The Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at the Yale School of Medicine ranked first in the nation in research dollars awarded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in 2021, as tabulated by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The 2021 total, $18,174,130, is a significant increase from 2020, when the department ranked third in the nation. “We are very proud of all of our faculty, research assistants and grant team who helped make this possible,” said Andrew Ulrich, MD, the DEM Interim Chair. “This is not only an outstanding accomplishment, but a demonstration of our commitment to our mission to advance the science and practice of emergency medicine care.”
We are also pleased to announce that Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS, the Albert E. Kent Professor of Emergency Medicine, ranked first as the highest NIH-funded investigator in emergency medicine (EM) nationally. Dr. D’Onofrio is internationally known for her work in alcohol and other substance use disorders. She is lead investigator with Dr. Fiellin of Medicine for a 26 million dollar, Emergency Department-INitiated bupreNOrphine and VAlidaTIOn Network Trial (ED-INNOVATION) (NIH-HEAL Initiative) a study designed to implement ED-initiated buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in 30 ED sites throughout the U.S. and conduct a randomized clinical trial comparing standard sublingual buprenorphine versus an extended release 7-day injectable formation in engaging patients in addiction treatment. She is also PI of the New England Consortium Node for NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network, and PI of a NIDA K12 establishing the Yale Drug Use, Addiction and HIV Research Scholars (Yale-DAHRS) program, a mentored career development program with focused training in prevention and treatment of drug use, addiction, and HIV prevention in general medical setting.
DEM faculty, Drs. Ula Hwang, Ted Melnick, Fuad Abujarad, Dowin Boatright, Federico Vaca, Christine Ngaruiya, Hani Mowafi, Ambrose Wong and Cameron Gettel, were also top funded EM investigators in the national ranking.
The report lists 1,309 researchers who combined received over $1 billion in research grants in 2021.