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The purpose of the Caregivers at Carolina (“Caregivers”) program is to support the research productivity and retention of early career physician scientists facing substantial family caregiving responsibilities. The program provides supplemental research funds to support a research technician or buy-out of clinical time during a transient period when family caregiving demands are high. All applicants, regardless of whether they receive the funding, are part of a ‘Caregivers cohort’ — the program facilitates networking, research collaborations, and social and informational support. The program ensures that the Caregivers cohort has facilitated access to career development opportunities.

In 2016, the UNC School of Medicine was one of only 10 academic medical schools in the country to receive funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to develop an experimental program designed to retain physician scientists in research who are facing substantial caregiving demands at home. The program at UNC was named Caregivers at Carolina and is directed by Amelia F. Drake, MD, FACS, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, and Susan Girdler, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Chair of Faculty Development. The Caregivers program submitted a competitive renewal in 2020 and was one of the institutions that received an additional three years of funding extending through 2023.

Eligibility: Instructors, Assistant Professors, and Associate Professors (in their first year) holding MD or DO degrees with an active medical license who have substantial caregiving demands at home and are currently funded to conduct clinical research are eligible. Physician scientists from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.