The Penn School of Medicine ranked second in research money received from the National Institutes of Health for the 2004 fiscal year, according to a report released last week.
The school received 947 awards totaling more than $393.6 million. The figure marks a 9.4 percent increase from the previous year.
Arthur Rubenstein, executive vice president of the Health System and dean of the School of Medicine, said that "the NIH is a major source of research funding for the [Penn Medical] School, as it is for every major university."
Administrators at the Medical School said that the increase in funding is a more impressive
statistic than the number-two ranking.
The Medical School "is consistently ranked in the top five. The [number-two] ranking means next to nothing," said Glen Gaulton, vice dean for research and research training at the Medical School.
Rubenstein added, "What is important is that funding has gone up in a competitive environment."
While the ranking is a testament to the success of the faculty in the research department, getting the second-place spot has little impact on the rest of the Medical School and the University on the whole.
"The [NIH] ranking is a separate piece from education. It is not like the U.S. News and World Report, which ranks schools," said Gail Morrison, vice dean of education at the Medical School.
Rebecca Harmon, a spokeswoman for the Medical School, said that the consistent ranking is "a mark of excellence and well-deserved recognition for [the Medical School] faculty."
According to Gaulton, the Medical School brings in the majority of research funding at the University.
There are over 1,200 projects in the School of Medicine, and research money from the NIH benefits the study of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders and overall patient welfare.
As well as disease research, the grant money also goes toward the training of young researchers and the purchasing of equipment.
Of the Medical School's future projects, Gaulton said, "We anticipate that we'll continue to have strong research funding."
Harmon noted, "The dollars that [the Medical School] receive[s] ultimately result in better treatments."
The publication of the ranking is beneficial for the continued success of the school through faculty recruitment and improved reputation, she added.
"People want to be part of a community with intellectual capacity," Harmon said, adding that quality medical researchers are drawn to Penn because of the well-known success of the research department.
The NIH is the largest source of funding for biomedical research and training in the nation. Johns Hopkins University ranked first in NIH funding received last year.
The medical schools of the University of California-San Francisco, Washington University
in St. Louis and the University of Washington rounded out the top five, taking the third, fourth and fifth spots respectively.
