VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

The Virginia Commonwealth University schools of medicine and nursing have achieved significantly higher rankings in medical research funding over the past year – medicine moved up six positions and nursing into the top 20 -- according to data recently released by the National Institutes of Health.

The NIH data show that the VCU School of Medicine moved from No. 59 in 2007 to No. 53 for 2008, out of 126 ranked schools of medicine, and the VCU School of Nursing moved from 23 in 2007, to No. 19, out of 82 ranked schools of nursing - higher than any nursing schools in Virginia.

The VCU School of Medicine in 2008 was awarded nearly $63 million from the NIH for medical research, with significant funding in neurosurgery, pharmacology and toxicology, human and molecular genetics, anatomy and internal medicine research.

“The increase in federal support for biomedical research reflects the creativity and dedication of our faculty and validates the importance and quality of their scholarship as viewed by their peers,” said Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine. “The increased funding has yielded already significant advances, which are documented in scientific publications in high impact journals, patents and patent applications.

“Most importantly, the research is being translated into improved clinical care,” Strauss said. 

The VCU School of Nursing was awarded $2.2 million in 2008 for research that largely is focused on the development of the science for improving the health of the nation.

“The faculty has a major concentration on bio-behavioral clinical research that improves the quality of care and therefore the quality of life of people experiencing critical illnesses,” said Nancy Langston, Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Nursing.

Langston said it is part of the school’s strategic plan to be ranked consistently in the top 20 Schools of Nursing in the nation in NIH funding.

“Both of these schools have nationally prominent faculty that are contributing enormously to their fields,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., vice president for VCU Health Sciences. “We are extremely fortunate to have recruited such talented individuals to VCU.”

The NIH annually computes data on funding provided by NIH grants, cooperative agreements and contracts to universities, hospitals and other institutions.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.