UNC System universities, partners addressing public health and economic impacts of COVID-19
Thanks to a $15,000,000 appropriation made by the North Carolina General Assembly, seven Tar Heel state universities are receiving a total of 11 grants to help address the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19 in the state.
WRAL TechWire reports that the new Business-Academia Partnership Program “aims to foster and strengthen partnerships between businesses and academic research groups to transform applied research and innovation into technological solutions for the benefit of public health and the economy in the state.”
The initiative is administered by the North Carolina Collaboratory, headquartered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is part of a larger $74 million dollar appropriation made by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2021 to address the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recipients of the awards include faculty from across the University of North Carolina System and their partners in start-up, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The grants will last for up to three years and tackle issues related to the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, from targeted drug development to personal protective equipment manufacturing methods to homeownership disparities exacerbated by the pandemic.
