UNC Research

Drawing from his experience running a clean water nonprofit, Maanav Karamchandani explores how investment management firms are using AI. https://go.unc.edu/Gz5g9 When Maanav was 6 years old, he and his family spent two days in a small village outside of Delhi, where Maanav attended school for a day. While there, Maanav noticed a pond with a pump in the middle of the village. It seemed like a legitimate water access point, but the pump was contaminated with E. coli — bacteria that causes diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever. So most of the time, local women and girls were tasked with walking over a mile to a leaky pipe to collect large jugs of water. But even that water was tainted. “And I wanted to do something about it,” he says. Maanav's parents helped him start a nonprofit called MyJal, which means “my water” in Hindi. This community in Delhi was the first one they began working with. To date, MyJal has provided clean water to over 10,000 families. Now, Maanav is a Morehead-Cain Foundation scholar and senior in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he’s combined his passion for working with teams with his logistical knowledge on running a nonprofit. He is researching how how AI is impacting the hiring practices, data management and privacy, and returns on investment at investment management firms — companies that manage a client’s money by investing and growing it over time. After graduation, Maanav will join T. Rowe Price, an investment management firm based in Baltimore, as an equity research associate analyst. In this role, he will conduct research to support the company’s investment strategies. “The support and guidance I’ve gotten from Morehead-Cain has been instrumental,” Maanav says. “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to explore everything UNC has to offer, as well as get a lot of guidance and support for my research process.” #UNCResearchIsNC #graduation #UNC #TARgram University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Office For Undergraduate Research

100 years ago NC was the 2nd poorest state in the US. A skilled workforce produced by higher education and federal investment in our science and research made NC the envy of the nation.

It’s time for #Fridayfunday! From the depths of discovery-making labs and caffeine-fueled cubicles that power Carolina's dedicated research community, comes the action figure no toy shelf knew it needed … RESEARCHER RAMESES™! Science just got cuter. Armed with: 💙 A persistent pursuit of knowledge that can't be stopped 🔬 A microscope for glaring at things that refuse to make sense 🧪 A pipette for dramatic precision sciencing 📓 A notebook full of cryptic scribbles and one suspicious coffee stain 🔍 A magnifying glass — because squinting is for amateurs With fully articulated arms for maximum gesturing-at-data action and a catchphrase of "According to preliminary findings," Researcher Rameses is ready to take on peer reviewers, mislabeled samples, and tedious data analysis! #UNCResearch #UNC #Rameses #research #actionfigure #science #barbietrend

Our research programs directly benefit the patients of our health care system. “Hemophilia treatment is the poster child of what we can achieve with science,” says UNC Health hematologist Nigel Key. “It’s been completely revolutionized in my lifetime.” #UNCResearch #healthcare #hemophilia . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC School of Medicine UNC Health

#UNC chemist Wei You is working on his second startup company, one that uses polymers to create drug delivery systems for eye diseases. You, who has known he would be a scientist since middle school, says the possibility of advancing health care is what drives him. “Seeing your research, your idea, becoming a reality with the potential of helping other people, including maybe even myself down the road, is very exciting,” he said. https://go.unc.edu/f5T9S UNC Chapel Hill Chemistry Dept 📝 UNC Research

The vulnerability of the moment: What's at risk? UNC's research creates roughly 12:1 NC jobs to out of state jobs with NIH dollars. Our research generates $2B in NC salaries, $1.4B in economic impact, and creates bright futures for our students. For decades, sustained investment from our state and federal partners has nurtured the rich research ecosystem we benefit from today. These consistent commitments have been instrumental in enabling the game-changing and life-saving discoveries that we currently make and, with continued investment, will make tomorrow. To ignore this history of support, and the importance of its continuation, jeopardizes Carolina’s standing as a nationally and internationally recognized research powerhouse. As a a public institution, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's core mission is to serve the public. Every day we make discoveries that save and transform lives. These discoveries (along with those of our regional partners) drive innovation in our state, particularly in North Carolina's thriving biotech sector which recently surpassed 100,000 jobs and significant economic impact. This is just one testament to the enduring value of university research driven by essential long-term federal and state investments.

UNC Research is STEM for each and every child. Learn more about our research here: https://lnkd.in/dfYFRDX Research continues to demonstrate the critical importance of early science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning for all young children. STEMIE is a technical assistance center run by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute that works to improve access and participation in STEM learning opportunities for young children with disabilities by ensuring that early childhood professionals are knowledgeable about and proficient in STEM practices. STEMIE’s work is funded through a grant from the US Department of Education. This funding supports the development of resources for practitioners, faculty, and families to ensure each and every child has access to STEM learning.  #UNCResearchisNC #UNC #STEM #Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

KickStart Venture Services is continuing to recruit our newest cohort of talented Venture Catalyst Fellows! UNC Research postdoctoral fellows and The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate students, apply to join our sixth cohort today! This program offers invaluable commercialization support to UNC Research-based startups and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill innovators, while providing entrepreneurial fellows with firsthand experiences in translating scientific, technological, and socially-driven ideas into the market. Led by Innovate Carolina's KickStart Venture Services, the program fosters growth for UNC-Chapel Hill innovations with the assistance of talented graduate students and postdocs.    ➡️ Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until May 15 or until our cohort is full. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gZx6jWuN 

Can we engineer better health? This question led #UNC researcher Jason Franz to a career in biomedical engineering. The field unites medicine and engineering to improve lives and solve public health challenges, including those faced by aging populations. “We want our discoveries, and every question we ask, to help older members of our community,” said Franz, an associate professor in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering | UNC & NC State. https://lnkd.in/eJ25jhqU UNC Research 🔬 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 🐏

Patricia Miguez uncovers new methods to stop tooth and bone loss in the mouth. https://go.unc.edu/So8c9 Periodontal disease occurs when the tissues that support the teeth become inflamed and infected, leading to damaged gums and bone loss in the jaw. More than 42% of adults over 30 have some form of periodontitis, according to the National Institutes of Health. As a professor in the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, Patricia strives to develop therapeutics that control inflammation and promote tissue regeneration. She is intrigued by research on how natural products and chemicals found in plants affect health. "I found that when dentin and bone were exposed to these compounds, they became more resistant to degradation," she says. "This discovery led to a series of studies in my lab aimed at characterizing their effects on proteins, cellular gene expression, protein output, mechanical properties, and regenerative outcomes." Now, Patricia's team is working with biochemists and clinical pharmacologists to develop localized delivery methods for the most promising compounds, targeting connective tissues rather than relying on dietary supplementation. "The way to solve this problem will be with team science," she says. #UNCResearchIsNC #teamscience #dentistry #research University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill