Gillings Innovation Labs
Since 2007, the Gillings Innovation Labs (GILs) have transformed the Gillings School, putting us on the map for pioneering work in clinical trials, brain health, new methods and more GILs are innovative, interdisciplinary, and strive to achieve fundamental breakthroughs in public health.
GILs Highlights
Follow-on research funding received
New scholarly publications
Students trained or funded
A few success stories
Improving State Planning on Opioid Addiction and Overdose
Drs. Stephen Marshall, Kristen Hassmiller-Lich, and Becky Naumann completed a robust review of the application of systems science to addiction, and developed two exploratory, system dynamics concept models to serve as a foundation for grants and future stakeholder engagement. Newly developed models were used to design a survey to fill key gaps in the understanding of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment systems. This formative work sets the stage for larger grants that can support additional outreach with N.C. stakeholders to improve OUD treatment care alignment and patient outcomes.
Preventing Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) mother-to-child transmission in the DRC
Drs. Stephen Meshnick, Peyton Thompson, and Jonathon Parr demonstrated the feasibility of testing and treatment for pregnant women and birth-dose vaccination for HBV-exposed infants to prevent vertical transmission of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This prevention approach is standard of care in high-income countries, but not in low- and middle-income countries like the DRC. Based on study findings, the UNC-based GIL researchers formed a delegation that proposed implementing universal birth–dose HBV vaccination in the DRC. The Ministry of Health agreed and has included this in their national strategy for hepatitis prevention.
“We are so grateful for this funding. It has helped me to establish an entirely new research direction and launch a collaborative research program that is now supporting multiple faculty within and outside of SPH, including multiple junior faculty.” – Stephanie Engel, Round 6 Awardee
What Makes A Successful Gillings Innovation Laboratory Program Proposal?
Get insights for your proposal.
One of the primary goals of Gillings Innovation Labs is to accelerate the translation of public health discoveries and knowledge into practice. To facilitate this process, we encourage use of open-source technologies that permit broadest access to methods and results across geographic, disciplinary and other boundaries. We also encourage GIL participants to share tools and disseminate project findings widely and through a variety of mediums.
Gillings Innovation Labs engage interdisciplinary teams, train future public health leaders, and encourage connections among academic scholars, communities, governments, and organizations committed to preventing and solving public health threats. Proposals that aim to build linkages between community and clinical settings are especially encouraged.
Gillings Innovation Labs should endeavor to expedite solutions to public health challenges through effective implementation and dissemination of interventions in high-impact settings. For more information, see Implementation Science.
Challenges to public health occur at local, state, regional, national and international levels. Solutions to challenges at any of those levels may be proposed, as well as solutions to challenges that cross the barriers of geography, environment, culture, income, and education, or solutions that have benefits that extend beyond the populations in which they are initially demonstrated.
We encourage proposals that include participation and engagement of UNC students and trainees.
Gillings Innovation Labs are well-suited for projects that are early-stage and higher-risk and are consequently less competitive for common funding mechanisms. GIL awards are intended to kick-start initial support for a promising area of public health research or an innovative public health solution, and should facilitate awardees’ ability to acquire additional funding after the GIL award period has ended.
Awarded Gillings Innovation Labs
From active school-wide call for proposals; funded by the Gillings Gift
Residence time and viability of coronavirus in airborne respirable particles in public spaces
Karstan Baumann, PhD, Principal Investigator
Getting Pediatric Vaccination Back on Track in the US
Noel Brewer, PhD, Principal Investigator
Leveraging Rural, Black Faith-Based Social Connections to Optimize COVID-19 Rapid Risk Communication Readiness
Lori Carter-Edwards, PhD, Principal Investigator
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on behavioral, social and structural factors in South Africa: strengthening pandemic response in low resource settings
Audrey Pettifor, PhD, Principal Investigator
Household Transmission Modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in North Carolina
Kimberly Powers, PhD, Principal Investigator
Establishing a sentinel surveillance system for COVID-19 in North Carolina: using routine antenatal care visits to estimate real-time COVID-19 seroprevalence in diverse populations
Whitney R. Robinson, PhD, Principal Investigator
Pandemic Ethics Dashboard
Jim Thomas, PhD, Principal Investigator
Development of Osmotic Ballasts to Enable Saltwater-based Energy Storage
Orlando Coronell, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Wei You, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Environmental Influences on Early Brain Development
Stephanie Engel, PhD, Principal Investigator
Improving Diabetic Eye Disease Screening and Management Through a Novel Integrated Care Approach
Emily Gower, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Seema Garg, MD, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
System Science to Improve State Planning on Opioid Addiction and Overdose
Stephen Marshall, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Kristen Hassmiller Lich, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Prenatal Treatment to Prevent Mother to Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus in the DRC: The Arresting Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis B (AVERT-HBV) Study
Steven Meshnick, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Causal Inference Research Laboratory
Stephen Cole , PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Michael Hudgens, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Transformative Use of Chitosan as a Coagulant-Flocculant and Filter Aid to Improve Drinking Water
Mark Sobsey, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Jamie Bartram, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Circulating MicroRNAs as Novel Biomarkers of Arsenic-Associated Diabetes
Miroslav Styblo, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Praveen Sethupathy, PhD (UNC Genetics), Co-Principal Investigator
Precision Public Health: Enhancing Connections to Develop Just-In-Time Adaptive Intervention Strategies
Deborah Tate, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Carmina Valle, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Automated Monitoring, Managing, and Messaging for Peer Support in Diabetes Management
Edwin Fisher, PhD, Principal Investigator
Accelerating Transdisciplinary Collaborative Clinical Care Locally and Globally to Improve Diabetes Outcome
Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, Principal Investigator
Self-Collection to increase access to cervical cancer screening and reduce health disparities in Kenya
Jennifer Smith, PhD, Principal Investigator
Novel Tools to Track Land-Applied Biosolids
Jill R. Stewart, PhD, Principal Investigator
Michael D. Aitken, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator
Staying One Step Ahead of Deadly Viruses Combating childhood diarrhea by designing "super antigens"
Ralph Baric, PhD, Principal Investigator
Eric Donaldson, PhD, Former Principal Investigator
Identifying Toxic Compounds "Body-on-a-Chip" offers an innovative alternative to traditional testing
Rebecca Fry, PhD, Principal Investigator
Microfinance and Health Pilot program seeks to reduce HIV risk and partner violence in young men
Suzanne Maman, PhD, Principal Investigator
Identifying Sources of Environmental Pollution Discovering where microbes originate can help to protect public health
Jill Stewart, PhD, Principal Investigator
Removing Nitrogen, Recovering Energy from Hog Waste Managing swine waste is crucial for protecting air and water in NC
Mike Aitken, PhD, Principal Investigator
Innovative statistical approach to genetic association
Danyu Lin, PhD, and Fred Wright, PhD, Principal Investigators
Getting Safe, Effective Drugs to Those Who Need ThemPharmacoepidemiology evaluates drug benefits and harms
Til Stürmer, MD, MPH, Principal Investigator
A Seamless, Accessible, 21st-Century Global Classroom Tapping into the learning styles of "Millennials" can benefit public health education
William Zelman, PhD, Principal Investigator
Linking Local, Sustainable Farming and Health Can "eating local" address obesity, the environment and economic viability?
Alice Ammerman, DrPH, Principal Investigator
Defeating Respiratory Disease in Children The search for an affordable, multivalent and stable vaccine
Ralph Baric, PhD, Principal Investigator
Mapping Tropical Disease: A Most Critical First StepLaboratory for molecular surveillance of tropical diseases opens in the Congo
Steve Meshnick, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Caring for the Mentally Ill in North Carolina A local challenge becomes research prototype
Joseph Morrissey, PhD, Principal Investigator
Managing Disease Through Linking Data Hospital and ambulance services may provide the missing link
David Richardson, PhD, Principal Investigator
Water-Testing for Contamination Goes PortableDetecting infectious disease at its source may save millions of lives
Mark Sobsey, PhD, Principal Investigator
Technology to Improve Understanding of Arsenic Some drinking water is shockingly high in contamination
Miroslav Styblo, PhD, Principal Investigator
Identifying Harmful Pollutants in City Air Worst pollutants often fly under the radar
William Vizuete, PhD, Principal Investigator
(very occasional, direct awards to address a pressing problem; funded by the Gillings Gift)
Innovative Clinical Trials Laboratory
Joseph Ibrahim, PhD, Principal Investigator
Funded: 2007
WaterSHED (Carolina Global Water Partnership)Partnership with USAID
Mark Sobsey, PhD, Principal Investigator
Funded: 2007
(modeled after GILs; funded by nonprofits or other outside sponsors)
Going the "Last Mile" to Ensure Drinking Water SafetyUNC Water Institute Sponsored by IAMPO
Jamie Bartram, PhD, Principal Investigator
Funded: 2011
A Global Imperative: Healthy and Secure 0-2 Year OldsHigh-impact interventions can ensure the well-being of young children and their mothers Sponsored by ChildFund International
Peggy Bentley, PhD, Principal Investigator
Funded: 2010