Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Ranked #26 Nationally in NIH Funding on 2022 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research Report

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) recently released their 2022 rankings of institutions, departments, and investigators across the country based on the funding they receive from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Medical College of Wisconsin department of ophthalmology and visual sciences jumped five spots from the previous year to #26 out of 65 departments, with more than $4 million in NIH funding. The BRIMR standings is highly regarded in terms of medical school research metrics, is widely cited as a measure of scientific vitality, and have been used to examine trends in funding to individual grantees and to academic specialties.

“It has been nearly 15 years since we have ranked this high in the Blue Ridge Institute report and I am thrilled to see all of our hard work receive such wonderful recognition,” says Dr. Deborah Costakos, R.D. & Linda Peters Professor in Ophthalmology and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. “We have set big goals for our department and could not achieve this success without the tireless efforts of all our research team.”

In addition, three of our research faculty, have ranked in the top 100 out of 500 primary investigators for their NIH funding: Dr. Joseph Carroll ranked #19, Dr. Daniel Lipinski ranked #77 and Dr. Shyam Chaurasia ranked #94.

"The fact that our close-knit vision science community was able to secure almost 50% more NIH funding than the national average in 2022, and substantially more than many larger public and private institutions, is extremely impressive and a true testament to the hard work and dedication of the research faculty, staff and students at the Medical College of Wisconsin," adds Dr. Lipinski, interim research director of ophthalmology and visual sciences.