News and Information
Emory University
Atlanta, GA 30322
Release date: Oct. 5, 1999
Contact: Jan Gleason, Assistant Vice President, 404-727-0639, or
jgleason
Research Funding Shows Extraordinary Growth; Passes $200 Million Milestone
University researchers brought in a record-breaking $205.7 million during the 1999 fiscal year, a 25 percent increase over last year. In the past seven years, Emory's sponsored research base has more than doubled, going from $95.4 million in 1992 to $205.7 million.
"This achievement belongs to the faculty," says Nancy Wilkinson, director of the office of sponsored research. "This year we had 40 researchers who received grants of $1 million or more. That's twice as many as last year. This is a huge milestone for Emory---to pass $200 million dollars in research funding."
The federal government provided $156 million (75.9 percent) of this year's total, a 33 percent increase over 1998's total of $117.6 million. Much of this came from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which awarded Emory $125.3 million (80 percent) of all federal dollars, up 33 percent from $94.3 million in 1998. In FY99, Emory researchers requested $320 million---a four-percent increase in the dollar amount requested, but in 23 fewer grants.
"This fact demonstrates that Emory's research faculty has reached a saturation point due to their success. There may be a marginal growth in proposals submitted in the future," says Wilkinson, who also points out that Emory was more successful in getting federal funding this year.
The university's primary funding agency---the National Institutes of Health---experienced an increase in its resources; in addition, the dollar size of the awards Emory researchers receive has been growing---the average new federal award is up 45 percent to $196,039. "That's what is significant about the federal funding we've received. Emory is now closer to our peer institutions' average grant size," says Wilkinson. As in the past, health sciences led the way in research dollars with $192 million, securing 93.4 percent of the total.
For the full story, see the Oct. 4 issue of Emory Report at: www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/er.html