Groundbreaking COVID-19 Research

The UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases is a global leader in infectious disease research and clinical care. When the pandemic began, their research teams jumped into action to fight COVID-19 head-on with exploratory treatments and new research to help both healthcare workers on the front lines and the community at large. Explore their studies and other COVID-19 research at UNC below!

COVID-19 Healthcare Worker Studies

HERO Registry

Are you a healthcare worker? Are you interested in helping understand and provide insight into the COVID-19 pandemic?

If you answered yes to these questions, you may be eligible to join a large, national, research registry designed specifically for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. This project is a partnership between the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. It invites healthcare workers across America to share clinical and life experiences to understand the perspectives and problems they face on the COVID-19 pandemic front lines. It may also provide the opportunity to connect participants with future clinical research trials.

Join the HERO Registry HERE

HERO Together

Vaccinated for COVID-19?

If you work in health care and received a COVID-19 vaccine, please consider joining a new research study called HERO-TOGETHER. By joining HERO-TOGETHER, you can help the public understand how people do after vaccination.

Join HERO-Together

Healthcare Worker Exposure Response & Outcomes of Hydroxychloroquine Trial

Are you a healthcare worker? Are you interested in studying the possible prophylactic effects of hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19?

HERO-HCQ is a randomized clinical trial of approximately 15,000 Healthcare workers who are considered to be most at risk for COVID-19 exposure. UNC Chapel Hill has been site-selected as 1 of 40 sites that will be participating in the trial across the nation. We anticipate enrolling up to 375 participants working at different UNC Health facilities. It will test whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, brand name Plaquenil^®) can prevent COVID-19 infection in healthcare workers.

- Attend an initial visit as well as a follow-up in-person visit in Chapel Hill, NC
- Provide a nasal swab for COVID-19 testing and a blood sample at the initial visit and follow-up visit
- Be assigned to take either HCQ (study drug) or a placebo for 30 days
- Complete weekly online surveys related to health, mood, and COVID-19 exposure.
- The study will last 8 weeks in total
If you are interested in participating in this study, you must first join the HERO registry. This entails some surveys and questionnaires, and could provide opportunities for future research studies, including this one. Please visit the HERO website for additional information about the registry. Once you join the registry, the research team at large will address your eligibility for this particular study and send you an invitation to provide additional information if you meet the necessary qualifications.

If you have additional questions please contact an Infectious Disease research staff member at 919-259-1969. Thank you!

Sponsors: The HERO Registry is funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Award (COVID-19-2020-001). The program is coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute and leverages PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network.

Join the HERO Registry HERE
Unfortunately, this means that at this time you do not meet certain eligibility criteria required for participation in the study, or were somehow not affiliated with our site. One item to confirm, if you are indeed interested in being considered, is that you list a UNC facility as your affiliated place of work in your registry profile. Please also confirm that you identified yourself as someone who may be interested in the HERO-HCQ trial within the registry. Otherwise, we apologize for the inconvenience and hope you will stay tuned for additional research study opportunities available through the HERO Registry. Thank you!

IGHID 12011 Healthcare Worker Study

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine & Gillings School of Public Health need your help to learn more about how UNC healthcare workers, and those with whom they live, are impacted by COVID-19. This is an observational study looking at many different aspects of how COVID-19 affects healthcare workers and their household contacts.

Employees of UNC medical center providing care or support services. Including, but not limited to:
- Physicians
- Advanced Practice Providers
- Nurses
- Nursing Assistants
- Respiratory Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Environmental Health Employees
- Nutrition Services Employees
What's Involved?
- Completing an online survey, blood draw, and nasal swab every 2 weeks for up to 3 months
- Taking your own temperature twice daily
- Reporting any symptoms or diagnosis of COVID-19 to the study team
***A subset of participants will be approached about including their household members in the study, although this will be optional

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