Duke/NCCU Collaborative Translational Research Awards

The Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) at North Carolina Central University facilitates high-throughput screening, drug discovery, and other advanced research needs, with over 30,000 square feet of laboratory space.

The Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) at North Carolina Central University facilitates high-throughput screening, drug discovery, and other advanced research needs, with over 30,000 square feet of laboratory space.

The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the academic home of the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) pilot funding programs at Duke University, is partnering with North Carolina Central University (NCCU) to support new inter-institutional collaborative research projects.

This pilot program is designed to facilitate novel clinical, population, and translational research that applies or accelerates discovery into testing in clinical or population settings. Projects must demonstrate stakeholder engagement and a high translational potential with a clear path for continued development to move into clinical practice, generate new clinical guidelines, or other applications via subsequent grant support, new company formation, licensing, not-for-profit partnering, an evidence base that changes practice or other channels.

Duke CTSI and NCCU are interested in the following types of translational research projects:

  • Projects developing new collaborative science teams with investigators from both Duke and NCCU.
  • Development and/or evaluation of the evidence base that changes clinical practice.
  • Research that investigates how practice improves health policy, health outcomes, and the health of populations.

Funded Research Teams

Jan 2019 – Dec 2019
Engineering smart injectable drug delivery theranostics for uterine fibroids
Duke PI: Frederike Jayes, DVM, PhD
NCCU PI: Darlene Taylor, PhD

Jan 2019 – Dec 2019
Identification of existing drugs and drug combinations that are synthetic lethal for PTEN-deficient cancer cells
Duke PI: Kris Wood, PhD
NCCU PI: John Scott, PhD

Jan 2019 – Dec 2019
SPLUNC1 mediated myoepithelial cell calcium signaling in airway regeneration and asthma
Duke PI: Purushothama Rao Tata, PhD
NCCU PI: Tongde Wu, PhD

July 2019 – June 2020
Impact of disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and race-related stressors on mental health and well-being of rural African-American Transition-Age Youth (AA-TAY)
Duke PI: Ann Brewster
NCCU PI: Lorraine Taylor

July 2019 – June 2020
Heart Healthy U: A multimedia campaign pilot study to promote heart healthy behaviors among college students
Duke PI: Helene Vilme, MPH, DrPH
NCCU PI: LaShawn Wordlaw, PhD

July 2019 – June 2020
Characterization of genomic determinants for disparities in African-American patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Duke PI: Jennifer Freedman, PhD
NCCU PI: Kevin Williams, PhD