Research Initiatives and Funding Opportunities
The BCAS faculty and labs participate in several programs at UNC dedicated to broadening science representation, including:
The goal of the Carolina Fellows Program is to promote undergraduate research, scientific communication, peer mentoring and preparation for graduate school in STEM. Undergraduate students from underrepresented populations receive mentoring from UNC faculty.
The UNC Science and Math Achievement and Resourcefulness Track (SMART) offers summer research opportunities for underrepresented minority college students to gain research experience.
The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development is made possible by an NIH grant awarded to UNC-CH that provides financial, academic, and professional support for students from historically underrepresented ethnic and socioeconomic populations who are interested in pursuing a PhD in biomedical sciences. The program is comprised of a community of over 70 PhD students from ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sciences.
The UNC PREP Program supports training of post-baccalaureate underrepresented science students for a full year after college, so they will be more competitive for PhD programs in science.
The UNC SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program has a mission to support STEM research and teaching in academia and to increase diversity in STEM professions. Our SPIRE postdocs teach at four local historically Black universities while conducting research in UNC in our labs with our mentorship.