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UNC-Chapel Hill scientists, researchers named 2021 AAAS fellows

Faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences, School of Medicine and Eshelman School of Pharmacy have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Biologist Amy Gladfelter is one of the new fellows.


UNC Research graphic shows scientists gathered together in a group wearing lab coats with test tubes and a microscope and a scale on the table in front of them.

Racing Toward Innovation

Convergent science is characterized by cross-disciplinary research teams created to tackle big problems and speed the application of new breakthroughs to commercialization. At UNC, the Institute for Convergent Science is at the forefront of this pioneering framework.


Text on a grayscale image of playground swings reads: Dying in the USA: Americans Under Age 25 Face Higher Death Rates than Peers in Other Affluent Nations

Dying Young in the USA: New report shows lower life expectancy for young Americans

 A new PRB report shows lower life expectancy for young Americans; researchers say “aggressive action” is needed to increase survival rates for infants, children, young adults. UNC sociologist Robert Hummer co-led the research team.


Emily Harmon wading in knee-deep water with a rope tool

Disassembling Evolution’s Engine

When a research project centered on evolution within spadefoot toads fell through, Emily Harmon shifted her focus to microscopic swimmers called rotifers. The biology PhD student is studying an animal’s ability to adapt in one generation, which could inform conservation efforts in the face of climate change.


Brian Lerch stands in front of an enlarged image of colorful beetles.

The Smorgasbord Scientist

Why do some organisms live in groups? What influences their cooperation with one another? How do they choose their mates? PhD student Brian Lerch has a lot of questions about ecology and evolutionary biology — and he strives to answer them using math.


Two students work in the Lab of the Future, wearing masks and lab coats. A light casts a purple glow on them.

The Lab of the Future is here

The next-generation laboratory made for modern learning and chemistry laboratory training has arrived. The Lab of the Future sets the pace for the future of undergraduate laboratory spaces at Carolina Chemistry.


Ronit Freeman in her lab.

COVID-19 gets its just desserts with sugar-coated test strips

New research by UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of California, San Diego, develops a low-cost test strip that provides a simple and accurate detection of COVID-19 infection within minutes.