The challenges of recruitment are known widely, and research teams are often stretched thin. This session shows how AI can help save time, reach more participants, and make study materials clearer and more engaging. Attendees will learn both the benefits and limits of AI in recruitment and retention, as well as considerations and challenges unique to academic research.

We’ll highlight practical, plain-language strategies that use Microsoft Copilot to create participant-friendly materials, simplify consent language, and reduce the burden of repetitive tasks. A real-world example from a large, currently funded randomized controlled trial will show AI tools in action—demonstrating how they streamline workflows, support retention, and free up coordinators to focus on the human side of research.

Please note: No prior experience with AI is required.

Presenters:
Ali Sora, MS
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute

Edmund P. Fernandez, MA
Data Systems & Assessment Specialist, Writing Skills Development Program
SOM Dept. of Health Sciences

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Extracting Data from the Web: Web Scraping Using R

Sometimes you need to analyze data that is only available as a web page. This course will introduce you to extracting structured data from web pages, also known as “scraping” the pages. We will use the R programming language. The first portion of the course will introduce basic HTML, CSS selectors, Developer Tools in Google Chrome, and the R packages used for web scraping. The second portion will consist of a hands-on exercise scraping data from a real web page. After this course, you should be able to scrape data from most web pages you encounter in your research.

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This course provides training on evaluating public services and programs. At the end of the course, participants will understand and be able to describe program evaluation, and how it can help you understand the basics of assessing program impact. In addition, participants will be able to identify a variety of program evaluation tools, map out a basic evaluation plan that could be used in their office, and understand how to effectively present evaluation results. At the end of the course, participants will understand and be able to describe what program evaluation is, how it focuses on success understood as outcomes, short-term and long-term impact. Throughout the workshop we will be referring to your own situation and you will be asked to apply the ideas to the program, policy or process what you want to evaluate in your own organization. The goal of the workshop is to let you leave with a solid 'take-away' of how to start planning your evaluation.

No prior experience is necessary. This course will not teach specific statistical or qualitative methods, but how to best determine which might be the best for measuring success as you have defined it.

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Bring your laptop to this hands-on workshop and learn to visualize clinical data in R and Python. We will teach you to identify, create, and use appropriate simple plots; use data visualization for exploratory data analysis and data quality assessment; and visualize temporal patterns with time series and longitudinal plots.

This workshop is intended for those who have worked with clinical data from the Carolina Data Warehouse for Health previously, or who intend to do so in the future. The workshop material will be presented in the first hour. The second hour is optional. Instructors will be available for coding support if you are interested.

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Identify, use, and create appropriate simple plots
• Use data visualization for exploratory data analysis
• Visualize temporal patterns with time series and longitudinal plots

To get the most out of this hands-on workshop, you should be able to do these things in either R or Python:

• Write, save, and execute code
• Load CSV file by executing provided code
• Understand file layout structure

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This workshop is co-sponsored by the Data Science and AI Academy at NC State University and the Informatics and Data Science program at NC TraCS Institute.

MS Azure is furnished by the Provost's AI Accelerator Program which the OVCR has partnered with to help drive adoption of these computational tools. This session is all about helping you get the most out of campus AI technologies to boost discovery and scholarship.

You'll walk away with a clear roadmap to kickstart your own AI projects using MS Azure's extensive catalogue of developer tools including pre-trained large-language models/reinforcement learning, computer vision, audio/natural-language processing, as well as a discussion of UNC-generated sample data. You'll hear from Microsoft Academic teams, faculty peers and data managers on strategies on picking up hands-on skills to get started.

If you are interested in presenting a demo project, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Digital Presence, Professional Impact: Leveraging LinkedIn to Network Strategically

Join the UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) for a hybrid education session with Justin Golding, Assistant Director of Career Education, UNC Career Center

1. Learn how to leverage LinkedIn for digital networking
2. Connect with the UNC Alumni in your industry/region
3. Create a digital brand that showcases your unique strengths

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Introduction to Implementation Science

There is a substantial gap between the development of innovations in medicine, public health, and other fields and their delivery in health care facilities, communities, and beyond. Implementation science is a field that dedicated to the study of closing this gap by scientifically identifying the factors that facilitate and impede the systematic uptake of knowledge and evidence. It includes the study of how individual, organizational and environmental behavior impact implementation effectiveness, and how to develop and test strategies to change these behaviors. This course will provide an overview of the core frameworks and methods used in implementation research and practice. Students will have opportunities to apply these principles through a case study.

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The NC TraCS Biostatistics Seminar Series is appropriate for those with a basic familiarity with statistics. These seminars introduce topics not often included in STATS 101. In this seminar, Beibo Zhao, PhD, will discuss the different kinds of experimental designs that can be used for public health research, and their pros and cons.

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Please note: This seminar will not be recorded and materials will be shared during the seminar or with documented attendees only. Attendance may be gathered from Zoom attendance reports.

Recruitment materials are often the first impression potential participants have of your study, but are they leading you to recruitment success? Do your recruitment materials grab their attention, build their trust, and invite them in? This session will explore how to design effective, audience-centered recruitment materials that translate research into clear, compelling messages. We’ll cover principles of effective design, best practices for tailoring study messages to various audiences, common design pitfalls to avoid, how to balance accessibility and creative design, and examples of strong vs. weak design to illustrate what works and why. This talk will also highlight the growing role of AI in recruitment design with how AI tools can support visual design.

Please note: No prior experience with Canva is required.

Presenter:
Sarah Sutter, MPH
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute

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The NC TraCS Professional Development Seminar Series is open to anyone seeking exposure to foundational concepts in clinical/translational research such as communication skills, finding funding, career planning, and implementing research. The Finding Funding module focuses on what you need to know before applying for funding for biomedical research.

Seminars in the Finding Funding module are presented every 2 weeks from September 30 - November 14, in-person on Tuesdays from 12 - 2 p.m. ET and repeated via Zoom on Fridays from 12 - 2 p.m ET.

In-person | Bondurant Hall, room 2030
Tuesday, September 30: Introduction to Sponsored Research
Tuesday, October 14: NIH 101, or Anatomy of a Request for Funding Announcement
Tuesday, October 28: Working with Foundation/Industry Sponsors/ SPIN database
Tuesday, November 11: What is a pilot study?

Virtual | Zoom
Friday, October 3: Introduction to Sponsored Research
Friday, October 17: NIH 101, or Anatomy of a Request for Funding Announcement
Friday, October 31: Working with Foundation/Industry Sponsors/ SPIN database
Friday, November 14: What is a pilot study?

Join for the topics that interest you and on the days that work for you. Please register for the Zoom-only option if you are unlikely to participate in-person as space for the in-person option is limited.

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Oral and systemic biomarkers for peanut sublingual immunotherapy

Join the Children's Research Institute and Johanna Smeekens, PhD, an assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy & Immunology, for a seminar on her research with biospecimens from sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and oral immunotherapy (OIT) clinical trials for peanut allergy, including saliva, blood, and plasma, to identify biomarkers that are predictive of clinical outcomes. Smeekens' research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of food allergy and identifying biomarkers of successful treatment outcomes. She has developed several models of allergen exposures in mice that help determine the different exposure routes that may lead to sensitization.

Participate in the seminar at 3116 Mary Ellen Jones Building (with lunch provided). A zoom option is available by request.

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Overview of 2025 NIH Requirements: Biosketch, SciENcv, and ORCID

This session provides an overview of some of the upcoming changes to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application requirements. The NIH originally planned for adoption of a new Common Form for Biographical Sketch and a new Biographical Sketch Supplement to occur on May 25, 2025, but it has been postponed and will instead likely be adopted later this year. The new format is now available for preview.

This presentation will focus on the new “common forms” requirements for biosketch creation with SciENcv and inclusion of an ORCID iD in NIH biosketches and eRA Commons profiles. It will also include demonstrations of the SciENcv biosketch tool and ORCID iD creation and linking steps. The presentation aims to prepare researchers for the new NIH requirements by providing detailed instructions and resources to ensure compliance.

This program is offered via Zoom by the Health Sciences Library and led by Katherine Howell, MSLIS.

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Discovering Pathways to Translate Ideas Into Innovations for the Public Good

Please join the Department of Health Sciences Office of Research & Scholarship for their November research forum. Learn about the opportunities and Innovate Carolina resources available to support your innovation journey or to unlock the commercial potential of your research.

The hybrid forum will take place in person (MacNider 321, LUNCH provided) and via Zoom. Please register to attend.

Questions? Contact the Department of Health Sciences Office of Research & Scholarship at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The New NIH Public Access Policy: What You Need to Know

The 2024 NIH Public Access Policy includes several significant changes from the previous policy, and applies to all NIH-funded manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025. Learn more about what has changed, how to comply, and what to expect going forward.

This program is offered via Zoom by the Health Sciences Library and led by Collin Drummond and Katherine Howell.

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The NC TraCS Professional Development Seminar Series is open to anyone seeking exposure to foundational concepts in clinical/translational research such as communication skills, finding funding, career planning, and implementing research. The Finding Funding module focuses on what you need to know before applying for funding for biomedical research.

Seminars in the Finding Funding module are presented every 2 weeks from September 30 - November 14, in-person on Tuesdays from 12 - 2 p.m. ET and repeated via Zoom on Fridays from 12 - 2 p.m ET.

In-person | Bondurant Hall, room 2030
Tuesday, September 30: Introduction to Sponsored Research
Tuesday, October 14: NIH 101, or Anatomy of a Request for Funding Announcement
Tuesday, October 28: Working with Foundation/Industry Sponsors/ SPIN database
Tuesday, November 11: What is a pilot study?

Virtual | Zoom
Friday, October 3: Introduction to Sponsored Research
Friday, October 17: NIH 101, or Anatomy of a Request for Funding Announcement
Friday, October 31: Working with Foundation/Industry Sponsors/ SPIN database
Friday, November 14: What is a pilot study?

Join for the topics that interest you and on the days that work for you. Please register for the Zoom-only option if you are unlikely to participate in-person as space for the in-person option is limited.

Register

Mastering communication is not easy, but it is one of the most valuable skills graduate students and postdocs can develop for sharing their research effectively. This Fall, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is offering a three-part virtual workshop series led by Danielle Hennis from Make it Memorable, focused on strengthening communication and presentation skills. Sessions will cover advanced PowerPoint techniques, the power of scientific storytelling, and effective data visualization strategies.

Each 1.5-hour workshop is highly practical and filled with tips and exercises that you can immediately apply to your own research presentations. Please note: sessions will be live and not recorded, so be sure to take advantage of them in real time.

As a bonus, a pre-series session - Deconstructing Presentations - is available as a limited-time recording through mid-October, providing a foundation on the psychology of audience memory. Learn more about the series and access the pre-series session at research.unc.edu/postdocs.

This session focuses on how to effectively use data visualization and storytelling in presentations to enhance comprehension and persuasion. It emphasizes the importance of avoiding overwhelming slides filled with data, as they can hinder the audience’s understanding. Instead, the session guides presenters on how to highlight key messages using clear, easy-to-process visuals while providing additional resources for those who want more details. Participants will learn which charts and graphs are most effective, how to analyze data for relevance, and how to eliminate unnecessary information. The session also covers the use of infographics and provides practical tips, tricks, and tools for incorporating data visualization in future presentations.

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Writing Unit-level and Study-Level Clinical Research SOPs

Join the UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) for an education session on writing clinical research SOPs.

1. Define the purpose and core functions of SOPs within the UNC research context
2. Differentiate SOP levels, responsibilities, and when to develop unit vs. study-level SOPs
3. Identify key structural elements, formatting standards, and when to include Work Instructions
4. Apply best practices for writing, managing, and maintaining SOPs
5. Recognize common SOP topics, pitfalls, and available resources
6. Understand AI’s role, responsibilities, and practical applications in SOP development
7. Learn from unit-level experiences and real-world examples

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Following the presentation, participants will take part in an interactive workshop where they can bring their own study recruitment materials, plans or questions, receive real-time feedback, and immerse themselves in the path of their choosing. Participants will choose one of the breakout rooms listed below and receive more in-depth and customized knowledge of topics covered in prior sessions of the series.

For the Workshop, participants will choose to:
- Troubleshoot existing recruitment plan in a group break-out session with your peers and the facilitator.
- Redesign or refine one recruitment material using audience-centered design strategies and AI-assisted tools, with real-time feedback from peers and the facilitator.
- Practice applying AI to translate complex study information into clear, participant-friendly language with facilitator guidance.

Please note: Attending Recruitment 101 in the series is strongly preferred.

Presenters:
Summer Choudhury, MPH
Program Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute

Ali Sora, MS
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute

Edmund P. Fernandez, MA
Data Systems & Assessment Specialist, Writing Skills Development Program
SOM Dept. of Health Sciences

Sarah Sutter, MPH
Research Project Manager, Recruitment & Retention Program
NC TraCS Institute

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Reproducibility Rounds: How Reproducible is Health Science Research?

We will discuss the methods, results, and implications of a series of scoping and systematic reviews that synthesized evidence on the reproducibility of health science research. Specific aims of the projects included describing and categorizing methods and metrics used to quantify reproducibility, synthesizing estimates of the prevalence of reproducible research, and characterizing factors associated with reproducibility. We will describe our dataset of 1,340 articles with a focus on the sub-set with empirical data. We will report on the seven methods used for conducting reproducibility research, 38 metrics to quantify reproducibility, 180 estimates of the prevalence of reproducibility, and 234 factors associated with reproducibility which we grouped into modifiable and non-modifiable categories. Finally, we will discuss the significant heterogeneity in the evidence and challenges in synthesizing this data.

Speakers:
Niklas Bobrovitz, MD, MSc, DPhil
third-year emergency medicine resident
Centre for Health Informatics
University of Calgary

Stephana Moss, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Dalhousie University

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There and Back Again: A Geospatial SHIRE Journey

This seminar will discuss geospatial analysis within the Secure Health Informatics Research Environment (SHIRE). Attendees will learn how to bring geospatial data there, analyze and manipulate it within the SHIRE, and bring one's precious geospatial research results back again. No trolls were turned to stone in the making of this presentation.

Speaker:
Tomas J. McIntee, PhD
Research Data Scientist
TraCS Data Science Lab

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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.

Accelerate your ideas through customer discovery and market opportunity validation!

KickStart Venture Services is recruiting community startups as well as faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students with innovations and an interest in commercialization to participate in their virtual NSF I-Corps program. They will teach you the principles of customer discovery to help you better understand the market potential of your innovation!

The National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Program (I-Corps) was launched in 2011 and has quickly become one of the world’s largest and most successful technology commercialization accelerators. The I-Corps regional program helps researchers and aspiring innovators determine if they are solving a real-world problem with true market opportunity. NSF’s I-Corps Program not only provides funding, mentoring, and networking opportunities to help commercialize promising technologies, it is offered at NO COST to the community.

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For more information about the I-Corps Program, visit KickStart Venture Services.