Five research teams receive Creativity Hubs grants
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research awards will fund projects to improve health care and clean energy.
Five UNC-Chapel Hill research teams have received Creativity Hubs funding for projects that will make advancements in fields like health care and clean energy.
Awarded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and supported this year by the North Carolina Collaboratory, the grants provide $1.87 million for the teams to execute their projects over the next two years.
“Through the generous support of the North Carolina General Assembly via the N.C. Collaboratory, we are able to award five project teams with seed funding this year – the most we’ve ever awarded in a single round,” said Penny Gordon-Larsen, vice chancellor for research. “Research is at the heart of innovation, and through Creativity Hubs, we’re fostering a dynamic ecosystem where interdisciplinary teams are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to create incredible applications, which is essential for creating a healthier, more sustainable future for North Carolina.”
The Creativity Hubs program was developed by OVCR’s Office of Research Development to assemble teams of researchers from diverse disciplines to tackle major societal challenges and leverage additional support from external sponsors.
“These projects are directly tied to the Collaboratory’s mission of funding research that addresses our state’s environmental and public health concerns,” said Jeff Warren, N.C. Collaboratory executive director. “By uniting top talent and resources, we’re not only enabling the exploration of bold ideas and practical solutions that will have a lasting impact on our state, we’re also supporting the University’s commitment to moving applied science technologies into real-world applications.”
(Creativity Hub Logo)
Here are the five Creativity Hub projects:
The Human MHC Project, UNC School of Medicine. Currently, there is no affordable way to screen for proteins and antigens at the heart of cutting-edge cancer therapies. This team will revolutionize cancer therapy by the total sequencing of the major histocompatibility complex peptidome. The ability to understand what’s happening in a tumor cell could unlock foundational knowledge about how to target tumors therapeutically.
Precision-Guided Closed Loop Adaptive Ultrasound Neuromodulation, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, UNC School of Medicine, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, UNC School of Medicine, UNC College of Arts and Sciences. A team will develop technology for an AI-assisted ultrasound technology platform for certain neurological disorder therapies. This form of focused ultrasound would be incisionless, would not require anesthesia and could be done outside of a hospital.
Autonomous Living Therapies for Extended Results, UNC College of Arts and Sciences, UNC School of Medicine, NC State University, Duke University. The team looks to develop ALTER as a living pharmacy – an implant designed to produce therapeutic antibodies in the patient, at the right time and at the right dose. This would eliminate the need for patients with chronic diseases to make recurrent trips to the hospital for injections or transfusions.
Advanced Medical Screening in Underserved Populations Using a Transportable Nanotube-Enabled Imaging System, UNC School of Medicine, UNC College of Arts and Sciences, UNC School of Data Science and Society. The team will develop an easily transportable system that will enable low-cost screenings for cardiac and pulmonary diseases at community gathering places, businesses or even a patient’s home. This will help rural and underserved areas, where health outcomes have trailed urban populations.
Advancing Solid Electrolytes for Next-Generation Lithium Batteries, UNC College of Arts and Sciences, Sustainable Energy Research Center. North Carolina is an epicenter of lithium mining and processing, which the team will leverage to establish the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Energy Storage. The center will bridge fundamental science with technology development in lithium-ion batteries and address some of the most pressing concerns for this critical technology.
