On the rise

On the rise

College of Medicine’s NIH research funding rises for sixth year in a row

By Morgan Sherburne

College of Medicine Celebration of Research Poster SessionAt a time when garnering National Institutes of Health research funding has proved challenging for many institutions across the country, the College of Medicine has increased its NIH grant funding for the sixth consecutive year.

“This continued advancement in research funding shows that we are achieving our goal of becoming a national leader in clinical and basic research,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., UF senior vice president for health affairs and UF Health president. “Thanks to the innovative work of College of Medicine faculty and staff, the college has achieved enduring and consistent growth in research over the past five years. This growth in research funding allows UF Health to have a direct impact on the lives of patients through advances in the diagnosis, prevention and cure of diseases.”

In 2009, the UF College of Medicine received $61.7 million in funding. Since then, the grant awards continued to rise, even when the budget of the NIH itself decreased. In  2010, the college’s funding rose to $62 million, and in 2011, the funding jumped to $72.1 million. In 2012, the funding was $83.9 million; in 2013, $84.9 million and in 2014, $88 million.

Although UF has been courting an influx of new faculty as part of its preeminence initiative — which seeks to push UF to a top-10 public research university in the nation — the increase in funding came largely before any of the new hires were in place.

The NIH funding has also helped the UF College of Medicine jump in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings from 58 in 2009 to 43 in 2014.

“Our continued increase in NIH funding is the direct result of the hard work and innovation of our faculty. Their increased focus on interdisciplinary work leads to compelling research, paving the way for medical discovery and for taking the best possible care of our patients,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine.