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All six basic science departments rank in the top 6 in National Institutes of Health funding for federal fiscal year 2020, according to a new report by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, and 12 clinical departments rank in the top 30.


The UNC School of Medicine ranked 17th in the country in total National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for federal fiscal year 2020 and 5th among peer public universities, according to a new report published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The total dollar amount is $345,729,473, a jump of more than $29 million from FY 2019. This amount does not include research and development contracts with the NIH.

The UNC School of Medicine has increased its NIH funding each year since 2015. The total amount of research funding to the school, including from the NIH, now stands at more than half a billion dollars.

All six basic science departments rank in the top 10 for NIH Funding, five in the top five. Each department’s ranking among public universities is in parentheses:

Cell Biology and Physiology, 2nd (2nd)

Microbiology and Immunology, 3rd (2nd)

Pharmacology, 4th (3rd)

Biochemistry and Biophysics, 4th (2nd)

Biomedical Engineering, 6th (3rd)

Genetics, 6th (1st)

Twelve clinical departments rank in the top 30 for NIH funding. The rank among public schools of medicine is in parentheses:

Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3rd (1st)

Family Medicine, 6th (6th)

Emergency Medicine 12th (8th)

Anesthesiology, 12th (5th)

Medicine, 14th (5th)

Dermatology, 16th (5th)

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 17th (8th)

Psychiatry, 19th (10th)

Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, 21st (11th)

Pediatrics, 23rd (11th)

Radiology (includes radiation oncology), 24th (10th)

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 26th (14th)

“Our faculty, staff, students, and fellows do amazing work every day, reflected in the many scientific and medical discoveries that advance human health and society each year,” said Blossom Damania, PhD, vice dean for research at the UNC School of Medicine. “These NIH rankings are a reflection of their dedication and effort, their collaborative passion to push biomedical science forward with the ultimate goal of helping people.”

The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is ranked 3rd in total NIH funding, 1st among public universities. The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is ranked 2nd behind UC-San Francisco. The UNC School of Nursing is ranked 16th, 8th among public schools. The UNC Adams School of Dentistry is ranked 29th, 18th among public schools.

Media contact: Mark Derewicz