Research
The School of Medicine supports a rich array of outstanding basic, clinical and population research programs, centers, and resources across the translation spectrum. The infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration support highly innovative research that fulfills our goal to positively impact the health of patients and serve the University, the State and beyond.
Research Strategic Priorities
- Guide investment for UNC to achieve national/global leadership in top research thematic areas
- Set clinical departments on a path toward national leadership in research
- Increase engagement with industry as part of an ongoing effort to grow translational and clinical research
- Strengthen the UNC research infrastructure including organization, governance, and administration to ensure UNC School of Medicine research remains at the cutting edge
Year 4 – Key Accomplishments*
- SOM research funding increased to $626,680,505 in FY23 and overall has increased by more than $89M over the last four years and $115.9M over the last five years.
- All basic science departments remain in the top 10 for NIH funding and 11 clinical departments are in the top 30.
- SOM expanded the Physician Scientist Training Program in its third year with the addition of two PSTP fellows and three PSTP faculty awards. The program has supported 17 physician scientists since its inception.
- Forward Together supported the successful hire of three faculty jointly hired by basic and clinical departments to bolster translational research. The SOM officially launched the UNC Clinical Research Alliance (also known as the Academic Research Organization or ARO) to support large multi-site clinical trials.
- The SOM provided funding support to 8 clinical departments for 23 clinician scientists supported by NIH K awards
- Strategic funds supported funding for three Emerging Challenges in Biomedical Research (ECBR) Awards, four Neurospark awards, and three Computational Medicine pilot awards.
- The Program for Precision Medicine in Healthcare created the Clinical Genomic Analysis (GENYSIS) Core Facility which provides bioinformatics support, variant analysis, and post-report clinical services for clinical genomic sequencing research.
- The CRSO selected four new clinical trialist scholars for FY23-24 to provide training for developing new site investigators for multicenter clinical trials
- The SOM received a $25M gift to establish the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute and a $7.5M pledge ($10M total) for the MPS Research and Treatment Center
- $1.14M was invested in support of our core facility infrastructure, including more than $263k in core vouchers.
- $452,631 was invested to support departmental and center shared equipment.
- 13 faculty received $510k in support from SOM Bridge and Boost award programs.
*Year 4 through June 31, 2023
Tracking Implementation Progress – Year 4, Q4
| Priority | Status |
|---|---|
| 1A. Develop vision and plan to guide investment for UNC to achieve national/global leadership in top research thematic areasOn Track | On Track |
| 1B. Set clinical departments on a path towards national leadership in research: establish vision, strategy, expectations | On Track |
| 1C. Increase engagement with industry as part of ongoing effort to grow translational and clinical researchOn Track | On Track |
| 1D. Strengthen the UNC research infrastructure including organization, governance and administration to ensure UNC research advances the cutting edge | On Track |
Research News
Imperative Administration
Jennifer Brennan, PhD
Director, SOM Office of Research
Research Imperative Administrator
The SOM Strategic Plan has provided a vital roadmap to secure continued success and growth across our translational research pipeline. Key strategic programs and infrastructure have received significant resources and the dedicated leadership to monitor our progress and celebrate the success of our research programs.