Research funding hits new $1.21B milestone
Investments from private organizations and federal agencies spurred growth in Carolina’s research enterprise.
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, funding research projects and experiments for 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 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.
“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 Penny Gordon-Larsen, vice chancellor for research. “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 fiscal year 2024, with other grants coming from education and research institutes (9.3%), North Carolina government (8.5%), business and industry (6%) and foundations (5.6%).
Top federal sponsors of research at Carolina include:
- National Institutes of Health: $592 million
- Department of Health and Human Services: $60 million
- National Science Foundation: $40 million
- Department of Education: $23 million
- Department of Defense: $21 million
- U.S. Agency for International Development: $17 million
Project funding highlights
“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,” Gordon-Larsen said.
These awards include:
- $49.26 million from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to the Renaissance Computing Institute
- $19.38 million from the NIH Office of the Director to the UNC School of Medicine’s genetics department
- $6.82 million from the Department of Energy to the College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry department
- $5.92 million from the NSF to The Graduate School
- $8.85 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s epidemiology department
- $5 million from the Department of Agriculture to the public health school’s maternal and child health department
- $19 million from the Bloomberg Family Foundation to the Carolina Population Center for the UNC Global Food Research Program
- $5.45 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the medical school’s Division of Global Women’s Health
- $8.9 million renewal of funding for the medical school’s North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute
- $6.2 million and $4.1 million from the NIH National Institute on Aging to the Carolina Population Center
- $7 million from the NIH National Cancer Institute to the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
- $5.2 million from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases
- $5.4 million from the Department of Education to the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
Visit the Research Funding page for more information on research awards, expenditures and historical trends.
