Feds Award $58 Million to University of Hawai’i Researchers in 2023, Boosting State’s Economy

In April 2024, a researcher from the University of Hawai’i was awarded over $58 million in federal biomedical research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year 2023. These grants generated over $158 million in economic activity in the state and supported 819 local jobs. The findings were outlined in the United for Medical Research 2024 annual report, which assessed the economic impact of NIH funding across the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The NIH funding awarded to researchers not only supports employment but also contributes to the purchase of research-related goods, services, and materials. This income generated from these jobs and purchases circulates through the economy to create new economic activity. The report estimates that every $1 of NIH funding generates $2.46 in new economic activity.

University of Hawai’i Vice President for Research and Innovation, Vassilis L. Syrmos, emphasized the importance of NIH funding for sustaining the work of researchers in areas such as disease cures, cancer elimination, and health equity improvement among under-represented groups and rural communities in Hawai’i and the Pacific. Additionally, these extramural grants inject much-needed funds into the state’s economy through research-related expenditures.

In Fiscal Year 2023, Hawaii received $68.7 million in NIH funding, with 85% going to the University of Hawai’i, which accounted for 79 of the 93 National Institutes of Health grants awarded. The University of Hawai’i Cancer Center and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine were responsible for the majority of the National Institutes of Health-funded research projects in Fiscal Year 2023.

Nationally, NIH funding totaled $37 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, supporting over 412,041 jobs and generating over $92.9 billion in new economic activity.