In another boost to its already stellar upward trajectory, the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University has just jumped in the research rankings.
Newly released figures show that Stempel College in 2020 brought in $9.5 million in new research awards from the National Institutes of Health. That total places Stempel at #24 among all schools of public health nationally—a jump of nine places since 2016—and #16 among schools of public health at public universities. The rankings were reported by Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
Notably, Stempel College is #2 in the State of Florida, a recognition that Miami’s public research university has taken full advantage of its diverse, urban location as a living laboratory. Stempel College researchers frequently conduct work within the immediate community, which offers ideal opportunities for in-the-field collaborations that can positively impact local residents while generating data and results that contribute to solutions at the local, national and international levels.
Under the direction of dean and researcher Dr. Tomás R. Guilarte, Stempel College has emphasized uniting research with teaching and learning through the work of state-of-the-art campus laboratories. These labs support investigations in areas as diverse as Parkinson’s disease, HIV, nutrition sciences, and tobacco effects on cardiovascular health, and advance top university programs such as the Brain, Behavior & the Environment and the Health Inequities and Disparities programs.
“At Stempel College, our students find themselves in the midst of ground-breaking research led by faculty who are national and international leaders in their field,” Guilarte says. “They bring optimism to their role as a change agent making critical connections with local, national and international partners to impact policy from the vantage point of their respective disciplines. The desire of our students and our faculty to contribute to solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges is palpable.”
“I am extremely proud of our faculty and students that are advancing our research enterprise,” Guilarte adds. “Increasing our research base was one of the top priorities given to me by Provost [Kenneth G.] Furton when I arrived at FIU in 2016. As a result, I was able to hire faculty such as Dr. Jason Richardson, our associate dean for research. His team in our research office does everything possible to make it easier for our faculty to submit and administer NIH grants. I am also grateful to the FIU leadership, especially to the Office of Research and Economic Development, for their support in enhancing our ability to do the research with world-class laboratories and equipment.”
The Stempel College is ranked #49 among public universities by U.S. News & World Report, and its fully online MPH is ranked #10 nationally by PublicHealth.Org.