Services by category
Clinical Research Operations and Conduct
Clinical & Translational Research Center (CTRC)
Clinical facility operations, nursing services, specimen processing and storage facilities.
Clinical regulatory assistance, guidance, and education for investigators and study coordinators.
Study Coordination and Management Services (RCMU)
Access to part-time study coordinators, project managers, and assistance hiring/onboarding for human subjects research.
Proposal Development, Funding, and Team Science
Pilot funding opportunities including the Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Pilot award.
Funding your research
NC TraCS has offered a variety of pilot funding opportunities since 2008, awarding over 1,100 pilot grants totaling over $27M. TraCS-supported pilot studies have resulted in over 520 external "follow-on" grants, totaling over $435M in research funding at UNC and our partner institutions.
Recently, the funding agency for NC TraCS' CTSA grant, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), has shifted the priorities of the CTSA Program to advance the field of Translational Science more explicitly. In response to this new initiative, our pilot program has developed and released a new pilot funding opportunity in Clinical and Translational Science.
Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Pilot Program
- We are seeking proposals that focus on understanding a scientific or operational principle underlying a step of the translational research process with the goal of developing generalizable principles to accelerate translation. This Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) pilot award is intended to support Clinical and Translational Science, the field of investigation focused on understanding the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. Next submission deadline: July 8, 2025
UPDATED: RFA version 5/12/25: RFA and FAQ (pdf)
Additional Funding
- Pilot Program Partnerships Partnering with the UNC School of Medicine Office of Research for two programs: Translational Team Science Awards (TTSA) and Emerging Challenges in Biomedical Research (ECBR).
- The Research Advisory Council (RAC) is currently offering 4 funding opportunities for investigators conducting, or interested in conducting, research around health access concerns relevant to southeastern North Carolina.
- Research Capacity Building Grants with an explicit focus on building sustainable and high impact research teams. Grants of up to $500k total expenditures over 2-3 years will be awarded in 2025.
- Promoting Health Access Research in Southeastern NC promoting research to understand and improve relevant health challenges related to access to primary care, specialty care, community health, and optimal wellbeing. Awards will provide up to $50,000 in funding for a 12-month project period.
- Health Access Research Training Awards sponsoring up to ten awards to reimburse up to $500-$1,650 to fund training for investigators or their students/research staff.
- Health Access Research Presentation Travel Fund sponsoring up to five research travel awards to reimburse up to $1,650 each for investigators interested in presenting research around health access concerns to an academic or community outlet.
related services
other TraCS funding
more information
Proposal review and editorial support, identifying funding sources, grantsmanship training and education, sample applications, and TraCS Letters of Support.
Assistance with identifying collaborators, tools to develop and sustain teams, and team development and management.
Clinical & Translational Science (CTS) Research Program
Funds the development of innovative solutions to scientific and operational roadblocks in translational research.
Vouchers of up to $5,000 support engagement-related activities during the pre-award period.
Clinical Informatics and Electronic Health Record Data
Informatics and Data Science (IDSci)
Learn about or request data from the Carolina Data Warehouse for Health for research purposes.
Translational Science Application Development
Provides resources, through consultations and also developer time, to build initial versions of applications and help researchers move from concept to product.
Research Analytics, Design, and Data Management
Biostatistical collaboration, consultation, statistical methodology support, data analysis, assistance with grant and manuscript preparation
FastTraCS (R&D/Commercialization)
Quick translation of discoveries, ideas, and inventions into marketable products. R&D and research commercialization support.
Implementation Science Methods Unit
Technical assistance for dissemination & implementation (D&I) science proposals, finding collaborators, and selecting and refining approaches to dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Methodologies and best practices for qualitative data collection and analysis; tailored qualitative research study support and mentorship.
Integrated Methods & Research Design
Assistance with mixed-method approaches; integrating dissimilar concepts/constructs; data collection techniques, data, and/or forms of analysis.
Engagement, Recruitment, and Inclusion in Research
Patient and Community Engagement in Research (PaCER)
Trainings and resources for research teams and community/patient partners; tailored study support for engagement; facilitated connections between research teams and partners.
Research Recruitment and Retention
Planning or troubleshooting recruitment and retention efforts, creating/optimizing recruitment materials, MyChart recruitment.
Expert study design and methods support to address health disparities, multicultural and multilingual populations, and community data governance.
Practice-based Research (NCNC)
Guidance for conducting research in healthcare and practice-based settings.
Training and Career Development
Training and Career Development
K12 program, R writing groups, mock reviews, Career Development Award (K) writing groups, mentor identification/training, responsible conduct of research.
Educational Events and Opportunities
View a monthly calendar of all TraCS-sponsored learning opportunities and other relevant trainings and events.