Scholarly Activity
All of our fellows are expected to engage in research or other scholarly activity, including presentations at national meetings and publication of manuscripts. Our fellows have the opportunity to work with nationally recognized experts both within the division and from the wider UNC scientific community, and can choose projects that are basic science, translational, or clinical research.
Our fellows have pursued a wide variety of scholar projects. Recent fellowship projects include:
| Project | Fellow | Primary Mentor |
| Community Health Worker Screening for Asthma in a Resource-Poor Community in Nicaragua | Mary Crocker | Sylvia Becker-Drepps |
| Race, BMI, and asthma control in an equal access to care population. | Marcia Frye | Ceila Loughlin |
| Effect of methylprednisolone pre-treatment on neutrophil production of interferon-gamma during pneumonia in mice. | Olivia Giddings | Claire Doerschuk |
| Relationship Between Chronic Airway Infection And Clinical Outcomes In Children With Tracheostomy. | Catherine Sanders | Charles Esther |
| Influence of bacteria on F508del CFTR correction by VX-809. | Jennifer Guimbellot | Martina Gentzsch |
| Implementation of the pediatric asthma smart form in Epic. | Keith Robinson | Tom Lahari |
| Overweight and obesity may alter immune response to influenza vaccine in children. | Justin Paulson | Terry Noah |
| Relationship of sleep to pulmonary function in mucopolysaccharidosis II. | Will Wooten | Joseph Meunzer |
| Antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular typing of MRSA in cystic fibrosis. | Elizabeth Champion | Marianne Muhlebach |
| Exhaled breath condensate purines correlate with lung function in infants and preschoolers. | Kavita Patel | Charles Esther |
| Laterality defects other than situs inversus totalis in primary ciliary dyskinesia: insights into situs ambiguus and heterotaxy. | Adam Shapiro | Margaret Leigh |
Grant Support Opportunities
Our fellows are strongly encouraged to apply for grants during fellowship, though this is not required for continued training. Our program has a strong track record of obtaining clinical fellowship grants from the CF Foundation, including highly competitive 3rd and 4th-year clinical fellowships. In addition, our program is supported by a T32 award from the NIH that is shared between adult and pediatric programs and represents an excellent mechanism for those interested in careers as a physician scientist.
In addition, there are several smaller grant mechanisms that can be utilized to support fellowship research projects including the NC Children’s Promise awards, small grants from NC Translational and Clinical Science (NC TraCS), and awards from the NC Global Health Initiative.
Mentorship
Excellent mentorship is key towards developing a successful academic career, and the UNC pediatric pulmonology division faculty includes internationally recognized experts who have extensive experience in mentoring trainees. In addition, fellows can seek expert mentorship with faculty from several research institutes or centers at UNC, including:
Marsico Lung Institute (formerly Cystic Fibrosis and Pulmonary Diseases Research and Treatment Center)