Students and faculty share ideas in the classroom.
Faculty, staff and students throughout the Gillings School embrace innovation in their work.
Two faculty members recently reached milestones by launching interdisciplinary ventures that will move their valuable ideas into the world, where they can make the greatest social and economic impact possible. Both have taken advantage of resources in the innovation ecosystem at UNC and Gillings.
- SORBENTA: Drs. Orlando Coronell (Gillings School) and Frank Leibfarth (College of Arts and Sciences) developed a material to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” that have accumulated in drinking water and can lead to serious health issues. Initial testing showed the material outperforms current technology in PFAS removal. The team is now working to de-risk and scale the technology.
- CollectiveGoodDx: Drs. Sean Sylvia (Gillings School), Joe Tucker (School of Medicine) and Diane Pozefsky (College of Arts and Sciences) created a platform that uses behavioral insights and crowd intelligence to improve diagnostic skills and scale access to care. First they are tackling a diagnostic skill training platform for medical school and residency programs, a need identified by both students and administrators. Their long-term vision is broad — the platform can serve as a tool for clinician consults to solicit peer/specialist advice and as a cost-effective source of second opinions for patients.
In 2007, we received the $50M transformative Gillings Gift supporting cutting-edge public health projects, which helped catalyze a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the School. Over the past decade, 50 Gillings-affiliated startups have launched. Since 1970, 73 companies have launched, with 56 that are still active.
The Gillings Innovation Labs (GILs) have stimulated new, disruptive solutions to urgent public health problems. Several GILs were completed this year — addressing topics ranging from COVID-19 prevention behaviors in South Africa, led by Dr. Audrey Pettifor, to the impact of environmental toxins on early brain development, led by Dr. Stephanie Engel. This tallies the program’s overall metric totals for 38 completed labs to over $154M in additional grant funding, 235 students trained or funded, and 225 peer-reviewed journal publications.
In Spring 2022, we piloted the Gillings School Entrepreneurs of Color mentorship program to pair Gillings student entrepreneurs of color with alumni entrepreneurs of color. The 12 students who participated worked with mentors towards their entrepreneurial related goals and would recommend this program to future Gillings students.
