The University of South Florida College of Nursing is
gaining ground in the competitive arena of medical research. Three major
projects funded by the National Institutes of Health moved the college
from 66
to 30
in the latest
NIH funding rankings, which positions USF as an attractive institution
for accomplished faculty and research-oriented students looking for a
university to call home.
"The ranking
is a credit to the skill, persistence, creativity and experience of our
faculty," says Kevin Kip, PhD, executive director of the Research Center
at the USF College of Nursing.
"The fact that we've managed to substantially expand our research
portfolio in such a competitive environment at a time when the NIH is funding
fewer and fewer grant applications is quite an accomplishment."
The NIH funded three research projects last
year that totaled $1.5 million, nearly triple the funding the college
has enjoyed over the last four years. Funding in 2009 was $2.8 million
compared to $1.3 million in 2007. The projects included palliative and
end-of-life care, stress reduction in breast cancer survivors and
postpartum stress and immunity.
"NIH
funding is the Cadillac of funding and it's a very competitive process,"
says Kip. "Our five-year plan is to be in the top five. We have several
applications that are being reviewed right now."
Kip says the nursing college is pursuing a federally funded
institutional training grant given only to strong post doctoral research
programs.
"The federal grant we're going after now is a
called a T32 grant. If you can show that you have a strong research
program you can build on that. You can only get the kind of funding
we're going after when you have a certain volume of research going on."
Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source:
Kevin Kip, USF College of Nursing
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