Careers

In its 50-year history, the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center (CSCC) has managed activities for over 50 large, multi-site clinical trials and observational studies involving hundreds of clinical or field centers and hundreds of thousands of research participants. CSCC studies have resulted in well over 3,100 research publications. The CSCC is comprised of approximately 90 faculty, staff, and students from the departments of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Nutrition, Medicine (Cardiology Division) and Social Medicine. The center collaborates with co-investigators in numerous other departments, centers, and schools across the UNC campus and other academic institutions and organizations nationally.

The mission of the CSCC is to improve public health by coordinating important health research, developing innovative research methodology, and providing practical training in the application of research methods. To further this mission, the CSCC collaborates with investigators and project officers during all study stages, including study design and execution, analysis of data, and dissemination of study findings and public datasets.

Housed in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, the CSCC has a distinguished history as a pioneer in clinical data management, including advances in remote data acquisition and web-based data management systems. Current CSCC projects span the clinical areas of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, nutrition and obesity, chronic back pain, infectious disease, mental health and child health.

Benefits of Working at the CSCC

  • CSCC staff work on a wide range of studies, representing various diseases/conditions and research designs. Our staff gain skills and experience that can be broadly applied in biomedical research.
  • Our supportive, team-based, flexible staffing structure allows for mentorship, training, and opportunities to serve in new roles and learn new skills. Staff members have functional managers, separate from their study managers, who support their career development.
  • Thanks to our relationship with the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Department of Biostatistics, the CSCC is a perennial resource for graduate student assistants and early career investigators. This creates opportunities for two-way mentorship and collaboration.
  • The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is a top recipient of NIH funding among public schools of public health, and the CSCC is a major channel for this funding. A steady flow of contracts and grants provides organizational stability.
  • Our office is located in Carolina Square on West Franklin Street, in a 4-year old intelligent building. Carolina Square features large staff kitchen and dining areas, beautiful 4th and 5th floor views, up-to-date conference and teleconference facilities, and many other amenities.
  • CSCC staff have conference and training opportunities, both within UNC and externally. Resources such as the James D. Hosking Memorial Fund support professional development for Center staff.
  • The center develops and maintains SOPs and document templates. This systematic approach supports continuous improvement and staff development.
  • The CSCC is a key contributor to the Biostatistics Department’s research goal: to develop new statistical methodology to address issues in public health and the biomedical sciences; and to apply existing methodologies to new application areas in innovative ways. For example, current CSCC studies include precision medicine and master protocol designs.
  • CSCC staff are often included as co-authors in peer-reviewed medical journals.
  • The training component of the CSCC’s mission distinguishes it from non-academic data-coordinating centers that provide similar services. While university-based data coordinating centers are now common, particularly within Schools of Medicine, CSCC is housed within the Biostatistics Department and is the oldest such university-based center in existence.

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