The Data Janitor (EHR Edition)
Tomas McIntee, PhD, a Research Data Scientist with the TraCS Data Science Lab, talks tips and tricks for dealing with dirty data in the world of electronic health records. From incompleteness and imputation to outlandish outliers and everything in between, what should we do with all this dirt?
Speaker:
Tomas J. McIntee, PhD
Research Data Scientist
NC TraCS Institute
Seminars in the NC TraCS Data Science Lab Seminar Series cover a range of topics related to health care data science, clinical data, data engineering, and working in these areas at UNC-Chapel Hill. These hybrid seminars are usually held monthly on the third Tuesday of each month from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the NC TraCS suite on the 2nd floor of Brinkhous-Bullitt or via Zoom.
Please join us for the 2026 UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) Research Conference! This all-day, in-person event will have various presentations, breakout sessions, a poster session, and a panel discussion.
Event Location: Kirkland Auditorium, Koury Oral Health Sciences Building
Learn more about the conference and explore the full agenda at nrp.tracs.unc.edu/research-conference.
Recruitment materials are often treated as neutral tools, but they actively shape who chooses to participate—and why. In qualitative and decentralized research, where trust and authenticity are critical, poorly aligned design choices can unintentionally attract insincere participants while deterring the very individuals a study aims to reach.
This session explores how recruitment materials function as signals, influencing perceptions of legitimacy, eligibility, and risk. Through real-world case examples and interactive discussion, participants will examine how design elements—such as language, compensation framing, and screening structure—can create vulnerability to misrepresentation. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to align recruitment approaches with study risk tolerance, strengthening both participant authenticity and data integrity.
Presenter:
Sarah Sutter, MPH
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute
How do you explain your study to your potential study participant?
Converting scientific concepts into plain, patient-centered language, foster engaging informed consent conversations, and obtaining successful enrollment can be challenging. Join the NC TraCS Recruitment and Retention Program to learn how to meet your target audience where they are and write clear, concise recruitment materials with our ‘Make it Clear’ Framework.
Presenter:
Summer Choudhury, MPH
Program Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute
Recruiting and retaining research participants is challenging, especially when study teams are already stretched thin. This session provides a basic introduction to AI and, more importantly, shows how AI can save time by making study materials clearer and more engaging. Attendees will learn the benefits, limits, and UNC-specific considerations of using AI in recruitment and retention workflows.
We’ll share plain-language strategies and examples using Microsoft Copilot to draft and refine participant-friendly materials, simplify dense language, and reduce the burden of starting from scratch. We’ll also include a materials design component led by Sarah Sutter, Research Communications & Design Specialist at the NC TraCS Institute’s Recruitment & Retention program, focused on how teams can use AI thoughtfully when designing and polishing recruitment materials.
Please note: This session is for all levels; no prior experience with AI is required.
Presenters:
Ali Sora, MS
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute
Sarah Sutter, MPH
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute
NC TraCS Institute is sponsoring a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course on July 14-16, 2026, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. each day. This course covers all NIH-required topics for the first phase of responsible conduct of research training.
Individuals who have had prior RCR training may volunteer to serve as discussion leaders for the course to document ongoing RCR exposure. For example, if you are a K Scholar who needs ongoing RCR experiences for your grant, this an opportunity that would qualify. If you are interested, please email Susan Pusek at
To receive credit for course completion, participants must attend all three sessions.
This course will be held in-person on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Please note that the location for the first day is different than the location for the second and third days of the course.
A remote participation option via Zoom can be requested, if needed. Requests for remote participation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and should be sent to Paige Gray at
If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Paige Gray at
Please register using the email address that you intend to use to access the course. This ensures accurate tracking and delivery of your certificate if you complete course requirements.
NC TraCS Institute is sponsoring a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course on July 14-16, 2026, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. each day. This course covers all NIH-required topics for the first phase of responsible conduct of research training.
Individuals who have had prior RCR training may volunteer to serve as discussion leaders for the course to document ongoing RCR exposure. For example, if you are a K Scholar who needs ongoing RCR experiences for your grant, this an opportunity that would qualify. If you are interested, please email Susan Pusek at
To receive credit for course completion, participants must attend all three sessions.
This course will be held in-person on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Please note that the location for the first day is different than the location for the second and third days of the course.
A remote participation option via Zoom can be requested, if needed. Requests for remote participation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and should be sent to Paige Gray at
If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Paige Gray at
Please register using the email address that you intend to use to access the course. This ensures accurate tracking and delivery of your certificate if you complete course requirements.
NC TraCS Institute is sponsoring a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course on July 14-16, 2026, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. each day. This course covers all NIH-required topics for the first phase of responsible conduct of research training.
Individuals who have had prior RCR training may volunteer to serve as discussion leaders for the course to document ongoing RCR exposure. For example, if you are a K Scholar who needs ongoing RCR experiences for your grant, this an opportunity that would qualify. If you are interested, please email Susan Pusek at
To receive credit for course completion, participants must attend all three sessions.
This course will be held in-person on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Please note that the location for the first day is different than the location for the second and third days of the course.
A remote participation option via Zoom can be requested, if needed. Requests for remote participation will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and should be sent to Paige Gray at
If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Paige Gray at
Please register using the email address that you intend to use to access the course. This ensures accurate tracking and delivery of your certificate if you complete course requirements.