What Is SHIRE?
UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health launched the Secure Health Informatics Research Environment (SHIRE) on April 8, 2026. This secure, cloud-based platform accelerates responsible AI development using real-world clinical data. Chancellor Lee H. Roberts and UNC Health CEO Dr. Cristy Page jointly announced the initiative.
SHIRE is more than a data tool. It represents a deep, sustained collaboration between two of North Carolina’s leading institutions. Moreover, the platform is housed within UNC Health’s infrastructure — marking a significant step toward data-driven health care innovation across the state.
How SHIRE Works
A Secure, Cloud-Based Infrastructure
SHIRE gives credentialed researchers a powerful environment for developing and testing advanced AI models. Specifically, researchers draw on electronic health record (EHR) data from UNC Health. The platform uses scalable cloud computing alongside rigorous privacy safeguards. As a result, it supports intensive modeling on large-scale clinical datasets without compromising patient data security.
A Structured Data Access Process
Access to SHIRE is not open to the public. Instead, researchers at Carolina and UNC Health receive rigorously vetted data subsets through a structured review process. This process ensures responsible stewardship of patient data at every stage. Furthermore, the platform is designed to grow over time by integrating new external data sources — including environmental and census data — to enrich its research capabilities.
Research Areas SHIRE Supports
Precision Oncology and Rare Disease
Early work on SHIRE already targets precision oncology and rare disease identification. These are areas where targeted, data-driven approaches can dramatically improve patient outcomes. Additionally, researchers are leveraging the platform to advance mental health research — a field that benefits greatly from large-scale, real-world clinical insight.
Predictive Models and Personalized Care
SHIRE helps researchers build robust predictive models that can identify at-risk patients earlier. These models also improve treatment targeting and support more personalized care pathways. Consequently, the platform moves clinical research closer to practical, real-world application — where it matters most.
AI-Driven Clinical Text Analysis
Unlike simpler data repositories, SHIRE enables AI tools to assess unstructured clinical text. It also supports the potential integration of multimodal data sources. Therefore, it addresses a critical gap that traditional research environments cannot fill — bringing nuance and depth to clinical AI research.
SHIRE and ORDR(D): A Unified Research Ecosystem
SHIRE works alongside the de-identified Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Research Data Repository, known as ORDR(D). NC TraCS and the Renaissance Computing Institute built ORDR(D) to give researchers access to de-identified EHR data for broad discovery and analysis.
Together, SHIRE and ORDR(D) form a comprehensive research ecosystem. This combined environment supports the full life cycle of health care innovation — from data ingestion and model development through to validation and clinical translation. In other words, the two platforms strengthen each other at every stage of the research journey.
Leadership Voices on the Launch
Chancellor Roberts emphasized that SHIRE reflects UNC’s commitment to responsible AI in health care. He noted that combining real-world health data, computational infrastructure, and strong governance creates the conditions where transformative innovations can develop safely and effectively.
Dr. Page echoed this vision with equal enthusiasm. She stated that UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine aim to lead in medical innovation across North Carolina. She added that the platform will help researchers accelerate the development of treatments and cures for patients statewide and beyond.
What Comes Next for SHIRE
UNC-Chapel Hill’s AI for Public Good Conference on April 13 marks SHIRE’s first public introduction. The event features presentations from Emily Pfaff — associate professor and co-director of informatics and data science at NC TraCS — and Brent Lamm, chief information officer for UNC Health. Attendees will also take part in a live Hackathon Burst using electronic health record data.
Beyond the conference, the launch opens new opportunities for Carolina, the UNC School of Medicine, and UNC Health to partner with technology companies, life sciences organizations, and health care innovators. These partnerships will advance AI-enabled solutions through shared infrastructure and governance built on a foundation of responsibility.
