Feinberg School Leads NU in Research Funding

Feinberg School Leads NU in Research Funding

With $168.2 million in research funding in 2003, the Feinberg School of Medicine surpassed all other academic units in drawing research dollars to Northwestern. The medical school’s award total constitutes 51 percent of all research funding to the University, which totaled $328.1 million. Funding from research awards granted to medical school faculty members increased 8.9 percent in 2003.

The Department of Medicine garnered the largest portion of awards, with 348 grants totaling $45.1 million, an increase of 24.1 percent. Other leading departments include cell and molecular biology, $11.4 million; physiology, $11.3 million; microbiology—immunology, $10.5 million; and pathology, $9.1 million. The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University received research awards totaling $15.5 million.

Awards to the Feinberg School far outpaced those of other units in the University. The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences received $45.4 million, an increase of 7.5 percent, while the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science received $43.6 million, a 4.2 percent decrease. Awards for University research centers totaled $43.1 million, a 4.4 percent increase.

Federal awards accounted for 1,412 grants and 78.4 percent of research dollars to Northwestern, with the Department of Health and Human Services providing the most awards (736 awards, $175.1 million). Other sources of federal funding included the National Science Foundation ($35 million) and Department of Defense ($26.6 million).