About the Research Training Programs

The UNC Department of Psychiatry has a long and illustrious tradition of mentorship and preparing residents for academic careers.  Historically, many of the leaders of academic psychiatry on a national and international level have come from the UNC training program.  A wide array of world-class resources, facilities, and faculty are available to support research within UNC and affiliated programs, and provide extensive training opportunities.

Residency Research Training Program

The research training component of the General Psychiatry Residency Program is designed to provide progressive and intensive research training and experience to residents, in preparation for an academic career.  The curriculum emphasizes established and evolving knowledge relevant to the practice of psychiatric medicine, application of this knowledge to patient care, critical analysis of psychiatric literature and scientific evidence, and issues relevant to career development.  The Research Training Program provides an in-depth opportunity for didactic and experiential training in research methodology and academic career development.

Training opportunities are available in a wide range of clinical and neuroscientific disciplines, including descriptive phenomenology, epidemiology, clinical psychopharmacology, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, neuroimaging, epidemiologic and molecular genetics, behavioral and molecular pharmacology, molecular and developmental neurobiology.  Independently, or in conjunction with the NIMH-funded Cinical Research Fellowship, research training at UNC provides a sound basis for an academic and research-oriented career.

Clinical Research Fellowship

Research fellowships in clinical and applied neuroscience are intended for psychiatrists who have completed their residency training.  Exceptional candidates entering their fourth year of training will be considered.  Fellowships for PhD-trained individuals are also available.

Fellows actively participate in ongoing research and self-initiated studies, and a wide range of educational activities, including individual and group tutorials, courses on research design, statistics, grant-writing, career development and bioethics, a journal club, and other seminars and lectures.

Fellowships may be available in the following areas:

• Neuroimaging;
• Psychopharmacology;
• Reproductive Psychiatry;
• Stress and Health;
• Translational Neuroscience and Pharmacology;
• Psychotic Disorders;
• Mood Disorders;
• Eating Disorders.