Research enterprise surpasses $100M for fiscal 2025
Researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center received funding for 336 projects for fiscal year 2025, garnering $101.4 million in grants, awards and contracts.
The total reflects a robust research program despite funding challenges at the federal level, said Dr. Lee Bidwell, associate vice chancellor for research.
“Our research enterprise had a strong year, breaking $100 million in sponsored program funding in spite of a rapidly changing funding environment,” Bidwell said. “I would like to commend our research faculty and staff for their resilience during uncertain times.”
The total of $101,429,993 is ahead of FY 2023’s $97 million but less than the $118 million in FY 2024 and reflects deep cuts earlier this year in federal support for the National Institutes of Health, which funds nearly half the research projects at UMMC.
“The changes at NIH have significantly lengthened review-to-award timelines,” Bidwell said. “We see this a temporary decrease rather than a reflection of our competitiveness for external funding and remain confident in the strength of our research enterprise.”
At $4.268 million, the Mississippi Violence Injury Prevention (VIP) program was the largest research-related, non-construction sponsored program for the fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The program supports collaborative research and initiatives led by the community that help to reduce gun and related violence in Mississippi.
Also funded by NIH, the program has been extended through 2027 and has completed patient chart reviews, a community needs assessment and focus group interviews. As of last week, 22 patients who presented firearm injuries are enrolled in a current clinical trial that involves community-based violence interruption, unrestricted cash assistance, and community events offering mental health support, substance use disorder services and PTSD screenings.
“This effort is strengthening sustainable partnerships between UMMC and the community partners, such as Operation Good, People’s Advocacy Institute and the Mississippi Public Health Institute,” said Dr. Lei Zhang, associate dean for research and scholarship in the School of Nursing and principal investigator in VIP. “The primary goal of the implementation phase is to rigorously test these strategies to reduce firearm injury and mortality in Mississippi.”
Rounding out the top five non-construction sponsored programs for the fiscal year were:
- Telehealth Center of Excellence, at $4,250,000
- Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research, at $3,997,580
- Value-Based Medical Student Education Training Program, at $3,973,000
- Mississippi Medical History Online: The UMMC Digital Collections Initiative II, at $2,796,000
Rowland Medical Library is using funds for its grant, which is from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and fifth-largest largest on the list, to preserve and share its historical collections documenting Mississippi’s medical history, including photographs, films, artifacts and oral histories.
“The recent launch of the library’s digital content management system has made these materials more accessible to researchers and the public, ensuring that UMMC’s pivotal role in health care and its historical milestones are preserved and shared for future generations,” said Elizabeth Hinton, director of the library and associate professor of academic information services.