Category: CIDD News

Tune into the Exceeding Expectations with Kenneth Kelty podcast.  Mr. Kelty is a CIDD Disability Advocate, who is passionate about disability activism and expanding postsecondary education opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. On his Exceeding Expectations podcast, he interviews trailblazers and leaders in the field. In honor of...

Dr. Diana Cejas, Associate Professor of Neurology and Dual appointment with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 AMWA Inspire Award by the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA). This prestigious award celebrates accomplished women in medicine who exemplify the highest values of...

Please join us Wednesday, December 10th from Noon to 1:15 PM for the next CIDD Community Talk Webinar, “Parenting with a Disability.”  A discussion lead by Chris Hendricks – parent, musician, and professional advocate with lived experiences – and other North Carolina parents with disabilities who share their experiences as...

North Carolina public health officials and people living with disabilities took time to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. The landmark legislation was passed on July 26, 1990, to expand access and opportunity for all Americans with disabilities. The celebration on July 24...

Please join us for a seminar celebrating the outstanding recipients of the 2024-25 Yang Family Biomedical Scholars Awards, including Jason Stein, PhD, associate professor of Genetics and member of the UNC Neuroscience Center and Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities.  These annual awards highlight the accomplishments of recently tenured SOM faculty...

CIDD’s Kenneth Kelty is featured in Spectrum News. ‘We’re in a crisis’: North Carolina lawmaker, advocates call for disability support in budget. The NC waitlist for Innovations Waivers has almost 19,000 people on it, and it’s growing. Governor Josh Stein is pushing for more funding for waiver spots in the...

On May 1, 2025, Joseph Piven, MD, the Thomas E. Castelloe Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine and director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society for Autism Research. The award, the most prestigious honor in the...

Join us Wednesday, May 14 at 12PM for the next Community Talk Webinar, “Explaining North Carolina’s New Adult Guardianship Law & Tools for Greater Choice & Self-Determination.” Melissa C. Black is a Community Engagement Disability Specialist at UNC’s School of Social Work, focusing on enhancing resources for individuals with disabilities....

Gabriel Dichter, Associate Director for Research at the CIDD, has been awarded an exploratory grant from NICHD to study linkages between brain functioning and the immune system in autism. The project builds on pilot data collected by Kaitlin Cummings, a clinical psychology graduate student in Dichter’s lab. In addition to...

The University of North Carolina has been awarded $2.2 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA MCHB) to be one of eleven National Transition for Youth with Autism (4 grants) and/or Epilepsy (7 grants) Demonstration Projects.  CIDD community members who contributed to the...

The late Phillip Hettleman, a member of the Carolina class of 1921, and his wife established the award in 1986 to recognize junior faculty members who demonstrate groundbreaking and innovative research along with future career promise. The recipients of the $8,000 prize will be honored at an upcoming Faculty Council...

HEELS 2 Transition (H2T) at UNC offers a variety of programs to support young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities toward a self-determined life. These range from the HEELS Prep summer transition program, the HEELS UP postsecondary education program, as well as other programs focusing on daily life skills development....