>>USF medical school rises in ranks of NIH funding

-- Pediatrics and Neurosurgery hit Top 10 in departmental rankings --

Tampa, FL (September 19, 2006) -- The University of South Florida College of Medicine has risen in the ranks of awards bestowed by the National Institutes of Health, the most prestigious funding source for medical research.

With $40.6 million in total NIH funding for fiscal year 2005, the college moved to 74th place among the 123 U.S. medical schools ranked. That’s up from 79th place, $34 million, in fiscal year 2004 and a jump from 100th place a decade ago.

 

Two USF College of Medicine Departments, Pediatrics and Neurosurgery, made the top 10 in NIH departmental rankings for fiscal year 2005.

 

For the second consecutive year, USF’s pediatrics faculty hit the top 10 in NIH research grants. The Department of Pediatrics, with $24.9 million, placed third among 93 pediatrics departments ranked by NIH in 2005 – up from ninth place ($17.8 million) in fiscal year 2004. The latest step up in rank was spurred largely by a $20.1 million NIH grant to Jeffrey Krischer, PhD, and his team at the USF Pediatrics Epidemiology Center. The group, studying environmental triggers of diabetes in children, is coordinating and analyzing data from clinical sites across the United States and Europe.

 

The Department of Neurosurgery, with $1.67 million, climbed to ninth place among 44 neurosurgery departments ranked in 2005 – up from 16th place ($1.29 million) in 2004. The USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, directed by Paul Sanberg, DSc, PhD, was a major contributor to the increase. Faculty at the center were awarded new NIH grants for research in aging, stem cells, immunology and brain repair.

 

In addition, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute – an affiliate of USF’s medical school – ranked 28th out of 273 centers and institutes in a listing of NIH support to research institutions across the county. USF College of Medicine faculty at Moffitt secured $23.2 million in NIH funding in 2005 – up from $19 million in 2004.

 

“This is another example of the forward momentum of USF Health when it comes to achieving national prominence,” said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for USF Health. “Our faculty continue to work across departments and colleges to improve our NIH research ranking."

 

“We expect that our national research standing will continue to grow as we strengthen our collaborations with other colleges and schools at USF and with affiliate partners and community healthcare providers and broaden the diversity and size of our translational and clinical research enterprise,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, DPhil, senior associate vice president for research at USF Health. “By focusing on the entire continuum of health, our opportunities for interdisciplinary research collaboration and breakthroughs are limitless."

 

Collectively at USF Health, its colleges of medicine, nursing, and public heath received $167 million in extramural funding in fiscal year 2005 – up from $134 million in fiscal year 2004. USF Health College of Nursing received $3.9 million in extramural funding in fiscal year 2005 – up from $1.7 million in fiscal year 2004.

 

USF received $310 million in extramural funding in fiscal year 2005 – up from $287 million in fiscal year 2004. USF is one of only 63 public universities in the U.S., and one of only three public universities in the State of Florida that have been designated as Carnegie Comprehensive Doctoral Research University/Very High Research Activity.

 

 

 

 

 

- USF Health -

 

USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of basic biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year. It  is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the nation's fastest growing universities for federal research and development expenditures.