Feb. 25, 2010
Contact: Mike Krings, University Relations, (785) 864-8860
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas’ status as a national leader in pharmacy research was reaffirmed today with the announcement that KU is second in the rankings of schools of pharmacy that receive National Institutes of Health research funding.
KU’s School of Pharmacy was awarded more than $22 million in research grants and contracts from the NIH in fiscal year 2009, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for schools of pharmacy. Support is considered an important part of a pharmacy school’s national reputation.
The university’s total funding increased from about $17.6 million in fiscal year 2008 to more than $22.7 million in fiscal year 2009. The increase moved KU up from third place. Ken Audus, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said the increase in funding is a reflection of the cutting-edge research taking place at the school.
“The faculty of the school collectively continue to be aggressive and obviously very competitive nationally in applying for NIH grants during a time when the funding rates remain low,” Audus said. “We are also very proud to point out that our more junior faculty are stepping up and contributing significantly to the school’s tradition of exceptional NIH grantsmanship.”
Pharmacy faculty continue to land significant grants, such as the $6.85 million award secured last year by Sunil David and Apurba Dutta, associate professors of medicinal chemistry. The grant will fund their work to improve vaccines while reducing their side effects.
KU trailed only the University of California-San Francisco in total funding. KU’s School of Pharmacy also is listed in the top five in the amount of grants per full-time faculty member and percentage of full-time faculty that receive NIH funding. KU ranked third in amount of funding per faculty member, averaging $568,570 per researcher. Twenty-five of KU’s 40 full-time pharmacy faculty, or 62.5 percent, received NIH funding, putting the university in fourth place in the category.
The School of Pharmacy has long been a leader in NIH-funded research. This marks the ninth consecutive year the school has been in the top five, and it has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 1995.
Soon, the School of Pharmacy will be able to expand its educational activities and produce more pharmacists and researchers. Last year, KU broke ground on a new 110,000-square-foot facility on the Lawrence campus and announced an expansion to the School of Pharmacy facility at the School of Medicine-Wichita. The Lawrence facilities are set to open by the fall 2010 semester.
“Pharmacy students at KU receive their education from internationally renowned professors working at the cutting-edge of research,” Audus said. “The addition of the new facilities and distance education technologies at KU will facilitate the ability of our professors to significantly impact pharmacy and graduate education globally.”
Read the original press release at KU News
