Novant Health, UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine collaborative awards $1 million to launch two clinical trials in North Carolina

The pair of $500,000 research grants focusing on urgent health needs marks the largest single investment awarded by the collaborative involving Novant Health, UNC Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The funding will launch joint Novant Health and UNC School of Medicine studies focusing on treatments for patients with pediatric asthma and advanced prostate cancer.  

 

"Access to research helps patients of today and the future, as well as providing a vital resource to physicians growing the scope of medical knowledge," said Mark King, vice president of research and innovation at Novant Health and the chair of the collaborative's Research Advisory Council. "These multiyear studies will not only impact patients and our communities, but they will also serve an important role in boosting capacity for continued research in the region." 

 

The organizations formed an expanded alliance as part of Novant Health's 2021 acquisition of what is now Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. In addition to expanding clinical research, the organizations are also growing medical education and pediatric specialty care, with an emphasis on Novant Health's Coastal Region in southeastern North Carolina. 

 

The collaborative previously awarded 19 individual $50,000 research grants, all earmarked for projects related to health equity or clinical research. Each study is led by investigators based in both Chapel Hill and Wilmington. 

 

“We are so excited about the two teams of scientists and doctors from UNC Health and Novant Health selected for these grants,” said Dr. John Buse, a professor and advisor to the UNC School of Medicine’s Office of Research. “They have proposed creative approaches to bring new treatments in child health and cancer care to Wilmington. This investment will create a pipeline of studies for these two critical clinical areas over the next three years.”

 

 

Pediatric pulmonologists in Wilmington have been aware of a troubling trend: Children with asthma in southeastern North Carolina are hospitalized at higher rates than the statewide average. 

 

The collaborative-funded clinical research will link Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center with UNC Children's teams to reduce health disparities related to asthma. As part of the study, the effort will organize a network of area clinical offices and launch pediatric research aimed at improving the health of area children.  

 

This project, the Coastal Carolina Children’s Research Initiative, is led by Dr. Michelle Hernandez, Dr. Marzena Krawiec and Dr. Jack Sharp.

 

 

While early-stage prostate cancer generally responds very well to treatment, advanced prostate cancer has lower survival rates. 
 

The second collaborative-funded clinical research project will focus on men with prostate cancer that has already spread from the prostate to other parts of the body. The project will focus on understanding how next-generation imaging combined with focused radiation can be used to improve cancer outcomes in patients with advanced prostate cancer. As part of the study, physicians will identify sites of disease that are no longer responding well to anti-hormone therapy. Those sites will then be ablated with focused radiation with the hope that disease control and survival can be improved.

 

This initiative, the Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography (PSMA-PET) Directed Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Oligometastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer Project, is led by Dr. Shivani Sud, Dr. Michael Papagikos, Dr. Matthew Milowsky, Dr. Steven Rowe and Dr. Neil Wijetunga. 

 

These groundbreaking studies complement established clinical research taking place across Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center involving multiple specialties, including cancer, heart and vascular, surgery and neurosciences.