The rank, a record for the college, places URI second among all pharmacy colleges in the East.
The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy is now ranked 11th in the nation in total federal research grant funding after securing nearly $12 million in federal funds in fiscal 2017, the latest year for which numbers are available. The number 11 rank — of 138 pharmacy colleges nationwide — is a record for URI.
URI now has the number 1 pharmacy college in the Northeast in terms of federal research funding, primarily from the National Institutes of Health, and number 2 on the East Coast. Only the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — a school with more than double the number of full-time faculty members as URI — ranked higher on the list.
The College had previously been consistently ranked in the 20s for the preceding five-year period prior to 2017. A dynamic faculty focused on scientific breakthroughs, along with a concerted effort to increase grant funding and research partnerships, contributed to the move up the ranks, according to Dean Paul Larrat.
“Many of our faculty members are in the middle, the primes, of their research careers and they’re really hitting their stride,” Larrat said, noting he expects the College will maintain the momentum going forward. “These successful, seasoned researchers are also mentoring our younger professors, whose new research funding isn’t even reflected in the 2017 rank. That’s what makes this sustainable.”
“Being able to take salient discoveries from the research labs and bring that work into the classrooms is of benefit to our students; it makes us better teachers, and it makes our students better scientists and health providers.” – Dean Paul Larrat
A committee of researchers, led by Professors Navindra Seeram, Kerry LaPlante, Bongsup Cho and Angela Slitt meet regularly to strategize research efforts and target grant funding. LaPlante recently held a grant funding workshop, teaching researchers in the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences as well as the RI Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program tips on writing grant applications. Slitt is chairwoman on the URI Council for Research Grants Program, serving as a university-wide advocate for grant funding.
The funding fuels critical research in such areas as drug development, cancer treatment and prevention, health outcomes, neurological health and the use of natural ingredients like maple in maintaining health, among a host of other important subjects. The benefit to the community of such scientific breakthroughs is obvious, but the grant funding also helps the College continually improve its educational offerings.
“We harp on our students to make a difference, make a difference, and they see our faculty members doing just that,” Larrat said. “Being able to take salient discoveries from the research labs and bring that work into the classrooms is of benefit to our students; it makes us better teachers, and it makes our students better scientists and health providers. And the access to work in those labs is incredibly valuable to our students. And it is translated into helping the patients we all serve.”