News

The UNC Department of Genetics achieved a milestone in 2025, becoming the top-ranked Genetics department in the nation for NIH-funded research.

Dr. Will Valdar (Professor, Genetics and Biostatistics), together with Paul Watkins (Pharmacy) and Chengwen Li (Pediatrics), was awarded a new R01 MPI grant from NIDDK for their project titled “Genetic determinants of AAV liver transduction and toxicity”.

Dr. Mark Heise (Professor, Genetics and M&I) was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology Class of 2026.

Dr. Sarah Schoenrock was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics, effective January 1, 2026.

Jon Rosen, PhD, was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics, effective January 15, 2026.

The annual State of the Department presentation from FY25 is available on the intranet page of the Department of Genetics website.  

Recently promoted to full professor, Erin Heinzen, PharmD, PhD, studies the genetic causes of epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders to develop new therapies for children with severe, drug-resistant seizures.

The UNC Department of Genetics is delighted to announce the appointment of Jie Xu, PhD, to the UNC faculty. Dr. Xu joins us as an assistant professor in the Department of Genetics at the UNC School of Medicine and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A new 3D sensor developed at UNC-Chapel Hill and designed to wrap around miniature brain models could give scientists an unprecedented view into human brain activity, accelerating drug discovery and opening new paths for understanding and treating psychiatric and neurological disorders.

The School of Medicine Office of Research sponsors an annual pilot program, Emerging Challenges in Biomedical Research (ECBR), that provides support for innovative, early-stage research relevant to external strategic priorities. The fall 2025 round of funding was focused on advancing translational biomedical research through the use or development of New...