UNC Med Ranks Top 5 in NIH Funding for 2025

The UNC School of Medicine is listed among the top five public universities to receive National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for the 2025 federal fiscal year.

A new report published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research indicates UNC School of Medicine received $353 million in federal funding, a $4 million increase compared to the previous year.

"Our researchers use NIH funding to push forward fundamental research that discovers new biology paradigms and leads to deeper insights, therapies, and preventive strategies across a wide range of diseases," said Dr. Blossom Damania, vice dean for research at the UNC School of Medicine and chief scientific officer at UNC Health. "We are deeply grateful for the support we receive from the NIH and other agencies. It enables us to carry out research that will strengthen health care and biomedical knowledge well into the future."

The new report ranks UNC School of Medicine fifth among peer public universities in total NIH funding for federal fiscal year 2025 and 18^th in the country.

Blue Ridge is an independent nonprofit based in western North Carolina that releases annual rankings of NIH funding to colleges and universities. That funding serves as a foundation for research in areas such as genetics, cancer, biomedical engineering, neurosciences, and much more.

Six out of the 7* UNC School of Medicine basic science departments are ranked below, including each ranking among public universities in parentheses:

• Biochemistry and Biophysics, 3^rd (2^nd)
• Biomedical Engineering, 8^th (5^th)
• Cell Biology and Physiology, 1^st (1^st)
• Genetics, 1^st (1^st)
• Microbiology and Immunology, 6^th (2^nd)
• Pharmacology, 11^th (6^th)

*Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research does not provide rankings for Social Medicine.

Ten clinical departments rank in the top 30 for NIH funding. Each department ranking among public schools is in parentheses:

• ENT, 5th (1^st)
• Family Medicine, 21^st (19^th)
• Medicine, 23^rd (8^th)
• OB/GYN, 6^th (2^nd)
• Pathology, 28^th (12^th)
• Pediatrics, 26^th (11^th )
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 17^th (7^th )
• Psychiatry, 17^th (8^th )
• Radiology, 22^nd (8^th )
• Surgery, 26^th (13^th )

The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is ranked 5th in total NIH funding, 1^st among public universities. The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is ranked 2^nd behind University of California, San Francisco.

About UNC Health

UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of nearly 20 hospitals and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina SOM. UNC Health provided more than $800 million in Uncompensated Charity Care during the past five years. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety, and the overall patient experience.