Carolina Science Cafe: Science Under Pressure

Science Under Pressure: What’s at Stake for Research at Carolina

UNC-Chapel Hill generates over $1 billion in research annually with discoveries that shape medicine, technology, and public health across North Carolina and beyond. However, the federal landscape that funds this work is shifting fast. Join UNC’s Vice Chancellor for Research, Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, for an inside look at what Carolina scientists are building, what’s at stake in Washington, and why it matters to all of us.

Designed for adults, Carolina Science Cafe is a free program that explores science topics making national and international headlines, offering the chance to meet the experts behind the work. This special program is hosted at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro on the first Tuesday of every month. Light appetizers are available for all attendees.

As vice chancellor for research, Gordon-Larsen develops, sets strategic direction, and provides support for UNC’s $1.5 billion research enterprise. She is responsible for research infrastructure, operations, and regulatory compliance, research development, translation, and communications, as well as strategic research partnerships. In addition, she oversees 13 pan-campus, interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. She works across campus with the University’s research deans, center/ institute directors, and key institutional leaders to strategically advance Carolina’s research enterprise. She is an obesity researcher and has served as principal investigator on research projects totaling over $23.6 million and has served as a co-investigator on an additional $49.1M interdisciplinary research team projects with collaborators. Her NIH-funded research portfolio ranges from molecular and genetic to environmental and societal-level factors that influence health and obesity and its cardiometabolic consequences. 

Gordon-Larsen served as president of The Obesity Society in 2015 and a member of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council from 2020 to 2023. She also served on the 2020–2030 Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research Thought Leaders Panel, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Strategic Plan Working Group, and the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Integration Working Group. She is on the Executive Committees for Research of the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and is currently serving on the Joint Associations Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs, a coalition of national organizations representing academic, medical, and independent research institutions.