In a testament to the quality and national competitiveness of biomedical research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the school secured $683 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in federal fiscal year 2024 – a record high for WashU Medicine and an affirmation of its leadership in shaping the future of medicine.
This support – which places the school at No. 2 in NIH funding nationwide for the second year in a row – enables groundbreaking advances in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and propels its relentless pursuit of improvements in medical care. Over the past eight years, WashU Medicine has been the fastest growing of the top U.S. research-intensive medical institutions in NIH funding.
“Far too much still is unknown about human diseases,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “Our research programs are designed to tackle the most vexing questions with state-of-the-art techniques and analytical methods and generate innovative answers that will substantially improve outcomes for our patients. The success in funding and our growth is not, in and of itself, the goal; rather, it is a validation of our progress and the exceptional talent we have cultivated through training and recruitment, and a reminder of the work ahead as we continuously strive to improve patient care. Our true success is measured in the lives transformed and advances in human health. At WashU Medicine, we’re not only advancing research today; we’re building for tomorrow’s breakthroughs.”