USF achieved record-breaking research funding in the first full year at AAU

The research funding spreads across different areas such as medicine, education, psychology and engineering. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/USF

In 2024, USF received a record-breaking $738 million in research funding, the largest amount it has ever gotten.

Jeffrey Krischer, director of USF’s Health Informatics Institute, will be one of the researchers reaping the benefits.

Krischer, who studies the causes and prevention of Type 1 diabetes, said the funding recognizes the “many wonderful researchers” on campus.

USF received the funding during its first full fiscal year since joining the Association of American Universities (AAU). Some contributors included federal sources, private partnerships and state and local agencies, according to USF.

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The total amount USF received last year was an increase of 7% from 2023 and 35% since 2022, according to USF.

However, Krischer said the results brought by research funding are more important than the exact amount of money the department receives yearly. The Health Informatics Institute received over $50 million in funding in 2024.

As an example, Krischer said previous funding provided to the Health Informatics Institute resulted in a new Food and Drug Administration-approved drug that delays the symptoms of diabetes.

“That, to me, is the most significant part of funding, not the dollar amount, but what we’ve been able to produce with those dollars,” Krischer said.

USF Provost Prasant Mohapatra said this achievement in research funding is a “significant step forward” in the university’s goal of reaching $1 billion in research funding by 2030.

Top research universities in the country, such as Northwestern University and Washington University, are among the institutions that surpassed $1 billion in research funding in 2024.

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Jennifer O’Brien, associate professor of psychology, received $15 million for a study to determine the effects of computerized brain exercises in preventing dementia.

O’Brien said the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded her the money to be distributed across two studies –  Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study and Active Minds. The money was awarded specifically to O’Brien because she is the principal investigator for both studies, she said.

The PACT study looks at a no-drug approach to reduce the risk of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, with around 7,600 older adults enrolled, O’Brien said.

O’Brien said the brain exercises tested in those enrolled in the trial are a more accessible way to potentially prevent dementia, which makes the study important as dementia rates are increasing.

“The money helps us continue the study,” she said. “We’re meeting our enrollment goal this year, it helped us do that. It helps us continue to follow those people as well.”

O’Brien said the recognition lends credibility to studies at the university, such as PACT. 

That “kind of recognition” could lead to a promising future for research at USF, Krischer said.

“As we continue to grow and attract other highly skilled, productive researchers onto our faculty, it opens up opportunities for students to engage in research and learn how to pursue that,” he said.

JOANA RIVA, STAFF WRITER

Joana Riva is the news staff writer for The Oracle. She’s a Mass Communications major with a Broadcast Program and Production concentration. She’s passionate about storytelling in all forms, from journalism to literature and film. She was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the U.S. in fall 2023. She joined The Oracle the same semester as a news correspondent, and became an intern and staff writer in fall 2024. Reach her at joanacastanheira@usf.edu.

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