Funding & DEI Opportunities - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Funding & Recognition Opportunities

Grants, awards and other recognition opportunities with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

See additional general funding and career opportunities at UNC Lineberger

The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award

The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award is a two-year program designed to support the career development of early-stage investigator physicians preparing them to become independent clinical trial investigators engaged in advancing health equity through their research and mentoring.

Award Amount: $120,000 each year for two years
Deadline: May 13, 2024

Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Cancer Health Disparities and Minority Health (CHD-MH) (U54 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Cancer Institute intends to issue the U54 Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in Cancer Health Disparities and Minority Health (CHD-MH SPORE) notice of funding opportunity. The program will support a network of multidisciplinary, multi-institutional U54 CHD-MH SPOREs, which are multi-project awards uniquely focused on health disparities and/or minority health translational research for improved prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in populations who are underserved.

U54 CHD-MH SPOREs can investigate more than one cancer type in underserved populations, including groups of highly related cancers (e.g., gastrointestinal or head and neck). The research supported through this program must be translational and must stem from research on human biology, addressing the interplay of various determinants of health with the biology of the disease. U54 CHD-MH SPORE projects must have the goal of reaching a translational human endpoint within the project period of the grant, which may include a clinical trial.

Award Amount: Application budgets are limited to no more than $1.6 million in direct costs per year
First Estimated Application Due Date: September 25, 2024

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity

Evidence for Action prioritizes research to evaluate specific interventions (e.g., policies, programs, practices) that have the potential to counteract the harms of structural and systemic racism and improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. This funding is focused on studies about upstream causes of health inequities, such as the systems, structures, laws, policies, norms, and practices that determine the distribution of resources and opportunities, which in turn influence individuals’ options and behaviors. Research should center on the needs and experiences of communities exhibiting the greatest health burdens and be motivated by real-world priorities. It should be able to inform a specific course of action and/or establish beneficial practices, not stop at characterizing or documenting the extent of a problem.

Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

PROMISE study seeking racially/ethnically underrepresented MD, PhD, MD/PHD, or DO Assistant Professors for peer group mentoring research

UNC is part of a national effort, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Program Consortium, to identify best mentoring practices for scientists underrepresented in biomedical research. The goal of the PROMISE study is to enhance scholarly output of scientists underrepresented in biomedical research. Participants can earn up to $500.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Trainings/DEI Certificate Program

The DEI Certificate Program is a new initiative from the SOM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in support of the 2019 SOM Strategic Plan to foster an inclusive workplace environment. The program’s curriculum offers workshops and trainings designed to broaden awareness about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topics among the SOM faculty/staff and deepen engagement with and between individuals in the SOM at all levels – from patients to leadership.

Existing UNC programs that could be leveraged to recruit more diverse trainees and faculty: