The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Family and Community Medicine has achieved a historic milestone, climbing to No. 13 nationally in National Institutes of Health research funding, according to the newly released 2025 Blue Ridge Rankings.

This is the highest spot the department has ever achieved, largely due to a surge in research growth over the last four years in particular.

“These rankings reflect the strength of our mission and the momentum created by teams working with shared purpose,” said UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Dean Anupam Agarwal, M.D. “The rankings highlight the power of collaboration and the growing impact of research centered on innovation and community.”

The school of medicine also did well, maintaining its overall BRIMR ranking of No. 28, with $256 million in NIH funding reported by BRIMR.

“Rankings and funding are useful measures of the magnitude of our research at UAB,” said Chris Brown, Ph.D., vice president for Research. “But it is the impact on people’s lives that is the real reason we do this and continue to strive for growth.”

The Department of Family and Community Medicine’s research mission centers on improving prevention and management of chronic conditions, which is achieved through a strategy of five main goal points:

• Improve population health
• Improve patient experience
• Improve provider experience
• Reduce costs
• Reduce health disparities

UAB also reported multiple Heersink School of Medicine departments ranked among the nation’s top 25, including anesthesiology (No. 10), obstetrics and gynecology (No. 12), pathology (No. 12), biomedical engineering (No. 14), microbiology (No. 15), urology (No. 17), dermatology (No. 19), cell and developmental biology (No. 20), neurology (No. 22), physical medicine and rehabilitation (No. 22), and the Department of Medicine (No. 24).

Across UAB’s health-related schools, the School of Health Professions ranked No. 9, the School of Nursing No. 11, and the School of Dentistry No. 15.