UIC pulls $490M in research funding in fiscal year 2025
The University of Illinois Chicago amassed $490.7 million in research funding during fiscal year 2025, which ran from July 2024 to June 2025. The total is a 27% increase since fiscal year 2019.
Awards from federal, state, industry and private sources sponsored 3,440 projects on research in health care, transportation, telerobotic surgery, education, climate science and other areas.
“As Chicago’s only public research university, UIC is making critical contributions to the innovation economy of Chicago, our state, our nation and indeed the world,” said UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda. “UIC will continue to advance research that addresses some of society’s most vexing challenges while elevating the quality of life for the many wonderful communities we serve.”
“Our steady numbers in research funding reflect the breadth and depth of research at UIC, as well as the resilience of our research community. In the face of challenges, UIC researchers continue to make the discoveries that change people’s lives,” Vice Chancellor for Research Joanna Groden said.
The UIC colleges that saw the largest jumps in research funding were the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, which increased its funding to $12.1 million (up $3.9 million from the previous year), and the School of Public Health, which increased its funding to $35.3 million (up $10.1 million). Funding for the College of Applied Health Sciences grew to $32.7 million (up $7.8 million), and College of Engineering funding totaled $66.7 million (up $17.3 million).
The College of Medicine led all UIC colleges, with $206.3 million in funding. It was followed by the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ($46.3 million), the School of Public Health, the College of Applied Health Sciences and the Retzky College of Pharmacy ($24 million).
Federal sources accounted for 76% of UIC’s research funding in fiscal year 2025. The agency contributing the most was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which awarded UIC $250.4 million, including $201.4 million from the National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Energy funding came to $36.3 million, U.S. Department of Defense funding totaled $22.9 million, and the National Science Foundation awarded UIC $27.9 million.
The State of Illinois was another top government sponsor, awarding UIC $53.7 million, up 16% from fiscal year 2024. Private nonprofit and industry sponsors awarded $61.3 million to UIC for research ranging from nutrition policy to cancer treatment.
UIC projects that earned large awards in fiscal year 2025 included:
- An AI initiative to analyze health care data from multiple providers, awarded $9.8 million from the Advanced Research Project Agency-Health — UIC’s first grant from the agency. The aim is to improve care for patients recovering from falls and infants transitioning home from the neonatal intensive care unit.
- A $5.9 million award from the Illinois Department of Transportation to develop and operate the Illinois Gateway Traveler Information System, an interactive website that provides precise, real-time traffic information.
- The Learning to Lead in Math Project, funded by $4.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education. The project will support professional development and collaboration with K-8 principals and teachers on math instruction in west and south Cook County schools.
- The Center for Climate Health Excellence, awarded $3.9 million from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. It will gather researchers from across the university to study and mitigate the effects of flooding, pollution and heat on health in Chicago communities.
- Crossing Latinidades: Emerging Scholars and New Comparative Directions, awarded $578,080 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of a three-year, $5 million grant. The initiative brings together faculty and doctoral students across the U.S. for cross-institutional and cross-regional comparative research and scholarship in Latino humanities.
The following UIC faculty members received the most research funding in 2025: Andy Boyd (biomedical and health information sciences), Jerry Krishnan (epidemiology and biostatistics), Peter Nelson (computer science), Amanda Lewis (sociology and African American studies), Anne Glassgow (medicine), Stephen Bartlett (surgery), Alison Superfine (mathematics education and learning sciences), Jun Ma (health behavior research), Kristen Malecki (environmental and occupational health sciences) and Dolly Mehta (pharmacology and regenerative medicine).
Nine UIC researchers received National Science Foundation CAREER awards, a prestigious grant for early-career development. They are Lu Cheng and Wei Tang from the department of computer science in the College of Engineering; Arman Roohi and Benjamin Sanchez Terrones from the department of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering; Mohammad Ghashami and Erica Jung from the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the College of Engineering; Philip Engel and Caroline Terry from the department of math, statistics and computer science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Andy Nguyen from the department of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The UIC Office of Technology Management reported $5.6 million in proceeds from 304 active licenses.
Already in fiscal year 2026, the first quarter of which ended Sept. 30, UIC has made strides in research funding. The three-month period was a record first quarter for the university in terms of funding, with $213.9 million in awards. This includes a $33 million State of Illinois capital funding grant to the College of Medicine to establish a community health care center on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
— Tess Joosse and Jenna Kurtzweil, Strategic Marketing and Communications
