The Yale Department of Psychiatry ranked second in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding in 2021, according to a new national report.
Yale faculty and affiliates were awarded $91.48 million in NIH grants in 2021, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Last year the department received $110.35 million in grants, tops in the nation.
"I am extremely proud of our faculty, trainees, and staff who continue to conduct research and facilitate research that is transforming our understanding of the causes and treatments for mental illnesses and addictions," said John H. Krystal, MD, chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry. "Their work is probing the molecular foundations of illness, advancing the psychology and psychotherapy of these conditions, and addressing the social determinants that cause health disparities in our society.
"Our modest dip in funding is a reminder that, over the past few years, we have lost dear friends and colleagues who were also highly-funded scientists, including Drs. Ronald Duman, Robert Malison, and Kathleen Carroll," Krystal said. "A new generation of research leaders have stepped up, including Drs. Marina Picciotto and Christopher Pittenger. Important recruitments, such as Dr. Kristen Brennand, are moving the department forward in important new directions. Similarly, long-standing faculty members, such as Drs. Scott Woods, Joel Gelernter, Ismene Petrakis, Stephanie O’Malley, Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, Sherry McKee, Matthew Girgenti, and Alan Anticevic, are leading major national and international initiatives that are setting standards for the field.
"I have always felt that we should focus on having the funding that we need to achieve our potential as a scientific community rather than on our ranking," Krystal said. "The successes achieved by the programmatic grants and multi-center studies reminds us that we often achieve have our greatest impact when working closely with others in the department, university, country, and around the world.”
I am extremely proud of our faculty, trainees, and staff who continue to conduct research and facilitate research that is transforming our understanding of the causes and treatments for mental illnesses and addictions.
John H. Krystal, MD, chair, Yale Department of Psychiatry
The University of Pittsburgh topped this year's list with $112 million in grants. Pittsburgh was second behind Yale last year.
Several faculty affiliated with Yale were in the top 150 in funding in the country, according to the report, including Woods, who was #3 at $14.73 million.
The report lists 1,309 researchers who combined received over $1 billion in research grants in 2021.