The Main Campus of Vanderbilt Health in Fall 2025
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine ranked seventh in the nation in fiscal year 2025 in total research support provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to data compiled by the nonprofit Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
The NIH is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. VUSM, which received $564 million in direct and indirect NIH grant support in the federal fiscal year ending September 30, has been among the top 10 U.S. medical school recipients of NIH funds in 10 of the past 15 years.
“Achieving a top 10 national ranking in NIH research support underscores the extraordinary talent and resilience of our investigators,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President for Research at Vanderbilt Health, where, at its Main Campus, most of the medical school’s research is conducted.
“In a rapidly evolving scientific environment, their ability to innovate, adapt and deliver high-impact research is nothing short of exceptional,” said Pietenpol, who holds the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development.
Six clinical departments and two basic science departments at VUSM ranked in the top 10 among medical school departments nationwide in FY 2025.
Three clinical departments ranked first in the nation:
- Emergency Medicine, with $21.5 million in NIH grants in FY 2025, rose from second place in FY 2024.
- Medicine ranked first for the third year in a row, with $292 million, up from $277 million in FY 2024.
- Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery ranked first for the second year in a row, with $13.2 million in FY 2025.
The other clinical departments in the top 10 were Anesthesiology, sixth place, with $11.6 million, Ophthalmology, fifth place, with $15.8 million, and Urology, seventh place, with $3.4 million.
The basic science departments in the top 10 were Cell and Developmental Biology, fourth place, with $17.4 million, and Pharmacology, sixth place, with $18.6 million.
The Department of Medicine is known internationally for its contributions to cardiovascular and genetic medicine, clinical pharmacology, diabetes, gastroenterology, nephrology, allergy and infectious diseases, and other areas.
Similarly, research in the departments of Emergency Medicine and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has advanced patient care in clinical disciplines ranging from critical illnesses (including infectious diseases) and health care delivery science, to head and neck cancer, sleep and voice disorders, and cochlear implants.
“I am profoundly appreciative of the dedicated teams across Vanderbilt who make this work possible,” said Pietenpol, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of Biochemistry. “Together, we are advancing knowledge, tackling the most urgent health challenges, and shaping the future of medicine.”
The Blue Ridge rankings are derived from NIH year-end composite data for FY 2025, which are available via the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT).
