In a highly competitive research funding field, Michigan Medicine and the Department of Family Medicine have risen to the top.
Based on recent federal fiscal year data released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest single funder of biomedical research in the world, the U-M Medical School is ranked number 11 in the country, up from 13 in federal fiscal year 2022. The Department of Family Medicine is ranked among the top 10 of its national peers in terms of NIH funding.
Among the 2023 NIH-funded projects in Family Medicine include three RO1 grants –
- Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care and Challenges in Insurance Plan Choices among Older People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: A Mixed Methods Study of Medicare Options (Associate Professor Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D.). Award No. 1R01AG08285601
- Improving contraceptive decision support for individuals with chronic conditions (Assistant Professor Justine Wu. MD, MPH). Award No. 1R01HD11057001A1
- Addressing Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Disparities and Barriers among Adolescents and Young Adults with Disabilities (Assistant Professor Justine Wu. MD, MPH). Award No. 1R01HD1110380
Other NIH-funded research projects:
- Development of patient education materials to address the needs of patients with sensory disabilities (Assistant Professor Tyler G. James, Ph.D., MCHES®). Award No. 1G08LM01429501
- Optimizing the use of advanced diabetes technology for self-management in adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (Assistant Professor Melissa DeJonckheere, Ph.D.). Award No. 1K01DK13476601
- The Effect of a Technology-Mediated Integrated Walking and Tai Chi Intervention on Physical Function in Veterans with COPD and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (Associate Professor Lorraine Buis, Ph.D.). Award No. 36C24123D0061/Order No. 36C24123N1091
“The amount of funding that we have received in NIH grants speaks to the critical nature of Family Medicine research that our faculty members – both research and clinic staff -- conduct every day,” said Research Professor Suzanne M. Zick, ND, MPH, and acting associate chair for Research Programs in the Department of Family Medicine. “Our members examine health issues for individuals from cradle to grave, not just focusing on specific diseases but also social determinants of health that come into play and affect a person’s health over the long-term.
“We’re proud to be a part of a medical organization world-renowned for its stellar research output and medical care,” she added.
Funding from the NIH makes up the majority of research dollars flowing into academic medical centers in the U.S. Overall, the NIH awarded 933 grants to faculty within the University of Michigan Medical School in federal fiscal year 2023, alone.
“Michigan Medicine remains totally committed to advancing our basic science and clinical research. With the support of the NIH and other funding sources, our incredible faculty and teams will lead the future of health care and biomedical research,” said Marschall S. Runge, CEO, Michigan Medicine and Dean, U-M Medical School.
NIH rankings for departments are generated from publicly available data and determined as a percent of the total funding available to medical schools. The full data set published by the NIH is available in the NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/
Medical school rankings for NIH fiscal year 2023 were also recently compiled by the independent Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which uses a different methodology and placed U-M at number 12.
