The Department of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has climbed to first in the nation in grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the School of Medicine ranked 32nd overall among American medical schools – its highest position ever – in NIH funding.
The school’s support increased by $14 million, reaching a total of $128,702,375 from NIH in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2004. That compared to $114,768,124 for the same period in 2003, when the school ranked 36th among the 125 medical schools.
The Department of Public Health Sciences reached first place among medical schools with public health sciences departments with total funding of $40.3 million, up from just under $28 million in 2003. Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California ranked second with $37.1 million and Yale University School of Medicine ranked third with $17.4 million.
The medical school’s Department of Physiology and Pharmacology ranked fifth nationally, with total funding of $15.2 million.
“We are strongly committed to the growth of an outstanding, nationally recognized research program and gratified to see that our efforts are reflected in these national benchmarks,” said Sally A. Shumaker, Ph.D., associate dean for research. “We remain invested in producing excellent medical science in order to, ultimately, enhance medical care. “
Other School of Medicine departments in the top 25 of similar departments nationally include anesthesia, 18th, cancer biology, 15th, family medicine, 11th, obstetrics and gynecology, 22nd, radiologic sciences, 19th, and surgical sciences, 22nd.
“I am continually impressed with the skills, dedication, and contributions of our faculty and staff to our research enterprise, as well as the participation of our community partnerships,” Shumaker said.
Overall, Wake Forest University, including the Reynolda campus, ranked 43rd among American colleges and universities with a total of $130.3 million. The state of North Carolina ranked 7th among the states with $985 million in NIH funding.
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Media Contacts: Robert Conn, rconn@wfubmc.edu, Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, or Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranked Wake Forest University School of Medicine 23rd in primary care, 40th in research and 12th in geriatrics training among the nation's medical schools. More than 100 medical school faculty members are listed in Best Doctors in America.
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Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587