About CRA
We’re committed to establishing evidence-based knowledge that improves clinical practice and community health.
Better
Research
Together
Who We Are
The Clinical Research Alliance (CRA) partners with UNC investigators, government agencies, industry partners, and foundations to serve as UNC School of Medicine’s hub for leading and coordinating multi-site clinical trial research.
As both an academic research organization and clinical coordinating center, we leverage the resources and reach of UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health to coordinate and streamline the clinical trial process. The Alliance provides an avenue for sponsors to engage the outstanding faculty and facilities at UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health.
How We Work: Collaboration
The Carolina Way
As one of the preeminent public universities for research, UNC-Chapel Hill is home to leading experts in the fields of medicine, public health, health services, and human subjects research. We owe much of our success to doing things The Carolina Way – a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and sustained excellence that guides all aspects of our work.
The CRA exemplifies this spirit by working to build partnerships across UNC, government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, research foundations, community organizations, and underrepresented populations.
Creating Partnerships
Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the CRA enjoys close proximity to leading academic research centers and more than 300 companies on the cutting edge of technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical product development. This enables us to form diverse and impactful partnerships that advance evidence-based knowledge and share research discoveries that improve community health in North Carolina and beyond.
Patient Partners
UNC Health treats and cares for every patient who comes through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay, providing all members of our community with equitable, compassionate, and respectful care across the state of North Carolina. As leaders in research, we are able to provide the latest in evidence-based medicine to our communities. This evidence comes from research, making it important that all populations are represented so that research addresses community priorities and concerns, and research findings apply to those we serve.
The CRA works closely with our clinicians and UNC programs such as NC TraCS Engagement Services and Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER), and the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER),to ensure communities are engaged partners in clinical research, informing research priorities and representing all populations we serve.
Global Reach
Through our partnerships provided by the NIAID-funded Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG), led by Joseph Eron, MD, our community extends beyond NC, setting standards of care and improving the lives of people with HIV across the globe. Voices for those affected by HIV, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases (including COVID-19 and mpox) are represented at the national, international, and local levels through ACTG community advisory boards, which supports community outreach, education, and participation in research, and represents community concerns directly to ACTG leadership and researchers.
Government Partners
CRA partners with faculty who have long-standing relationships with several of the institutes within NIH. Our staff also has knowledge and experience in working with FDA and meeting its reporting requirements. Beginning Dec 2025, the CRA will serve as the NIAID-funded ACTG Leadership and Operations Center, with Joseph Eron, MD as Chair. The ACTG network has enrolled over 47,000 participants, conducted over 3,000 trials in over 60 sites across 4 continents and 15 countries.
University Partners
UNC: Enlisting the full breadth of UNC’s research capabilities and operations.
Research Organization Partners
By partnering with both Contract and Academic Research Organizations (AROs, CROs), we are able to expand expertise and resources needed to perform clinical research across the state and globe.
