UTHealth Houston among the nation’s best in research funding

UTHealth Houston continues to rank among the nation’s top institutions for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding, according to the latest annual rankings from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

The annual rankings evaluate institutions, departments, and investigators based on the funding they receive from the NIH over the previous federal fiscal year.

For a second consecutive year, Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health were all ranked No. 1 in Texas. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston also ranked highly, with four individual departments ranking in the top 10 in the nation.

Cizik School of Nursing

Cizik School of Nursing ranks No. 1 in Texas for a second straight year and rose to No. 15 nationally among nursing schools that received research funding from the NIH in 2024, adding more than $1.1 million in federal grants from the previous year, when they were ranked No. 18.

“The research projects driving our dramatic increase in NIH funding over the past few years grew from small seed grants provided by the school and through private funding, including awards from the PARTNERS organization,” said Constance Johnson, PhD, RN, associate dean for research, Lee and Joe Jamail Distinguished Professor in the School of Nursing, and Maria C. and Christopher J. Pappas Family Distinguished Chair in Nursing at the nursing school. “Last year, the Cizik Nursing Research Institute, led by Professor Carolyn Pickering, was approved by UTHealth Houston. This institute is committed to facilitating the development and dissemination of evidence-based knowledge that informs and enhances the practice of nursing.”

Read more about the school’s research projects on its website.

School of Dentistry

The School of Dentistry maintained a strong stature by repeating as No. 1 in Texas and No. 10 nationally among dental schools.

According to the agency, the School of Dentistry reported a little more than $9 million in research grants funded by the NIH through September 2024, a gain of nearly $1.3 million from the previous year.

“The School of Dentistry is proud to have maintained one of its long-standing goals — to be ranked in the top 10 nationally among U.S. dental schools and first in Texas in research funding,” said John Valenza, DDS, dean and The William N. Finnegan III Distinguished Professor in the Dental Sciences at the School of Dentistry. “This year, we held our mark while increasing our total grant funding, which strongly reflects the commitment and achievement of our faculty, staff, students, and residents toward research. The foundations of excellence in education are patient care and research, and as we have elevated the school’s stature in both, it’s our students, residents, and patients who are the ultimate beneficiaries of these efforts toward improving both oral and overall health.”

School of Public Health

The School of Public Health repeated as the No. 1 ranked university in Texas and placed 16th nationally. In addition, they ranked No. 8 nationally among public universities.

According to the agency, the School of Public Health reported $25.8 million in research grants funded by NIH through September 2024, an increase of $1 million from 2023.

“Being nationally ranked among our peer institutions is an honor,” said Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, dean of the School of Public Health, M. David Low Chair in Public Health, and Kozmetsky Family Chair in Human Genetics. “Public and population health research has never been more critical, which is a testament to our faculty and researchers’ great work.”

McGovern Medical School

McGovern Medical School increased its NIH funding, reaching the top 35% of U.S. medical schools. With a total of $122 million in NIH funding in 2024, McGovern Medical School ranked No. 51 among all U.S. medical schools.

“These numbers are testament to our prolific and outstandingly talented faculty who are making a real impact in basic, translational, and clinical research,” said John Hancock, MA, MB, PhD, ScD, executive dean, John S. Dunn Distinguished University Chair in Physiology and Medicine, and H. Wayne Hightower Distinguished Professor in the Medical Sciences at McGovern Medical School.

The national ranking is the medical school’s highest place since 2002, when it was ranked No. 50 in NIH funding.

Specific medical school departments were also ranked among their peer departments in NIH research funding, with four McGovern Medical School departments placing in the national top 10: Anesthesiology (No. 8), Integrative Biology and Pharmacology (No. 9), Neurosurgery (No. 5), and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (No. 9).