(Press-News.org) OKLAHOMA CITY – The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences has achieved its highest ranking ever in National Institutes of Health funding awarded for research. NIH funding increased to $75.2 million in the previous federal fiscal year, improving the campus’s ranking to 102 out of 2,838 institutions and other entities that receive NIH funding.
OU Health Sciences’ previous ranking was 122. Of the total amount of funding, $65.3 million was awarded to the OU College of Medicine, whose faculty members cross 23 academic departments and conduct numerous types of research.
The listing is compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which is regarded as the gold standard for ranking biomedical research institutions. Funding from the NIH is considered the key benchmark for research productivity and reputation for health sciences.
“OU Health Sciences’ Blue Ridge ranking of 102nd in NIH funding represents our ongoing commitment to making high-impact discoveries that will benefit the people and economy of Oklahoma,” said OU Health Sciences Senior Vice President and Provost Gary Raskob, Ph.D. “This is a testament to the skill and expertise of our faculty researchers across OU Health Sciences.”
In addition to OU Health Sciences’ overall Blue Ridge rankings, the OU College of Medicine and the Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing rose in their individual college rankings. The College of Medicine ranks 69 of 148 medical colleges receiving NIH funding, and the College of Nursing ranks 47 of 89 nursing colleges.
OU Health Sciences is the largest research institution in Oklahoma and is one of only a few comprehensive research universities in the nation to have six health professional colleges and an interdisciplinary Graduate College on the same campus. Strategic research areas are cancer, diabetes, neurosciences and vision, infectious diseases and geroscience.
Notable awards between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, include a $17.2 million grant to partner with Tribal nations and communities to improve cancer outcomes. This effort leverages research strategies to address three priorities identified by Tribal communities in Oklahoma: cancer prevention, cancer screening and cancer care coordination. The grant is led by the Native American Center for Cancer Health Equity (NACCHE) at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.
With a $2.3 million NIH grant, researchers who study geriatrics are analyzing whether people with dementia receive the type of end-of-life care that aligns with their wishes. The findings will advance medical knowledge of how best to care for people with an incurable disease that often robs them of their cognition, causes swallowing disorders and leads to immobility and falls.
A $5.3 million NIH grant supports advanced cancer research in Oklahoma. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant is designed to build research capacity and help early-career researchers establish independently funded laboratories, which also benefits the state economically.
The college also received a total of $5.4 million in NIH support to address the effects of obesity in pregnant women. A $2.3 million grant will allow researchers to study pregnant women with obesity, which raises the risk of Type 2 diabetes and liver disease for their offspring earlier in life. With a $3.1 million grant, OU Health Sciences will lead a national clinical trial studying whether antibiotics given at the beginning of labor induction decrease cesarean sections in women with obesity.
“Our researchers at OU Health Sciences are addressing some of the most critical health challenges across our state and nation,” said Vice President for Research Darrin Akins, Ph.D. “These rankings demonstrate the commitment of our university and campus to improving health and reducing health disparities in our state.”
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About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university with campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. In Oklahoma City, OU Health Sciences is one of the nation’s few academic health centers with seven health profession colleges located on the same campus. OU Health Sciences serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning Oklahoma City and Tulsa and is the leading research institution in Oklahoma. For more information about OU Health Sciences, visit www.ouhsc.edu.
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