Breaking the Top 10

UAB Dept. of Ophthalmology Ranks among Top 10 in NIH Grant Support

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Ophthalmology reached a major milestone in 2017. According to figures available through the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, UAB Ophthalmology ranks No. 6 in the country for the amount of funding it receives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with over $7.9 million in NIH grant support during calendar year 2017. This represents a nearly fivefold increase in research funding since the department’s Vision of Excellence program began in 2012. This ranking also establishes UAB Ophthalmology as the fastest growing ophthalmology department in the country.

These highly competitive federal funds provide essential support for UAB Ophthalmology’s scientists to advance the departmental mission of translating knowledge from the bench to the bedside, providing robust training to the next generation of ophthalmologists, and improving eye health by alleviating blinding disease. This achievement reflects the tremendous efforts of UAB Ophthalmology researchers and further cements the department as a nationally recognized leader in vision research. Moreover, it represents a significant growth in research capacity and enhances the department’s ability to recruit and retain world-class researchers.