In Fiscal Year 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a researcher from the University of Hawaiʻi just over $58 million in federal biomedical research grants. This funding generated $158 million in economic activity in the state and supported 819 local jobs. According to the United for Medical Research 2024 annual report, NIH funding supports employment and the purchase of research-related goods, services, and materials, which cycles through the economy, producing new economic activity. For every dollar of NIH funding, it is estimated that $2.46 in new economic activity is generated.
Vassilis L. Syrmos, Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Hawaiʻi, highlighted the vital role of NIH funding in supporting researchers at his institution. He emphasized how this funding helps in curing diseases, eliminating cancer and improving health equity among underrepresented groups and rural communities across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The report states that Hawaii received $68.7 million in NIH funding in Fiscal Year 2023, with 85% going to the University of Hawaiʻi. The majority of NIH-funded research projects in Fiscal Year 2023 were carried out by the University of Hawai’i Cancer Center and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Nationally, NIH funding totaled $37 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, supporting 412,041 jobs and generating $92.9 billion in new economic activity. This highlights how important federal biomedical research grants are not only for scientific advancements but also for economic growth and job creation across the country.
