NEWS
OKLAHOMA CITY –The University of Oklahoma Health Campus was recently recognized for its increased momentum in advancing discoveries that change lives, achieving the state’s first Top 100 national ranking based on funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The ranking—the highest in OU’s history and in the state—solidifies the University’s position as the state’s leading driver of health-related research.
With this achievement, OU now stands among the top 3.6 percent of the 2,702 institutions and entities nationwide that receive NIH funding.
“As the largest research engine in the state and the leading recipient of NIH funding in Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma carries a profound responsibility,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “This record level of support reflects the strength of our research community and our unwavering commitment to improving health outcomes, accelerating the search for cures and deepening scientific understanding. Most importantly, it reflects our dedication to serving the people of Oklahoma and changing lives for generations to come.”
In just three years, OU has jumped 31 spots in the Blue Ridge rankings to its current spot of 98, with NIH funding increasing nearly 35 percent-- from $60 million in federal fiscal year 2022 to $80.9 million in FFY 2025. This sustained growth reflects OU’s increasing competitiveness for federal research support, as well as the expanding scope and impact of the work happening across its campuses, including improving patient care, strengthening public health, and addressing the state’s most pressing medical challenges.
The OU Health Campus is one of only a few comprehensive research universities in the nation to house six health professional colleges and an interdisciplinary Graduate College on a single campus. Strategic research areas include cancer, diabetes, neurosciences and vision, infectious diseases, and geroscience.
“The continued rise in NIH funding reflects the collaborative strength of our entire campus,” said Gary Raskob, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost of the OU Health Campus. “Our faculty members are securing highly competitive federal funding because their work addresses urgent health challenges and delivers real impact.”
Lifting the health of Oklahoma is a cornerstone of OU’s “Lead On, University: The Next Phase” Strategic Plan, which sets a goal of reaching the top 75 in NIH funding by 2030. Entering the top 100 signals meaningful progress toward that ambition.
The College of Medicine received $72.2 million in NIH funding in FY2025 – the largest amount in its history – and now ranks No. 65 among 145 medical colleges nationwide, placing it firmly in the top half nationally. Twelve individual OU College of Medicine departments are nationally ranked, including four ranked in the top 25 in their respective disciplines (Family Medicine, Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Neurosurgery). The Department of Family Medicine is ranked No. 2. OU’s Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing also rose to No. 46 among 85 nursing schools nationwide.
Several notable awards contributed to OU’s research ranking. Competitive grant renewals will continue the work of the Oklahoma Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunity, a hub for research into infectious diseases and how the immune system responds to them, as well as for the Oklahoma Center for Geroscience and Healthy Brain Aging, whose researchers study the relationship between aging and disease. Another major research award will allow the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center to expand its Cancer Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) program, providing undergraduate students with hands-on opportunities to conduct cancer-related research to build the next generation of scientists and health professionals.
“Our continued rise in Blue Ridge rankings reflects the strength and depth of our research programs,” said Ian Dunn, M.D., executive dean of the OU College of Medicine. “Our faculty are competing successfully for some of the most rigorous grants in the nation, and that success fuels innovation, collaboration and improved patient care.”
TOP 100
IN NIH FUNDING
TOP 3.6% Nationally
FOR NIH FUNDING
$80.9M
IN TOTAL NIH FUNDING
12 Ranked
College of Medicine Departments
#2 FAMILY MEDICINE DEPARTMENT
IN THE COUNTRY
TOP 50
COLLEGE OF NURSING
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university with campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. In Oklahoma City, the OU Health Campus is one of the nation’s few academic health centers with six health professional colleges and an interdisciplinary Graduate College located on the same campus. The OU Health Campus serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning Oklahoma City and Tulsa and is the leading research institution in Oklahoma. For more information about the OU Health Campus, visit www.ouhsc.edu.
To combat power outages and extreme weather events, a team led by University of Oklahoma researchers has helped launch a project utilizing electric school buses as a backup energy resource.
The University of Oklahoma Health Campus was recently recognized for its increased momentum in advancing discoveries that change lives, achieving the state’s first Top 100 national ranking based on funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The ranking—the highest in OU’s history and in the state—solidifies the University’s position as the state’s leading driver of health-related research.
Stefano Tarantini, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, spends his days in the laboratory searching for answers to the cognitive decline that too often plagues older adults.
