UH biomedical research grants pumps millions into state econo my

The University of Hawai‘i has been awarded over $58 million in federal biomedical research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023), generating $158 million in economic activity in the state and supporting 819 local jobs. This is according to the United for Medical Research 2024 annual report that assesses the economic impact of NIH funding in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

NIH funding awarded to researchers supports employment and purchase of research-related goods, services and materials. The income generated from these jobs and purchases cycles through the economy to produce new economic activity. The report estimates that every $1 of NIH funding generates $2.46 in new economic activity.

“The funding that we receive from NIH is vital to sustaining the important work of our researchers, as they seek to cure diseases, eliminate cancer, and to improve health equity amongst under-represented groups and in rural communities across Hawai‘i and the Pacific,” said UH Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “At the same time, these extramural grants inject much needed dollars into our state’s economy through research-related expenditures.”

Hawai‘i received $68.7 million in NIH funding in FY 2023 with 85% going to UH, including 79 of the 93 NIH grants awarded. The UH Cancer Center and the UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine were responsible for the majority of the NIH-funded research projects in FY 2023.

Nationally, NIH funding totaled $37 billion in FY 2023 and supported 412,041 jobs and generated $92.9 billion in new economic activity.