For the first time, the combined sponsored research funding for the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park has topped $1 billion. The Baltimore campus reported $517 million for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) while the College Park campus reported $518 million for FY09.

University of Maryland's growth was driven by strong increases in funding from the federal government, particularly the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By winning these competitive grants, University of Maryland is expanding vital research programs, including infectious disease, oncology, genomics, and stem cell research.

University of Maryland's interdisciplinary centers, such as the Center for Vaccine Development, the Institute of Human Virology, and the Institute for Genome Sciences, are increasingly successful in attracting funding. University of Maryland also is expanding its global impact: international activities have increased by 400 percent in the past five years to more than $90 million in FY09.

Despite the slow economy and tight federal funds for research, University of Maryland showed significant growth; up from $450 million awarded to campus researchers in FY08.

Under the leadership of President David J. Ramsay, DM, DPhil, the campus had increased its research base from $138 million in 1997 to $411 million in 2007. The research and development surge places University of Maryland among the top public academic medical centers in the country for research dollars.

University of Maryland's nearly 2,400 faculty members in seven professional and graduate schools train the majority of the state's physicians, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, and pharmacists. The University is located on a 61-acre research and technology complex in West Baltimore near the Inner Harbor.

"The growth in funds is translating into new jobs on our campus. That's people who live, work, and spend their money here, which generates financial activity to the economy of the state," says Ramsay. The University is an economic engine that returns more than $15 for every General Fund dollar appropriated by the state.

"For example, at our BioPark, high-tech offices and laboratories offer a fast track for new and established Maryland businesses in many industries, not just medicine, to reach patients around the world," says Ramsay.

Located in Baltimore's downtown business district, the University of Maryland BioPark is destined to be one of the best research parks in the world, according to the Association of University Research Parks. In 2007, the group named the BioPark as its "Emerging University Research Science Park of the Year."

The University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park are among the 13 campuses of the University System of Maryland.

Contact Name: Ed Fishel
Contact Phone: 410-706-3801
Contact Email: [email protected]