KU News Release

KU pharmacy faculty ranks No. 1 in National Institutes of Health funding

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas is No. 1 in the nation in percentage of pharmacy faculty who receive research funding from the prestigious National Institutes of Health. KU is also ranked fourth in the nation in total NIH funding, according to recently released figures from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for pharmacy schools in the United States. Support is considered an important part of a pharmacy school’s national reputation.

Twenty-two, or 61.1 percent of, full-time faculty members in KU’s School of Pharmacy received NIH funding in fiscal year 2007. The University of California-San Diego followed with 58.33 percent. The University of California-San Francisco, University of Arizona and University at Buffalo-SUNY rounded out the top five.

The University of Nebraska, the University of Colorado and Texas Tech University were the only other Big 12 schools in the top 20 at Nos. 7, 8 and 14, respectively. KU’s total number of faculty who receive NIH funding was second only to the University of Utah, with 23 of 67 faculty members qualifying.

KU secured more than $11 million in NIH funding in fiscal year 2007, ranking it fourth. The University of Utah was ranked at the top, with more than $23 million. In second was the University of California-San Francisco, which had held the top spot for nearly 30 years. Completing the top five were the University of Illinois-Chicago at No. 3 and the University of Washington at No. 5. Colorado was the only other Big 12 school ranked in the top 20, at No. 8.

“Showing well in these rankings is a great boost for the School of Pharmacy,” said Dean Kenneth Audus. “The willingness of the National Institutes of Health to invest so strongly in the research done at KU shows we are at the forefront of expanding the pool of knowledge in our field.”

KU has been in the top five for overall funding for seven consecutive years and in the top 10 since 1995. Audus said that with the arrival of distinguished faculty members such as Blake Peterson and Tom Prisinzano in medicinal chemistry, he expects the numbers to be even better next year. The Kansas Bioscience Authority recently named Peterson one of its first Eminent Scholars.

“These rankings make it clear that, pound for pound, the KU School of Pharmacy has an extraordinary faculty — one that consistently outperforms schools with much larger faculties,” said Steve Warren, vice provost for research and graduate studies.

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