CHER and Abacus Evaluation have been busy this fall! We’ve been out and about, sharing our work and connecting across campus.
We’ve done tabling events, poster presentations and talks. We’ve met and connected with partners, researchers, community members and many other people!
We’re committed to expanding our community – look back with us on recent events:
- Data Science Day
- Employee Appreciation Day
- Core Facilities Showcase (part of University Research Week)
Community + data = better outcomes
Data Science Day 2024, hosted by the School of Data Science and Society, spotlighted data science expertise across campus.
Nader Mehri, a statistician with Abacus led a Short Talk during the Morning Session: “Collaboration with community-based organizations increases the distributed COVID-19 tests.”
The Short Talk highlighted how integrating spatial data with other data can offer new insights for community-engaged program implementation.
Two tables, two ways to connect during Employee Appreciation Day
We had two tables at the Employee Appreciation Day Fair.
We talked with staff and faculty members who, outside of their jobs at Carolina, are working in communities and seeking support and resources.
Rachel Quinto shared her reflections of the day.
“Employee Appreciation Day reminded me of the community we have here at UNC. I’m always just as excited to see familiar faces as I am to meet new people,” she said.
She noted the “fascinating work supporting our students and our communities through education, service and research” that happens around Carolina.
“It’s events like this that remind me of the possibilities of how our center can support people and their work across the university,” Rachel said.
She shared a particular encounter. She was talking with a fellow staff member who supports printing services at Carolina. He stopped at our table to talk about resources and his interest in supporting the community work he does in Durham outside of his job.
“In any other instance working at UNC, we may not have had this opportunity to talk about his community engagement work if it wasn’t for Employee Appreciation Day,” Rachel said.
Those kinds of unexpected conversations keep us excited about being out and about!
First-time reflections from Abacus
This was Abacus Evaluation’s first year at Employee Appreciation Day. Rossana Roberts and Shelly Maras were excited to meet fellow Carolina staff and faculty.
Rossana and Shelly were enthusiastic about sharing the ways Abacus supports researchers as an evaluation and data core facility.
“Our goal was to connect folx with our team that could partner with us for active projects or future ones,” said Shelly. She added, “We shared experiences from working with current and past projects and shared example deliverables.”
Rossana agreed. “We’re already looking ahead to next year. We’re planning ways to bring even more energy to the celebration of Carolina’s staff and faculty. Together, we do great work!”
Connection at the core – Abacus at the Core Facility Showcase
The Core Facilities Showcase is an opportunity for UNC Research Core Facilities to share how they support research at Carolina.
Tara Carr and Jade Hollars represented Abacus. Lots of people stopped by their poster to talk to them about their projects.
“It was great to hear about the different kinds of research efforts. We were able to learn about others’ perspectives on evaluation, too,” said Jade.
Tara and Jade got into the season and shared candy with visitors. They also got to talk to the other cores (over 30!). Many focus on lab-based sciences like chemistry or biomedical research.
The Abacus team was excited about the students they talked to. Many were in the BULLS Life Sciences Academy program. The BULLS program supports “equitable access to careers in life sciences.”
Abacus continues to grow as a core facility. As they grow, they’re building sustainable partnerships with other cores. This means they’re growing the ways they can support Carolina research teams.
Look for CHER and Abacus
Look for Abacus at future tabling events! They’re working on spreading awareness about their work and support they offer.
And look for CHER and Abacus at these coming events:
- NC Research Administration Alliance Conference (Nov 18-19)
- Tar Heal Tuesday (December 3) – tabling in The Pit
- Paul A. Godley Health Equity Research Week (March 24-28)
- Minority Health Conference (Spring 2025)
- Carolina Engagement Week (Spring 2025)