The UNCGA has awarded six three-year grants totaling nearly $9 million to support faculty research. These grants are the first UNC Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) awards and were awarded to faculty around the UNC campuses. Dr. Fran Ligler and Dr. Michael Jay received funding for their project “Pharmacoengineering: Integrating Engineering with Pharmaceutical Sciences to Improve the Delivery of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Agents.” Their research will focus on 1) the immune response to engineered nanomaterials to understand how the human body reacts to man-made materials intended for clinical use; and 2) developing genetically engineered non-embryonic stem cells for treating brain cancer and for heart regeneration.
UNC ROI is funded by a recurring appropriation from the 2014 General Assembly. Priority research areas eligible for ROI funding include advanced manufacturing; marine and coastal science; defense, military, and security; pharmacoengineering; energy; and data sciences. Find more information about UNC ROI here. For more details about the award recipients, please see this press release from NC State
Congratulations to Dr. Ligler and Dr. Jay!