ANN ARBOR—Research funding at the University of Michigan reached $749 million in FY 2003, an increase of 14.3 percent, the largest percentage increase since 1987.

Research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the primary source of life sciences funding, totaled $351 million. Increased support for life sciences accounted for $47 million of the growth, or more than 50 percent of the overall increase.

“The campus investment in the life sciences is yielding excellent returns,” said Fawwaz Ulaby, vice president for research. “And with two major research facilities coming on line soon, the Life Sciences Institute and the Biomedical Science Research Building, the University is in a strong position to increase life sciences research activities further, and at a faster pace than ever.”

In another indicator of improvement in this field of research, the University’s life sciences technology transfer program was listed among the nation’s top 10 for “impact” of its patents. This ranking, published by The Scientist in July, is the first time the U-M has been included on this list.

Research at the University has increased every year for the last 10 years, with the exception of one year that was essentially flat. The percentage increase in research expenditures at U-M also continued to outpace the percentage increase in federal research and development. The University’s funding from federal sources increased by 16 percent from FY 2002 to FY 2003, compared to a 10.3 percent increase in federal research and development expenditures.

Of the 10 largest new research awards, the Medical Center was responsible for seven awards that totaled more than $55 million. The Institute for Social Research, the Transportation Research Institute and the School of Education each also received research awards that were among the 10 largest.

Ulaby cited the depth and excellence of the U-M faculty as the ultimate engine for continued research growth. “In addition to supporting our life sciences work, research receiving awards last year included $28 million for the ISR’s longstanding study of drug use among American youth, $6.7 million from a philanthropic organization to study instructional improvement, and $10 million to study the safety of commercial motor vehicles,” he said. “The breadth of our intellectual inquiry and our ability to mount and sustain large scale projects is a hallmark of research at Michigan.”