Here’s how UNC is spending $29 million on coronavirus research

Treatments for COVID-19, testing in minority communities for coronavirus spread, and studies of coronavirus economic impacts are candidates for some of the $29 million in state money dedicated to researching the virus at UNC.

The research by UNC system schools has the potential to help patients, public schools, employers and communities deal with the pandemic and its economic waves.

The legislature gave the UNC Policy Collaboratory $29 million to spend on coronavirus research projects. This is money the legislature passed on from a federal coronavirus relief fund. The collaboratory advisory board heard descriptions of some of those research proposals Wednesday. The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University got its own $15 million from the legislature.

Of the money the collaboratory is distributing, UNC-Chapel Hill researchers are getting the most — more than $15 million.

Advisory board Chairman Al Segars, a distinguished professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, and UNC administrator Nate Knuffman must approve the projects. Researchers have until Dec. 30 to spend what they get. UNC-Chapel Hill projects are going to start getting their money Wednesday, Segars said.

A research group from UNC-Chapel Hill is in line to get nearly $700,000 to study coronavirus infections in meat processing plant workers and their families. The coronavirus can spread quickly in meat-packing plants because workers stand close together. The industry relies on immigrant workers, The News & Observer previously reported.

UNC researchers propose to enroll 400 workers and family members and visit them monthly. They’ll test to see how many people have already been infected, find others who become infected, and clusters of infections. They’ll also visit plants to identify potential risk factors and come up with ways to minimize spread.

Using plasma to combat coronavirus

A research project in line to get one of the bigger chunks of money, more than $3 million, would look at ways to safely bring research scientists back to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

The project would involve testing researchers for antibodies before they return to campus, testing for active virus, behavioral surveys and contact tracing. Results from this study can be used to guide reopening of similar workplaces around the state and offer universities ideas on what safety measures will be needed when students return to campuses, the research proposal said.

Research on using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients would get about $1.6 million. Doctors around the world are using plasma from people who have recovered from coronavirus infection to treat sick people. Plasma of patients who have recovered contains antibodies that fought the coronavirus.

Researchers, including Luther Bartelt, an infectious disease researcher at the UNC School of Medicine, and Ralph Baric, a distinguished researcher and professor at UNC, will look at whether plasma with higher amounts of antibodies works better, or if plasma with any amount of antibodies works. By the end of the year, they propose to have treated 270 patients at UNC Health and have a preliminary analysis of whether the amount of antibodies in the plasma matters.

Proposed projects at HBCUs

The UNC system HBCUs and UNC-Pembroke are getting about $1 million each. The Board of Governors committee on Historically-Minority Serving Institutions is scheduled to talk about the COVID-19 research when it meets Thursday. Most of the schools are using their money for community testing and communication. NC A&T State University proposed six projects that include animal testing and development of affordable fever-detection systems.

Elizabeth City State University plans to set up a testing site on its campus, start mobile clinics, and see whether it’s a good idea to use drones to deliver personal protective equipment and other supplies, said Kuldeep Rawat, a professor and dean at ECSU.

“This investment is really going to improve our region’s capacity to respond and make our community more resilient,” he said.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Here’s how UNC is spending $29 million on coronavirus research."