UNC-Chapel Hill research funding hits new milestone at $1.21B

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, [email protected]

SOURCE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Office of Communications