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About CRA

We’re committed to establishing evidence-based knowledge that improves clinical practice and community health.

Better
Research
Together

Who We Are

The Clinical Research Alliance (CRA) partners with ºÚÁÏÍø investigators, government agencies, industry partners, and foundations to serve as ºÚÁÏ꿉۪s hub for leading and coordinating multi-site clinical trial research.

As both an academic research organization and clinical coordinating center, we leverage the resources and reach of ºÚÁÏÍø-Chapel Hill and ºÚÁÏÍø Health to coordinate and streamline the clinical trial process. The Alliance provides an avenue for sponsors to engage the outstanding faculty and facilities at ºÚÁÏÍø-Chapel Hill and ºÚÁÏÍø Health.

Doctors encircling a patient on a wheel-shaped network

Shot of a group of medical practitioners analysing patient files together in a hospital

How We Work: Collaboration
The Carolina Way

As one of the preeminent public universities for research, ºÚÁÏÍø-Chapel Hill is home to leading experts in the fields of medicine, public health, health services, and human subjects research. We owe much of our success to doing things The Carolina Way – a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and sustained excellence that guides all aspects of our work.

The CRA exemplifies this spirit by working to build partnerships across ºÚÁÏÍø, government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, research foundations, and community organizations.

Creating Partnerships

Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the CRA enjoys close proximity to leading academic research centers and more than 300 companies on the cutting edge of technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical product development. This enables us to form diverse and impactful partnerships that advance evidence-based knowledge and share research discoveries that improve community health in North Carolina and beyond.

Shot of a group of unrecognisable scientists joining hands in solidarity in a laboratory

Patient Partners

ºÚÁÏÍø Health Map With Starred Counties Where Locations Are

ºÚÁÏÍø Health treats and cares for every patient who comes through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay, providing all members of our community with equitable, compassionate, and respectful care across the state of North Carolina. As leaders in research, we are able to provide the latest in evidence-based medicine to our communities. This evidence comes from research, making it important that all populations are represented so that research addresses community priorities and concerns, and research findings apply to those we serve.

The CRA works closely with our clinicians and ºÚÁÏÍø programs such as  to ensure communities are engaged partners in clinical research, informing research priorities and representing all populations we serve.


Global Reach

Full logo for ACTG: Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally

Through our partnerships provided by the NIAID-funded Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG), led by Joseph Eron, MD, our community extends beyond NC, setting standards of care and improving the lives of people with HIV across the globe. Voices for those affected by HIV, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases (including COVID-19 and mpox) are represented at the national, international, and local levels through ACTG community advisory boards, which supports community outreach, education, and participation in research, and represents community concerns directly to .

Flags of Countries in ACTG Network


Government Partners

CRA partners with faculty who have long-standing relationships with several of the institutes within NIH. Our staff also has knowledge and experience in working with FDA and meeting its reporting requirements. Beginning Dec 2025, the CRA will serve as the NIAID-funded ACTG Leadership and Operations Center, with Joseph Eron, MD as Chair. The has enrolled over 47,000 participants, conducted over 3,000 trials in over 60 sites across 4 continents and 15 countries.


University Partners

Primary logo for ºÚÁÏÍø Chapel Hill

ºÚÁÏÍø: Enlisting the full breadth of ºÚÁÏ꿉۪s research capabilities and operations.


Research Organization Partners

By partnering with both Contract and Academic Research Organizations (AROs, CROs), we are able to expand expertise and resources needed to perform clinical research across the state and globe.

Logo for Duke Clinical Research Institute
Logo for the PPDâ„¢ clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Logo for Spirovation