May 19, 2000

For the sixth year in a row, the MGH was the top recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. During 1999, the MGH received $158 million from the NIH, an increase of 15.5 percent over its 1998 total of almost $136 million. Among all institutions receiving NIH grant funding — including several major universities with their own hospitals — the MGH was in 16th place, moving up one place from the previous year. The hospital’s total research funding for 1999 — including corporate support and foundation grants — totaled more than $247 million.

BWH was number two among independent hospitals, with total NIH funding of $146.5 million, up 11.7 percent from its 1998 total, and ranked 23rd overall. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, with whom Partners has a joint venture in adult cancer care, ranked fifth among hospitals, and McLean Hospital ranked 15th. If all Partners hospitals, including Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, were regarded as a single research center, the grand total of $322.6 million would be second nationwide only to Johns Hopkins University, which includes a number of hospitals along with its medical school.

All of the top five independent hospitals were Boston institutions affiliated with Harvard Medical School: Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital was in third place and Children’s Hospital ranked fifth. New England Medical Center held the number six position.

“The MGH has seen a phenomenal expansion in its research effort, growing 230 percent over the past 10 years,” says Ronald Newbower, PhD, senior vice president for Research Management. “Our investigators’ continuing success in achieving major grant support from the NIH and other sources is a testament to the excellence and critical nature of the work they are doing.”