Florida State wins record NIH funding

http://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2017/10/04/florida-state-wins-record-nih-funding/

Florida State University researchers have brought in record funding of $35.8 million from the National Institutes of Health, more than double the amount the university received five years ago.

It is also one of the highest amounts won by any Florida research institution or university during the 2017 federal fiscal year.

“This is a great testament to the growth of Florida State University and the excellent faculty and programs we have here,” said Vice President for Research Gary K. Ostrander. “We have made strategic investments to support our faculty as they apply for these competitive research grants, and we are seeing the fruit from that labor with a remarkable demonstration of confidence from the NIH.”

FSU researchers brought in $35.8 million in the 2017 federal fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, 2017. This is a big boost over the past five years. In federal fiscal year 2013, the university received $15.7 from the NIH.

It also positions the university as one of the leaders in the state in health and biomedical research. FSU ranked fifth in the state for funding from the NIH, ahead of heavyweights such as the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa.  

“We’ve worked hard to build many of our programs at the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and in other areas that typically receive NIH funding,” Ostrander said. “Boosting our NIH funding has been a strategic goal of the university, and we are happy that our researchers have received these dollars to conduct important health-related research that can improve the lives of people in the U.S. and around the world.”

The surge in research funding from the NIH also coincides with a dramatic jump in national rankings by FSU. In two years, the university has vaulted 10 spots in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. FSU is now ranked No. 33 in the nation among public universities.

The Florida Legislature’s designation of FSU as one of the state’s two preeminent universities and the funding tied to that has allowed the university to hire additional faculty in the health sciences and other areas.