UNC Research

Sam Lai is boldly breaking barriers. He's founded multiple startups by studying underexplored processes in the body — like mucus production. https://lnkd.in/eAXH3rCE “If you don’t mind studying something that might seem gross, and really try to understand it, well, it can actually get you somewhere,” he says, laughing. Mucus coating the lungs, nose, stomach, and other organs has evolved to trap and clear foreign particulates like pathogens before they reach their target. Unfortunately, this also poses a barrier for drug delivery as mucus can block helpful medicines. Lai developed nanoparticles that could traverse this obstacle without getting stuck, delivering treatments directly to target cells. Lai’s work formed the foundation for Kala Pharmaceuticals, launched in 2009, which advanced the technology he developed during his PhD into clinical trials. This led to multiple FDA-approved drugs for eye diseases and another startup. When Lai joined the faculty at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2010, he wanted to do something different. Reflecting on his strengths, he realized he was one of the few researchers skilled in studying mucus but also had a knack for analytics. And then it hit him. For years, his work had focused on getting drugs through mucus — one of the body’s toughest barriers for fighting disease and infection. But what if, instead of fighting mucus, he used its natural properties to stop infections? Could he design strategies to reinforce the mucus barrier against pathogens? With degrees in engineering, Lai had never taken a course in microbiology or immunology, so he started by soaking in as much foundational knowledge as he could. He found that his layman’s perspective was beneficial, picking up what he needed to know to make his research successful along the way. “When you accumulate experience in more and more diverse fields, you can draw on those experiences to find different approaches to solve these problems,” he says. #UNCResearch #pharmacy #startup #mucus #engineering #pharmacogengineering #treatment #medicine #gdtbath #TARgram

By the Numbers: 34th for industry-sponsored research and development among U.S. institutions #UNCResearch #mondaymotivation #development #research #impact https://go.unc.edu/Am8i2

There’s still time to sign up for the Spring edition of OVCR Office Hours! If you are a member of the Carolina research community (ONYEN required for registration), join us today on Zoom at 1 p.m. for a live update from leadership about research operations and administration, along with a Q&A for participants. Submit questions and sign up here: https://go.unc.edu/e4E9S #UNCResearch #community #communications #admin #operations #OVCR #OfficeHours

Four Carolina researchers have received the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, recognizing outstanding work in their fields. Carolina’s recipients include: Kavita Arora, director of the general obstetrics, gynecology and midwifery division, UNC School of Medicine Mohit Bansal, John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in the computer science department, UNC College of Arts and Sciences Frank Leibfarth, Royce Murray Distinguished Term Professor of Chemistry in the chemistry department, UNC College of Arts and Sciences Diego Riveros-Iregui, Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Professor of Geography in the geography and environment department, UNC College of Arts and Sciences Congratulations to these amazing researchers! #UNCResearch #honor #award #earlycareer #science #engineering #leaders . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tar heels are making waves on the Galápagos Islands. https://lnkd.in/eXh2AYca   Known for shaping modern biology, the archipelago continues to be ripe with opportunities for research and discovery. And four Carolina graduate students in the Bruno Lab are taking advantage of the fact that UNC-Chapel Hill is the only U.S. university with a research center on the islands.   Esteban Agudo, Isabel Silva, Savannah Ryburn, and Salomé Jaramillo Gil spend several months a year in the Galápagos collecting marine life data.   Agudo's work combines empirical data collection and theoretical modeling to predict how warming oceans will impact marine organisms’ diets and feeding patterns. He specializes in cold-blooded species whose metabolism is directly tied to water temperature. As sea temperatures rise, their metabolism speeds up, and they need to eat more to sustain themselves.   Silva's research focuses on understanding the critical role of ocean temperature in shaping the diets of various reef fish species, including parrotfish, which have unfortunately become scarce in many reefs today. These long-lived fish play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by grazing and regulating algae abundance.   Ryburn has pioneered a nonlethal method to study shark diets, specifically the juvenile scalloped hammerhead and blacktip. By analyzing the DNA collected from shark poop, she can pinpoint exactly what species of fishes and crustaceans these sharks are eating.   Jaramillo Gil is also studying scalloped hammerhead sharks. Using spatial and ecological modeling, she’s uncovering how environmental factors like sea surface temperature influence how these sharks navigate their habitats — crucial information for understanding the factors driving sharks’ spatial behaviors and habitat preferences, particularly outside the marine reserve.    #UNCResearch #biology #galapagos #islands #sharks #fish #ocean #water #research #gdtbath #TARgram

📣 Tar Heel researchers: does your work focus on building healthy communities for all? Are you helping remove barriers to health care and healthy living? Share your work during the Paul A. Godley Health Equity Week! The call for abstracts is open now through February 2. 👉🏽 go.unc.edu/HERWSubmit We invite UNC faculty, staff, partners and/or students to submit abstracts reflecting their work in and beyond North Carolina communities. Proposed abstracts should reflect community-based research projects that are working to eliminate health barriers. 🔎 Focus areas -- Understanding, addressing and/or improving social determinants of health (SDOH). -- Addressing and/or improving health outcomes in one or more marginalized populations. -- Understanding, addressing and/or improving disparities for specific health concerns. -- Epidemiological work. -- Diagnostics and treatment outcomes. -- Interdisciplinary and/or intersectional research approaches. ✨ New this year: Ada Adimora Student Research Award ✨ We are excited to announce the Ada Adimora Student Research Award! We established this award in memory of the late Ada Adimora, Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicine and professor of epidemiology. A UNC student will be selected from the HERW abstracts submissions for this award. The selected student awardee will present their research project during a featured session of HERW. They will receive a $300 monetary award.  Award applications require a timely submission to the HERW call of abstracts and the name of a faculty mentor. #HealthyCommunities #HERW2025 #HealthEquity #Research UNC Research

Thankful for this feature by UNC Research. Fortunate to contribute to a creation of a #Future in which biological #Materials are transformed #Sustainably into #Technologies. I hope our #Adventurous journey across #Chemistry, #Biology, and #Engineering will facilitate the transition of lab #Innovations into the real world for #Public #Benefit.

As a postdoctoral researcher at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Brianna Vickerman co-invented a light-activated drug-delivery technology to better control therapeutics in the body. Eshelman Innovation hired Vickerman and created the Light Activated Therapeutics Program to move this technology towards clinical translation. #UNCResearch #pharmacy #innovation #therapeutics #technology . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ronit Freeman uses nature’s building blocks to create innovative technologies, from synthetic cells to treatments that could transform health care. https://bit.ly/3Wrumyz As a professor of applied physical sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill, she specializes in combining and molding biological components into functional materials where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. “The inspiration is anything that nature can do, and the medium is any biological material that exists in nature,” she explains. “We can design and chemically modify peptides, DNA, nucleic acids, sugars, lipids — any architectural building block that is biological. It’s a chemical approach to materials design.” Freeman has generated a pipeline of groundbreaking technologies that address global challenges in health care by emulating how cells build, signal, and manufacture needed components. “My company is my lab,” she says. “We do everything from the molecular design of a chemical to the validation and application of it. We produce assets and then find an established partner who has the manufacturing, distribution, and pharmacy pipeline to get it to the market.” #UNCResearch #health #innovation #cells #applied #science #chemistry #engineering #biology #interdisciplinary #gdtbath #TARgram

Thanks UNC Research for making my daughters think I’m famous 😉 ❤️ I always enjoy seeing your stories about our amazing University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty, so I am honored that you let me share some of mine. I'm excited to work at such a world-class university, and I believe our UNC RNA Discovery Center faculty are helping lead the charge in uncovering how RNA biology and therapeutics will help the many patients in need. UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center EnFuego Therapeutics