Research funding to the University of Alabama at Birmingham from the National Institutes of Health topped $300 million in 2019. The university received $328,106,722, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, placing UAB 22nd in the list of universities receiving funding from the NIH. Among public universities, UAB ranks ninth.
The School of Medicine also placed 22nd among medical schools, with $256,395,438 in research funding, an increase of more than $23 million over 2018. The School of Optometry ranked second among optometry schools, with funding topping $4.95 million.
The School of Dentistry ranked 11th, with a total of over $5.9 million, while the School of Nursing tallied $4.9 million, placing the school 15th in the nation.
The School of Public Health had grants topping $14.7 million, standing at 19th in the country, while grants to the School of Health Professions reached $7.2 million.
“Topping $300 million in 2019 reaffirms UAB’s place as a leading academic research institution,” said Chris Brown, Ph.D., vice president for Research at UAB. “The leading schools in research are also the leading schools in health care, and a robust research enterprise is central to attracting and retaining the brightest faculty and students.”
Within the School of Medicine, five departments were in the top 10 in research funding. The Department of Dermatology was second, with more than $8 million. The Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology was fourth, with nearly $16.5 million. The Department of Biomedical Engineering landed in fifth place, with $5.3 million, while the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences brought in $8.7 million, good for eighth in the rankings. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ranked 10th, with $5.2 million.
Other significant grant recipients were the Department of Internal Medicine, with $96.8 million in research funding; the Department of Genetics, with $21.3 million; the Department of Pediatrics, with $18.5 million; the Department of Microbiology, with $14.4 million; the Department of Pathology, with $12.2 million; and the Department of Neurology, with $12.8 million.