Investment in Carolina's research enterprise grew in FY24,
with significant increases in funding from private
organizations and federal agencies.
CHAPEL
HILL, N.C., July 30,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The numbers are in and research
at Carolina continues to grow. This is the fifth year in a row that
research awards have topped $1
billion, facilitating research projects and experiments for
external sponsors like federal agencies, industry partners, and
nonprofit organizations.
"These new award totals are a testament to the dedication of our
researchers who push the boundaries of knowledge in their fields,"
said Interim Chancellor Lee H.
Roberts. "I'm thrilled to see our continued excellence in
the health sciences recognized with new funding, and equally
encouraged to see recognition of our burgeoning efforts in clean
technology, data science and other cutting-edge research. The
work reflected by this milestone is changing lives across our
state, country and world."
Research at UNC-Chapel Hill employs
over 10,700 North Carolinians in research projects that span all
100 counties. As most research funding comes from outside of the
state, it represents new revenue for North Carolina's gross state product, and
spending on research supports over 3,200 businesses across the
state.
At a crucial moment for our state, Carolina received a rapid
increase in federal funding during the pandemic to tackle the many
public health issues caused by COVID-19. While much of that funding
has waned, sponsorships and grants in other areas of impactful
research have put the University on a strong upward trajectory.
"If you take a deep look at the big awards the University
attracted this year, it's obvious that the secret to our success
lies in our interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to finding
solutions that benefit society," said Vice Chancellor for Research
Penny Gordon-Larsen. "I'm pleased to
see this approach pay off with federal funding for projects
addressing cognitive and women's health and others that will
harness enabling technologies in data and applied science.
Additionally, new private funding will allow us to expand our
global reach."
Funding Breakdown
Funding from federal sources accounted for about 65% of all
research awards for FY24, with grants from education and research
institutes (9.3%), North Carolina
government (8.5%), business and industry (6%), and foundations
(5.6%) rounding out the rest of Carolina's funding figures.
Top federal sponsors of research at Carolina include:
- National Institutes of Health (NIH): $592 million
- Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS): $60 million
- National Science Foundation (NSF): $40
million
- Department of Education (DOED): $23
million
- Department of Defense (DOD): $21
million
- U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): $17 million
Federally Funded Projects
Notable federally funded projects include:
- $49,263,974 from the NIH National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the Renaissance
Computing Institute for the NHLBI Data Stage Coordinating Center
with Ashok Krishnamurthy as
principal investigator (PI). This effort began under Stan Ahalt, dean of the School of Data
Science and Society.
- $19,381,451 from the NIH Office
of the Director to the Department of Genetics within
the School of Medicine for the Center for Linkage and
Acquisition of Data with Melissa
Haendel as PI.
- $6,815,660 from the Department of
Energy to the Department of Chemistry within the College of
Arts and Sciences for the Center for Hybrid Approaches to Solar
Energy for Liquid Fuels with Gerald
Meyer and Jillian Dempsey as
CO-PIs.
- $5,921,635 from the NSF to the
Graduate School for the NSF Graduate Research
Fellowship Program.
- $8,847,366 from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to the Department
of Epidemiology within the Gillings School of Global Public
Health for the Atlantic Coast Center for Infectious Disease
Dynamics and Analytics with Justin
Lessler as PI.
- $5,000,000 from the Department of
Agriculture to the Department of Maternal and Child Health within
Gillings for a project that recognizes and addresses maternal
warning signs for morbidity during pregnancy and the postpartum
period with Dorothy Cilenti as
PI.
Privately Funded Projects
The University also received an influx of donations from private
organizations to support global research. The Bloomberg Family
Foundation awarded $19 million to the
Carolina Population Center for the UNC Global Food Research
Program, which works to reduce diet-related disparities and create
a more healthful food system and food environment by working with
partners around the world.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $5.45 million to the Division of Global Women's
Health within the School of Medicine, a group of clinicians,
researchers, and public health professionals working to improve the
health of women in impoverished countries.
Centers and Institutes
Carolina's centers and institutes garnered significant funding
for projects, including the renewal of funding ($8.9 million) for the North Carolina
Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute within the School of
Medicine. The Carolina Population Center was funded by the NIH
National Institute on Aging for two studies ($6.2 million and $5.1
million) focused on Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
In addition, the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center received
$7 million from the NIH National
Cancer Institute, the Institute for Global Health and Infectious
Diseases received $5.2 million from
the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for
the Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication, and the
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute received
$5.4 million from the Department of
Education for the Early Childhood Systems Technical Assistance
Center.
"Our researchers are enabled by their FY24 awards to make
game-changing breakthroughs that improve the health and well-being
of people and our planet while providing an economic boom to the
state of North Carolina," adds
Gordon-Larsen.
The most common measurements of research activity in
universities are research awards and research expenditures. Awards
represent new research grants and contracts a university receives
over the course of a fiscal year. They are an important
forward-looking measure of the health of a research institution
because they often represent multi-year projects that will continue
into future years. Research expenditures are an after-the-fact
measure of actual research spending that occurred in prior years.
Expenditures often take a year or more to be calculated and
published nationally.
For more information on research awards, expenditures, and
historical trends, visit the Research Funding page on the UNC
Research website.
About the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, the nation's first public university, is a global
higher education leader. Carolina is passionately public, with a
commitment to ensuring that every student who earns admission can
come to Carolina and thrive. Addressing the greatest challenges of
our time through innovative teaching, research and public service,
Carolina is an engine of opportunity for the next generation of
students, the economy and innovation in North Carolina and beyond. A member of the
prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina
regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S.
public higher education. More than 361,000 alumni of Carolina's 15
schools including the College of Arts and Sciences live in all 50
states, the District of Columbia,
U.S. Territories and 149 countries. Nearly 190,000 live in
North Carolina.
University Communications: Media Relations, 919-445-8555,
mediarelations@unc.edu
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SOURCE University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill Office of Communications