2023 School of Medicine Highlights

2023 Faculty Meeting

Faculty from across the UNC School of Medicine gathered in MBRB in January to celebrate their accomplishments and learn the latest from School, University and Hospital leaders. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible and please save the date for our 2024 Faculty Meeting on Feb. 26 in Roper Hall.

All six basic science departments were ranked in the top 10 in National Institutes of Health funding for federal fiscal year 2022, according to a report released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research in February, and 11 clinical departments were ranked in the top 30. The UNC Department of Genetics was ranked first among peer public schools of medicine.

Forward Together: Service to the State

Since 2019, our SOM Strategic Plan, Forward Together, has helped us to move toward our goal of become the nation’s leading public school of medicine. This plan has helped us to serve patients across North Carolina and in April we launched this site to highlight all the ways you and your colleagues are improving the lives of all North Carolinians.

Match Day 2023

For four years, medical students work toward “Match Day” — the day they learn where they will work as resident physicians for the next several years to complete their medical training. On March 17, they gathered at the UNC School of Medicine and opened emails that revealed where they will begin their careers.

2023 Spring Commencement

Thank you to everyone who joined us in May to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2023 at ceremonies across the School of Medicine and congratulations to all our 2023 graduates!

CTSA Receives $70 Million NIH Grant to Build Upon a Robust Translational Science Environment

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has secured a seven-year, $70 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health to accelerate high-impact research that improves human health and advances health equity. The latest grant will provide continued funding for the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TRaCS), the academic hub of the CTSA program at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine.

UNC School of Medicine Launches Clinical Research Alliance

The Clinical Research Alliance will lead the UNC School of Medicine’s coordinating center clinical research enterprise, enabling the SOM’s world class investigators with new capabilities to lead the design and implementation of multi-site clinical research, while making clinical research more streamlined for researchers, industry partners and trial participants.

In September, we announced our new shared strategic plan, Forward Together 2030, a joint effort of UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine. The plan will guide us over the next several years and is focused on improving the experiences of two people – our patients and our teammates.

Members from across the School of Medicine community are also working to craft a new strategic plan, spanning all our mission areas – education, research, clinical care, and service to the state and world. Updates on this work will be shared in 2024.

Roper Hall Opens

The UNC School of Medicine community gathered with elected officials and leaders from UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina System to celebrate the opening of Roper Hall. Named for Bill Roper, MD, the former School of Medicine dean and CEO of UNC Health, the facility offers innovative spaces where students can hone clinical skills and collaborate with learners from across the medical campus and state.

Our most recently admitted Class of 2027, which uses Roper for class, meetings, study space and recreation, stands at 204 learners. As our class size grows, eventually reaching 230 per year, the new space in Roper Hall is there to accommodate them.

Plans Announced for New N.C. Children’s Hospital

Thanks to an initial investment of $320 million approved this fall by the N.C. state legislature, UNC Health announced plans for the new N.C. Children’s Hospital. The freestanding children’s hospital would be the first of its kind in North Carolina, providing the highest levels of care to children without having to leave the state.

Youth Behavioral Hospital Opens

UNC Health celebrated the opening of UNC Hospitals Youth Behavioral Health, a 54-bed facility in Butner, N.C., that will provide acute hospital care for children and teens in psychiatric crisis. The facility opened to serve its first patients in November 2023.

2^nd Annual Staff Summit

In October, our School of Medicine staff gathered at the Friday Center for the 2nd Annual UNC School of Medicine Staff Summit! Thank you to everyone who joined us (including Rameses!!) and thank you for being part of our One Great Team.