Research Grants to UC Climb $20 Million in 2008

The University of Cincinnati’s (UC) research enterprise topped $353 million in 2008—an increase of $20 million over 2007.

This all-time high puts the University of Cincinnati beyond its 2011 goal of $350 million and marks a doubling of research funding to the university over the last 10 years.

Data for fiscal year 2008 were presented Thursday, Nov. 13, to the UC community by Sandra Degen, PhD, vice president for research.

“We’re extremely proud of our researchers’ success in 2008,” says Degen. “It’s been a tough funding climate at the federal level, which is where the majority of research grants come from. UC’s faculty have viewed the current challenge as an opportunity to seek alternative funding sources and create new partnerships.”

In 2008, UC increased its support from industry by nearly 70 percent to $14.8 million. Success in 2008 can also be attributed to big gains at the college level: 

College                               2007                         2008
Arts & Sciences               $6 million                  $11 million
    Engineering                     $18.6 million            $30.5 million

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains the top funder of sponsored research to UC. In 2008, UC investigators brought in $104.5 million from the NIH.

The Academic Health Center and affiliates—supported in large part by NIH grants— brought in more than $270 million in 2008. This represents 76 percent of the university’s total research dollars.

Degen highlighted other 2008 successes during her Nov. 13 State of Research Address. They include

• $28 million to aerospace engineering from the Ohio Research Scholars Program
• Choose Ohio First Scholarships—of which UC is a leading recipient
• A three-year, $10.3 million obesity research partnership with Ethicon Endo-Surgery
• $20 million gift for space exploration

The Office of Research continues to provide support to faculty working to obtain preliminary data required for federal grant applications. The office’s University Research Council awarded more than $730,000 in grants in 2007–08 and continues to offer workshops to give faculty the tools needed to write successful proposals.

Degen has outlined goals for 2009, which include making research a focus of the university’s billion-dollar “Proudly Cincinnati” campaign, a continued push to seek funding from non-federal sources and sustained emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities.

Affiliates included in UC’s research-dollar total are Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Shriners Hospital for Children–Cincinnati, and clinical trials at UC Physicians, the private-practice group for clinical faculty members at the College of Medicine.

UC is designated a “very high research activity” university by the Carnegie Commission and is listed by the National Science Foundation as a top public institution for federal research expenditures.

Learn more about UC research and view more 2008 data at www.research.uc.edu.