UArizona Health Sciences Excels in Latest Blue Ridge Rankings on NIH Funding

Feb 17, 2021
Increases in total National Institutes of Health funding have led to higher rankings for several colleges and departments.

TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona Health Sciences increased its National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to $139,881,044 and moved up in several categories in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings, released Feb. 8.

Click to view larger.Most notably, the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson and the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix continued a five-year upward trend in the rankings, advancing to No. 45 with a combined $124,154,870 in NIH funding. Of that total, $119,216,065 was awarded to principal investigators at the College of Medicine – Tucson and $4,938,805 to researchers at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

The UArizona College of Pharmacy also increased its position in the ranking, moving up from No. 13 to No. 8 with $10,024,391 in NIH funding. The UArizona College of Nursing accounted for $1,933,505 and improved its ranking from No. 39 last year to No. 33. The UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health also notched a Top 50 placement, checking in at No. 35 with $3,768,278 in NIH funding. Overall, the University of Arizona ranked No. 61 among U.S. institutions.

“Over the past six years, the University of Arizona Health Sciences has consistently increased the amount of funding received from the NIH, reflecting significant growth in research that has the potential to solve some of the most pervasive health care problems of the 21st century,” said Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president for UArizona Health Sciences.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research is a nonprofit organization that ranks U.S. medical schools by NIH grant awards each year. The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. NIH-funded research has led to breakthroughs and new treatments helping people live longer, healthier lives, and building the research foundation that drives discovery.

Many of the researchers who received NIH funding are key contributors to UArizona Health Sciences’ strategic initiatives, which seek to reshape the future of health care and address critical global health challenges. Examples of UArizona Health Sciences awards that contributed to the rankings include:

The Blue Ridge Rankings track yearly NIH funding awards from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The rankings are determined by the whole value of awards to a principal investigator’s institution and do not include research and development contracts.

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Photos available: https://arizona.box.com/s/v6kqgff4br5rg6b9lshkii30p8r33fsn

About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).

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