U of M Medical School jumps ahead in rankings for research funded by the NIH
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (02/10/2023) — Today, the 2022 Blue Ridge Rankings announced the University of Minnesota Medical School has moved to No. 21 among all medical schools with funding from the National Institutes of Health and No. 8 among all public medical schools. With more than $340 million in funding, the U of M Medical School earned 554 NIH awards in disciplines such as biochemistry, emergency medicine, otolaryngology, neurology, and family medicine and community health.
"Elevating into the Top 25 in the Blue Ridge Rankings is a cornerstone commitment of MPact 2025, our University’s systemwide strategic plan, and I’m especially proud of what this represents – the incredible work of our faculty and researchers in pursuit of medical discovery, treatments and cures," said President Joan Gabel. "This important achievement adds to the University's legacy of translating research into meaningful impact for Minnesotans and the world.”
“Our faculty and the staff who support them have worked hard to succeed in the competitive environment of NIH funding,” said Tim Schacker, MD, vice dean for research at the Medical School. “This increase in the rankings shows we've leveraged public and private investments wisely to hire the right teams in pursuit of new scientific knowledge to improve health and care."
The Medical School Research Office has been instrumental in aligning resources and priorities. For example, the Academic Investment Research Program (AIRP) at the Medical School invests seed funding that leverages successful NIH grant applications. This year alone, the Medical School invested $13.7 million in large center grants that returned more than $122 million in externally funded grants.
“The value of the ranking is that first it acknowledges the incredible work of our faculty and staff, in partnership with the State of Minnesota, to advance health and health care in areas of greatest need, like cancer, aging, and infectious disease,” said Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD, dean of the Medical School and vice president for clinical affairs. “The ongoing benefit is the reputational pull for faculty, staff and students — the ability to work with the best — that will continue to build on itself. This means the best physicians and teams are here providing care to Minnesotans.”
The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research is a nonprofit organization that ranks U.S. medical schools by NIH grant awards each year. Because NIH data is publicly available and easy to validate, this metric is used as a strong indicator of the Medical School’s mission to provide clinical, research and educational excellence that ultimately positively impacts the people of Minnesota.
Learn more about NIH funded research from the U of M Medical School at med.umn.edu/blue-ridge-rankings.
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About the University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School, both the Twin Cities campus and Duluth campus, is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu.