Part of UAB's healthcare staff all masked up — Just some of the healthcare wonders of UAB. Photo via UAB Medicine’s Facebook

There’s huge news about the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The institution was recently awarded $325M in research funding. Keep reading for the deets.

According to The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, UAB received $325,573,502 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The largest amount of funding, $269,911,974, went to investigators in the School of Medicine— an increase of more than $13M over 2019. This puts UAB at the 20th ranking on the list of universities receiving funding from the NIH. Among public universities, UAB ranked 12th.

“This is the second year in a row that UAB research funding from NIH has been over $300 million, reaffirming UAB’s place as a leading academic research institution. In addition to serving as a major economic driver for Birmingham and Alabama, this research funding leads to discoveries from our laboratories that are responsible for dramatic improvements in the health and well-being of citizens of Alabama, the United States and the world.”
Chris Brown, Ph.D., Vice President, Research at UAB

The Breakdown

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital’s new clinic in Trussville. Photo via UAB Callahan Eye Hospital

Here’s where UAB School of Medicine ranked on the list:

School of Optometry — 3rd, $3.4M in funding

School of Health Professions — 6th, $9.7M in funding

School of Dentistry — 10th, $7M in funding

School of Nursing — 11th, $5.9 in funding

School of Public Health — 15th, $18M in funding

UAB’s Top 10

Within the UAB’s School of Medicine, five departments landed in the top 10 in research funding. They include:

Department of Dermatology — 2nd place, $8.2M

Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology — 6th place, nearly $17M

Department of Biomedical Engineering — 7th place, $4.7M

Department of Microbiology — 8th place, $21.3M

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology — 10th place, $6.4M

UAB’s Top 20

UAB — Photo via University of Alabama at Birmingham

But that’s not all! Another seven departments ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Check out these rankings:

Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences — 12th place, $8.3M

Department of Pediatrics— 14th place, $21.5M

Department of Urology — Also landed in the 14th spot, $1.7M

Department of Neurology — 16th place, $18.6M

Department of Anesthesiology — 19th place, $4.6M

Neurosurgery — 20th, $2.6M

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation — Also ranked 20th with over half a million.

UAB’s Top 50

Many departments from UAB also ranked within the top 50, including:

Department of Internal Medicine — 21st, $98.7M

Department of Genetics — 21st, $10.9M

Department of Surgery — 21st, $7PM

Department of Pathology, 23rd, $10.9M million

Department of Neurobiology — 28th, $7.4M

Department of Radiation Oncology/Department of Radiology — 30th, $5.9M

Also ranking within the top 50 in their fields are the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, Otolaryngology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.