Supported Projects
MaTRIC Project Summaries
Learn more about the research MaTRIC has supported with its services. Explore the research summaries and key research project management tasks provided by MaTRIC for each fiscal year cohort.
FY25 Projects
PI: Renée Ferrari, PhD, MPH
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Maternal and Child Health
Dr. Ferrari leads the North Carolina Partnerships to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening (NC PICCS), a CDC-funded program aimed at increasing colorectal cancer screening in NC FQHCs. Partnering with NC DHHS and the American Cancer Society, the project strengthens FQHC capacity through quality improvement, training, and evaluation. UNC leads the evaluation.
PM: Dina Alabsew
- Provide overall coordination
- Support organizational development of study team
- Develop grant materials
- Support data analysis (especially qualitative methods)
- Assist with budget management
- Draft annual and progress reports
PI: Adam Goldstein, MD, MPH
Distinguished Professor, Family Medicine
Dr. Goldstein leads the Tobacco Treatment Program (TTP), which conducts research and helps disseminate findings on how to improve patient satisfaction, streamline efficiency, and advance the science of tobacco treatment. The TTP provides tobacco treatment services across the UNC healthcare system to help patients achieve their goal of smoking cessation.
PM: Ana Jafarinia
- Develop manuscripts and prepare for journal submission
- Facilitate strategic planning to support organizational development of study team
- Present research at conferences
- Assist with data analysis
PI: Shelley Golden, PhD
Associate Professor, Health Behavior
PI: Adam Goldstein, MD, MPH
Distinguished Professor, Family Medicine
Drs. Golden and Goldstein lead the Career Core for the UNC TCORS, a P01 that provides scientific studies that inform FDA’s regulatory authority for tobacco products. The Career Core builds trainees’ capacity to contribute to the field of tobacco regulatory science through training, mentorship, and pilot funding.
PM: Ana Jafarinia
- Track trainee onboarding, involvement and outcomes
- Assist with annual reports
- Coordinate staff meetings
- Manage speaker series, including payments and travel
PI: Rachel Hirschey, PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Dr. Hirschey’s research focuses on improving cancer outcomes in collaboration with non-scientist community members, cancer survivors, and patient advocates. Her work emphasizes creating scalable behavioral interventions in oncology practice. She also serves as MPI of the NCI/CDC-funded Comprehensive Cancer Center Control Collaborative, which aims to improve research dissemination and implementation.
PM: Dina Alabsew
- Support overall coordination of the study team
- Oversee research assistant training
- Monitor adherence to study protocols
- Oversee IRB and PRC modifications and annual reviews
PI: Laura Linnan, ScD
Professor, Health Behavior
Dr. Linnan directs the Carolina Center for Healthy Work Design and Worker Well-Being, a NIOSH-funded Center of Excellence in Total Worker Health®, which engages in research and educational efforts to improve the safety, health and well-being of workers.
PM: Dina Alabsew
- Assist with annual reports
- Schedule monthly meetings
- Solicit content for monthly newsletters and webinar series
- Edit content for clarity and brevity
PI: Sarah Mills, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Behavior
PI: Kristen Hassmiller-Lich, PhD
Associate Professor, Health Policy and Management
Drs. Mills and Hassmiller-Lich lead Project 3 in the UNC TCORS, which is a P01 that provides scientific studies that inform FDA’s regulatory authority for tobacco products. Project 3 is building a micro-simulation model to estimate the public health impact of a federal flavored cigar ban on tobacco use and mortality.
PM: Ana Jafarinia
- Manage progress reports
- Coordinate team meetings
- Support manuscript development and submission
- Assist with financial management
PI: Kurt M. Ribisl, PhD
Distinguished Professor, Health Behavior
Dr. Ribisl is MPI of the federally funded Advancing Science & Practice in the Retail Environment (ASPiRE) Center. ASPiRE’s goal is to build a strong scientific evidence base for effective policies in the retail environment to help reduce tobacco use, tobacco-related disparities, and the public health burden of tobacco, including cancer.
PM: Ana Jafarinia
- Coordinate agendas for internal and external meetings
- Manage IRB
- Manage study relationships with external collaborators
- Facilitate annual report submission
PI: Daniel Richardson, MD, MSc, MA
Assistant Professor, Medicine
Dr. Richardson’s research seeks to better align care delivery with what matters most to cancer patients. His research group is developing methods to assess patient values, goals, and preferences at the point of care delivery and to evaluate how quantitative value elicitation instruments can increase patient engagement and knowledge to improve shared decision-making regarding chemotherapy.
PMs: Cason Whitcomb and Becca Bosch
- Coordinate study implementation across portfolio
- Coordinate regular lab meetings
- Support budget management
- Assist in drafting finance reports
- Provide HR assistance
- Support manuscript development and submissions
- Support data analysis efforts
PI: Mya L. Roberson, MSPH, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management
Dr. Roberson’s research bridges patient engagement with approaches using large healthcare data to improve cancer outcomes. She studies population-level trends in cancer treatment, survivorship care for people living with metastatic breast cancer, and how to improve access to genetic and genomic services delivery for populations with limited access to opportunities.
PMs: Dina Alabsew and Cason Whitcomb
- Coordinate study implementation across research portfolio
- Coordinate lab meetings
- Manage budgets and assist in drafting finance reports
- Support data analysis efforts
- Develop communications materials
- Support manuscript development and submissions
PI: Sheila Santacroce, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN
Distinguished Professor, Nursing
Dr. Santacroce’s research focuses on children diagnosed with cancer and their families. Specific areas of interest include financial toxicity, illness uncertainty, survivorship care, improving inclusiveness in pediatric clinical trials, addressing family needs, developing theory-based interventions, and treatment fidelity.
PM: Becca Bosch
- Manage team communications
- Coordinate meetings
- Build data collection measures in REDCap
- Support IRB submissions
- Support hiring personnel
- Draft data collection protocols
- Manage study subjects in OnCore
- Manage participant payments
PI: Natalicio Serrano, PhD
Assistant Professor, Health Behavior
Dr. Serrano’s research focuses on creating sustainable environment and policy strategies for physical activity and disease prevention. He uses a systems approach to study inter-related factors and sectors (Transportation, Planning, Housing) that may impact physical activity, and to address issues related to neighborhood development, economic segregation, and displacement.
PMs: Caroline Ritchie and Becca Bosch
- Provide overall coordination
- Provide financial management support (e.g., budget review, annual reports, study purchases)
- Support hiring
- Support IRB submissions
- Assist in study recruitment
- Communicate with study participants and stakeholders
FY24 Projects
PI: Rachel Hirschey, PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Dr. Hirschey’s research focuses on improving cancer outcomes in collaboration with non-scientist community members, cancer survivors, and patient advocates. Her work emphasizes creating scalable behavioral interventions in oncology practice. She also serves as MPI of the NCI/CDC-funded Comprehensive Cancer Center Control Collaborative, which aims to improve research dissemination and implementation.
PM: Cason Whitcomb
- Support overall coordination of the study team
- Oversee research assistant training
- Monitor adherence to study protocols
- Oversee IRB and PRC modifications and annual reviews
PI: Erin Kent, PhD, MS, FSBM
Associate Professor, Health Policy and Management
Dr. Kent’s research examines the psychosocial and financial impact of cancer and other serious illnesses on patients and their caregivers.
Due to the conclusion of grant funding, Dr. Kent was not able to continue with MaTRIC in FY25.
PM: Cason Whitcomb
- Developed system for tracking expenditures on grant-funded projects
- Created monthly expense reports
- Assisted with proposal budgeting