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.

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 five 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:

• UArizona Health Sciences Researcher Seeks New Way to Understand Human Aging
• From Big Data to Precision Cures
• UArizona Researcher Awarded $3.4M to Develop Personalized Treatment for Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Superfund Research Center Receives $10.6M to Study Mining Waste, Arsenic-Diabetes Link
• One Small Molecule, Potential Giant Step to Improve Cognitive Function
• UArizona Health Sciences Researcher Studies Statins for Stroke Therapy
• UArizona Health Sciences Researchers Narrow in on Novel Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease
• UArizona Health Sciences Researchers Prepare First Potential Drug Therapy for Vascular Dementia for Clinical Trials
• $7.3M Grant Advances UArizona Health Sciences Researcher’s Pursuit of Treatments for Arsenic-Induced Lung Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes
• NIH New Innovator Award to Fund UArizona Health Sciences Research on Opioid Addiction and Relapse in Postpartum Women

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.



By Stacy Pigott