As we step into a new year, I find myself reflecting on the whirlwind of change we’ve experienced in research — and the opportunities ahead. In 2025, we were reminded that Carolina is resilient. We punch above our weight, and we do it with purpose. In 2026, I expect that we will continue that momentum. Here are five things I’m hopeful we’ll see:
1. Strong Federal Support for Research
Federal investment in research is the lifeblood of our nation’s future. When Congress signals its commitment through robust budgets, it sends a message that discovery matters. These resources allow us to pursue bold ideas, tackle urgent societal challenges, and sustain the infrastructure that makes groundbreaking work possible.
I am encouraged by the currently proposed congressional budgets that avoid deep, previously proposed cuts that would have damaged the trajectory of our nation’s research capabilities. While this recent activity reflects momentum in the right direction for federal support, outcomes remain uncertain ahead of the January 30 deadline to pass FY26 funding appropriations.
But funding isn’t just about dollars — it’s about fairness and transparency. We need models that cover the true costs of research and empower institutions to plan confidently for the future. As part of the Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs, Carolina has been active in shaping those conversations and drafting solutions for a new model.
A highlight of last year was the partnership formed among universities and research institutions across the country to create a proposed solution. What began as a shared commitment to evidence and the public good grew into a powerful partnership with federal policymakers, an experience that was both energizing and deeply affirming of the role research universities play in shaping the nation’s future. My hope is that we not only secure strong support for a new model, but that we help define what robust research funding looks like for the next decade.
2. Embracing New Technologies and Partnerships
The pace of technological change is staggering, and it’s not slowing down. Artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and automation are transforming every discipline, from medicine to business to humanities. These tools aren’t here to replace researchers; they’re here to amplify human ingenuity. They are an important force multiplier for scientific talent. Using these instruments responsibly and effectively speeds the path from discovery to real-world solutions, resulting in sustained benefits for humankind.
We already have extraordinary talent using these tools to push the boundaries of discovery. What’s needed now is greater investment, more advanced infrastructure, more tools, and more people trained to fully leverage them to scale for even greater impacts.
In 2026, my hope is that Carolina leans into this transformation by building partnerships that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries, fostering interdisciplinary teams, and creating spaces where innovation thrives. This means rethinking workflows, embracing new ways of working, and being fearless about experimentation. The future belongs to those who adapt quickly and collaborate openly, and I believe Carolina can set the standard.
3. A Renewed Focus on Interdisciplinarity, Public Health, and Social Science
The world’s biggest challenges are not solved within a single research group or discipline. In fact, Carolina’s most impactful research happens at the intersection of disciplines. Certain units are essential not because they stand alone, but because they function as force multipliers, bringing researchers together, reducing barriers to collaboration, and accelerating discovery in ways no single department could achieve on its own. Carolina’s leading pan-campus centers and institutes bring the tools, frameworks, and platforms that enable experts from different disciplines to come together and generate solutions. This is especially important when they bring novel ideas and approaches that create true competitive advantages.
By the same token, Carolina’s leading school of public health and our social sciences are true strengths of the institution. Public health research doesn’t just save lives — it shapes communities, economies, and policies. Furthermore, the Gillings School of Global Public Health boasts extraordinary talent in methodological approaches that provide the solutions necessary for application. At the same time, the social sciences help us understand behavior, well-being, and resilience in ways that technology alone cannot. Both are critical for quality of life and a healthy society. Yet their power can be amplified through collaborations that reach beyond each of their own fields to engage researchers in other disciplines.
Public health and social science have been hit hard with recent changes in federal investments and funding levels. Yet, if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that health and society are inseparable. It is a critical time for Carolina to redefine our public health and social science portfolios to ensure our competitiveness and set Carolina up to continue its upward trajectory and leadership.
In times of constraint, it is especially important to protect the collaborative platforms that generate the greatest leverage and return on investment. Ensuring the success of convergent disciplines that bring novel methods and approaches to interdisciplinary partnerships is critical. I am hopeful that our exceptionally talented researchers will find novel ways to partner with experts from other fields to successfully compete in FY26 and beyond.
This year, I hope to see Carolina leading with even more integrated approaches that combine data-driven insights with human-centered solutions. This means anticipating emerging health challenges, addressing populations at highest risk, and informing decisions that affect millions. Our researchers have the expertise and creativity to redefine what public health and social science can accomplish in partnership with other disciplines, and this year is our chance to make that vision real.
4. Encouraging Our Community to Thrive
Research is ultimately about people: the faculty who push boundaries, the staff who make discovery possible, and the students and trainees who represent our future. Our faculty have shown extraordinary commitment by continuing to submit ambitious proposals, secure competitive funding, and advance knowledge in a demanding and uncertain environment. We see this clearly in our proposal submission numbers, which are considerably higher than they were last year. That perseverance speaks to the strength of our community; however, sustaining excellence requires more than resilience alone.
Sustaining the next generation of discovery requires reliable funding for investigators at every career stage, with particular attention to early-stage researchers, for whom stable support is essential to building momentum, independence, and long-term impact. Early-stage researchers need funding as well as mentorship that spans disciplines, flexibility that recognizes a variety of career trajectories, and opportunities to develop skills that translate beyond traditional academic paths. They need exposure to collaborative, team-based research, access to shared methods and platforms, and a culture that values integrity, creativity, and purpose alongside productivity. Our faculty researchers have been dogged in their pursuit of new frontiers. I am proud of the OVCR’s Office of Research Development team, which has helped guide our researchers to new funding opportunities to support even greater discovery and creativity.
To thrive as a community, we must be bold and bet on ourselves. That means investing in people at every stage, supporting faculty as mentors and leaders, empowering staff as partners in innovation, and preparing students and postdocs for a research ecosystem that is increasingly interdisciplinary, applied, and dynamic. It requires valuing a broad range of career outcomes, encouraging responsible risk-taking, and treating curiosity not as a luxury, but as a strategic asset. The thrill of discovery and the power of our basic sciences have held strong over the past year, and we need to continue our excellence and leadership in our fundamental research.
When people are supported to explore, connect, and create, ideas take root. And when those ideas are nurtured through collaboration, rigorous methods, and shared purpose, they become an engine of discovery, innovation, and lasting public impact that shapes not just the next grant cycle, but the next generation of research and the century ahead.
5. Telling Our Story and Demonstrating Impact
UNC has faced profound challenges before. This moment in time is a different type of stress, one that challenges public trust in science and in universities. It is time for us to renew our commitment to stewardship, reproducibility, and accountability. It is also a critical time for us all to articulate the value of our research, why it matters, and how public investment delivers public good. Science thrives on trust, and trust begins with understanding.
In 2026, Carolina will be a national leader in communicating the value of research to policymakers and the public. The OVCR will continue to tell our research stories and to communicate value and impact, but we will also include our experts in this strategy, so they can develop their own narratives and communicate directly with the people who benefit from their work. We all must strive to tell research stories about how discoveries improve lives, strengthen communities, and drive progress. We need to connect with people where they are, using language that inspires and examples that matter. When we articulate our impact clearly and consistently, we build champions for research and ensure that science remains a cornerstone of society.
Carolina has always been a fighter. We’ve never been afraid to take on big challenges, and this year will be no different. Let’s be proactive, bold, and united in our mission to discover, innovate, and serve the people of North Carolina and beyond.