September 2006

 Department of Surgery Ranks 8th in NIH Support

The National Institute of Health's recently published departmental rankings for 2005 placed the Department of Surgery at 8th in the nation in NIH awards support. Overall, Emory ranked 22nd in NIH support among U.S. institutions of higher education, receiving nearly $221.8 million in NIH funding for the School of Medicine, Rollins School of Public Health, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

"Our substantial NIH funding reflects the excellent work taking place in our laboratories and the dedication of our faculty and their exceptional teams of graduate students," said Thomas Lawley, dean of the School of Medicine. "Strong support from the NIH is essential to continuing the groundbreaking research that has led to significant increases in life expectancy over the past few decades and that is vital to ongoing advances in medical science that will benefit current and future generations of patients."

Last year Emory researchers attracted a total of $346.4 million in sponsored research funding, including funding from the NIH. One of the major grants from 2005 was $10 million awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to Department of Surgery faculty in the Emory Transplant Center as well as Emory scientists of the Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center to develop new vaccine strategies that can better protect organ transplant recipients and other immune-suppressed patients from infectious disease threats.

In addition to transplant immunology, other prominent research programs in the department include engineering of artificial vascular tissues, laparoscopic surgery, cancer gene therapy, cardioprotective strategies and simulation training and robotics.

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