Med School No. 2 in NIH funding

Medical School faculty members received $201 million in FY98 grants. The University of Pennsylvania Health System received some good news this month when the National Institutes of Health announced that the Penn Medical School ranked second in the country last year in NIH funding. The new figures say that Penn professors and physicians received $201 million in research and training grants during Fiscal Year 1998, behind only Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University. The ranking is one spot higher than in 1997. "The move to second in the country in NIH funding means we will not be complacent but will continue to define tomorrow's medicine," Medical School Dean and Health System Chief Executive Officer William Kelley said in a statement. Funding from the Bethesda, Md.-based NIH -- the nation's main provider of funding for biomedical research and training -- is highly competitive and is considered to be indicative of top-quality research institutions. "The fact that anybody gets one NIH grant is a great accomplishment and if somebody can rack up a large number of NIH grants that is certainly something to be very proud of," NIH spokesperson Don Ralbovsky said. Penn's second-place ranking results from $26 million more in funding than the previous year's third-place standing and $52 million more than 1996's fifth-place rank. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore ranked first this year, topping Penn's funding by approximately $23.5 million. The University of California at San Francisco was ranked third, followed by Washington University in St. Louis and Yale University in New Haven, Conn. For fiscal year 1998, Penn researchers took in a total of $414 million in sponsored outside grants, according to figures released in January. Eighty percent of that funding comes from federal agencies like the NIH and the National Science Foundation, with public agencies like the American Heart Association and private industry making up the difference. Officials said the funding shows that national health organizations recognize the strength of Penn's faculty and research programs, which are made possible largely by the NIH funds. "Our growth in NIH funding has provided our faculty with a lot more opportunities to successfully carry out their research," Medical School Senior Vice Dean Richard Tannen said. In light of the competitive nature of NIH grants, the University's high numbers stand as proof of the superb quality of Penn's faculty and "recognition of how successful and talented" they are, Tannen added. Kelley said the faculty and staff can provide the highest level of teaching and patient care in the region partly because of the "world-class research and training programs" funded in part by the NIH. Locally, Penn's funding was almost $1 million more than the sum total of the funding for three other Philadelphia medical schools -- Jefferson Medical College, the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University and the Temple University School of Medicine. The NIH report ranked 124 medical schools overall and by department. Penn placed in the top five in 11 individual department rankings, with first place honors in the departments of Radiology, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Physiology. The Medical School -- which, along with the flagship Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, sits at the heart of the $2 billion Health System -- enrolls 600 medical students and was ranked third in the nation this year by U.S. News and World Report.

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