Research
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NIH Funding to UCSF Department of Pediatrics Exceeds $32 Million

The UCSF Department of Pediatrics continues to rise nationally in federal research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The recently released 2023 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research ranking analyzes funding from the NIH that institutions, departments, and investigators received during the 2023 federal fiscal year.

Among all pediatric departments in the United States, the UCSF Department of Pediatrics ranked No. 12, improving two spots from last year and marking the fourth consecutive year that the department has improved its ranking.

“Over the last four years, we have nearly doubled our NIH funding from $17 million to over $32 million,” said Raphael Hirsch, MD, Chair of the UCSF Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. “This growth demonstrates the excellence of our physician-scientists and their commitment to developing the pipeline of new discoveries.”

Graph showing year-over-year improvement in NIH funding to the UCSF Department of Pediatrics

“Notably, our young investigators continue to show promise,” Hirsch said. Five investigators from the department were awarded new Career Development (K-series) grants in 2023:

  • David Blair, MD, PhD, instructor in the Division of Medical Genetics, to learn more about genetic mutations with cardiovascular symptoms through computational modeling.
  • Janet Lee, MD, MPH, MAS, assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, to understand how bone mass develops as sex steroids are introduced in gender-affirming medical therapy.
  • Jana Mike, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Critical Care, to investigate mechanisms involved in natural brain repair after oxygen deprivation. 
  • Jessica Neely, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, to find new ways to treat dermatomyositis by repurposing existing drugs.
  • Jonathan Witonsky, MD, MAS, assistant professor in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, to reduce bias in asthma care by improving methods to predict health outcomes.

Six additional investigators received their first Research Project (R01) grant:

  • Amy Beck, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Division of General Pediatrics, to learn how to best promote healthy behaviors in low-income Latino infants and toddlers to prevent obesity.
  • Devan Jaganath, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, to use artificial intelligence to diagnose tuberculosis in children.
  • Jason Nagata, MD, associate professor in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, to identify interrelations among problematic social media use and binge-eating disorder.
  • Mark Petersen, MD, associate professor in the Division of Neonatology, to investigate a new treatment strategy for preterm infant brain injury.
  • Mary Prahl, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Health, to determine the optimal timing for COVID-19 vaccines during early childhood.
  • Michael Waterfield, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, to find the mechanisms response for the immune system learning to not attack our own bodies.

In total, 33 faculty in the UCSF Department of Pediatrics hold active R01 grants, the most in recent department history.

“I am grateful for the commitment of our researchers who continue to make scientific discoveries so that we can deliver the best possible outcomes for children in the Bay Area and beyond,” said Hirsch.

To view the full list of NIH rankings, visit the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research site. Blue Ridge rankings are determined by the whole value of NIH awards to a principal investigator’s institution and do not include research and development contracts or funding from sources other than the NIH.