Partnership with NCCU
Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies Cooperative Agreement with NCCU (2010-2020, 2022-2027)
The National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has funded a cooperative agreement between faculties of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and the North Carolina Central University (NCCU). This U54 agreement, “Partnerships to Enhance Alcohol Research Across NCCU and UNC (PEAR-NC),” strengthens alcohol research in North Carolina and promotes excellence and innovation at NCCU in accordance with Executive Order 14283 (4/23/25). The principal investigators at NCCU (Drs. Alex Marshall and Greg Cole) and UNC (Drs. Leon Coleman and Fulton Crews), have contributed to developing alcohol research through cutting-edge science and mentoring of faculty and students. PEAR-NC supports research projects investigating the impact of alcohol on chronic disease including: breast cancer, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, chronic alcohol-induced neuroinflammation, cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, as well chronic herpes virus infection, replication, and reactivation. In addition, this partnership fosters and promotes better opportunities in higher education with these laboratories providing advanced research training for undergraduate and post-graduate students. The PEAR-NC Student Mentoring and Research Experiences Core provides undergraduate summer experiences in biomedical research for NCCU students at UNC, as well as training in the evaluation of scholarly publications and career development opportunities for futures in biomedical research in academia, industry, or government. Together, the PEAR-NC collaborative partnership builds the research infrastructure and development of students at the partner institutions.
The NCCU-UNC partnership benefits from a number of factors that support synergy. The institutions are separated by only 8 miles, allowing students, faculty, and staff to easily meet, work together, and exchange information. UNC-CH is a research-intensive institution ranked among the top NIH-funded universities, with outstanding resources as well as a long tradition of research excellence, including the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, a UNC School of Medicine established alcohol research center with a leading NIH Alcohol Research Center (ARC). NCCU is primarily an undergraduate teaching-intensive university near to Research Triangle Park, which has extensive biomedical research. NCCU faculty have significant teaching requirements, challenging efforts to develop alcohol research programs. PEAR-NC provides an outstanding environment promoting faculty and student experiences in alcohol research, as well as exchange of ideas, seminars, and lectures. PEAR-NC faculty are partnered by overlapping areas of interest through structured collaborations. Faculty and students from both institutions conduct experiments and attend seminars and train graduate and undergraduate students.
In summary the goals of PEAR-NC are to 1. To establish productive alcohol research laboratories through successful collaborations that grow alcohol research in North Carolina. Collaborations involve mentoring, working together, sharing of resources and techniques, joint meetings on data organization and manuscript preparation, and structured review and expectations. 2. To promote top quality research experiences and education on alcohol pathology. Seminar programs, alcohol lectures, research techniques, laboratory meetings as well as training in data organization, manuscript preparation, and publication will improve scholarship and knowledge about alcohol pathologies. These structured mentoring and laboratory experiences will contribute to the development of alcohol research programs, resulting in discoveries and the education of students on alcohol research and health problems associated with alcohol abuse.
Sponsor
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
NCCU Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute