benhabbour, PhD and Martina Kovarova, PhD, is injected under the skin and forms into a solid implant that dissolves slowly to release … Continued
UNC to Create the Next Generation, Ultra-Long-Acting Antiretroviral Formulations for HIV Treatment and Prevention
New project aims to provide long-lasting HIV treatment and/or protection from a single injection. Angela Wahl, PhD, Rahima Benhabbour, PhD, and Martina Kovarova, PhD, are collaborating to lead the work, which is funded by a … Continued
3D Printed Intravaginal Rings to Help Protect Women from HIV Infection and Unintended Pregnancy
Rahima Benhabbour is a woman on an amazing mission. Not only is she a professor at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy University department in Chapel Hill, North Carolina she’s also founder of AnnelleO, a 3D … Continued
UNC KickStart Picks Three Faculty Startups for $89K in Funding
Three faculty-led startups at UNC-Chapel Hill are moving closer to commercialization after receiving more than $89,000 in funding from the university’s KickStart Venture Services program.