Ohio State University's medical school spent a record $421.4 million on research for fiscal 2023, up 14% from a year ago.
The College of Medicine is responsible for about one-quarter of overall OSU research spending – that figure is typically released in February. The university as a whole hit a record $1.38 billion in research spending for fiscal 2022.
Medical research spans from underlying biology to therapeutic advancements approved for treating patients, plus public health initiatives and the clinical trials needed to get market approval.
“This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work, curiosity and commitment to research and innovation on the part of our faculty, learners and staff," Dr. Carol Bradford, medical school dean and vice president for Health Sciences at OSU Wexner Medical Center, said in a news release.
The National Institutes of Health awarded more than half of the funding – $237 million in grants, contracts and subcontracts in the year ended June 30. Other government agencies, nonprofit foundations and industry contracts make up the rest.
The year brought 88 new projects with more than $1 million in funding in areas including suicide prevention, protecting against stress-induced heart disease and studying the effect of e-cigarette flavoring on smoking behavior.
"As a land-grant university, we are dedicated to creating and discovering knowledge to improve the well-being of our local, state, regional and national communities,” Peter Mohler, executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge and the medical center's chief scientific officer, said in the release.
“This impressive funding increase reflects the talent of our researchers and the level of science in our laboratories, said Mohler, who also is acting university president until Ted Carter takes office on Jan. 1.
Ohio State's $1.24 billion in overall research spending in fiscal year 2021, the first time passing the billion mark, vaulted the Columbus school to No. 12 nationwide from No. 24, according to the most recent National Science Foundation data. It finished closely behind Nos. 9-11 Stanford, Harvard, and Duke universities, all with expenditures from $1.24 billion to $1.27 billion that year.
