Tampa USF College Of Nursing Ranks High In NIH Funding
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 KavanaughSource: Kevin Kip, USF College of Nursing
