LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Topping a list of 200 select U.S. universities, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science led the academic sector with a 127% growth in published medical and scientific research over a 10-year period. This achievement occurred despite an overall static number of research publications nationally during the same timeframe. It was highlighted in a recent study by the National Science Foundation of those educational institutions in the U.S., receiving the largest federal research funding from 1992-2001, as reported in a recent issue of Science Magazine.
The university performs high quality research that focuses on key health issues that affect minority and underserved populations, under the direction of Keith Norris, M.D. FACP and Vice President for Research at the Charles Drew University. Of the 3,419 institutions funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Charles Drew University ranked 180th in the level of funding, ahead of many much larger schools. Its College of Science and Health ranks seventh among NIH-funded colleges in the U.S. with comparable specializations.
"This ranking underscores - and sends an important message about - the depth and quality of research talent we have at Charles Drew University, and the extraordinary credibility that accompanies our team's published research," said Dr. Susan Kelly, President and CEO of The Charles Drew University. "Our research capabilities have long been a major source of pride within the University, and its ranking here provides us with public recognition of this leadership."
Added Dr. Norris, "Ranking first on this list of educational institutions is evidence of the University's accomplishing one of its goals of medical and scientific research - keeping academic pace with funding. In effect, we are making the research funding dollars count even more with increasing rates of peer-reviewed published results."
The university's research portfolio has achieved national recognition, particularly in advancing medical solutions to meet the unique health care needs of undeserved communities - diabetes, hypertension, HIV-AIDS, depression, and kidney disease. Dr. Norris has been one of the most prominent professionals in the field of Translational Research - focused on bringing research to clinical applications quickly for minority and disadvantaged communities.
The Charles Drew University is the only academic health sciences center in an area of 1.6 million people-the largest urban underserved area in the United States. The university is also the nation's only dually designated Historically Black Graduate Institution and Hispanic Serving Health Professions School. It was created from the ashes of the Watts Rebellion in 1965. Since 1971, The Charles Drew University has graduated over 500 medical doctors, 2,500 specialist physicians, 2,000 physician assistants and hundreds of other, mainly minority, health professionals. Research shows that the vast majority of these professionals are still serving the people in greatest need a decade or more after graduation.
Further information about The Charles Drew University may be found on its website at http://www.cdrewu.edu.
About The Charles Drew University:
A private non-profit educational institution in the Watts-Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles, The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has provided quality college, graduate and post-graduate education and training to thousands of qualified minority and other students for more than 35 years. As part of its mission, the University has also provided urgently needed healthcare services to chronically underserved residents of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County, serving the 1.7 million citizens in its 94-square-mile service area. If this service area were a municipality, it would be the fifth largest city in the U.S.
The University is widely regarded as an innovative medical education university pioneering in teaching doctors and healthcare professionals and in conducting quality research, to deal with the special needs of the poor, chronically ill populations in the inner city. By expanding relationships with local medical schools, research institutions and community-based organizations, the University is focused on eliminating health care disparities by providing access to and delivery of vital health care services to underserved populations. The University has been remarkably successful in achieving its primary goal of producing physicians and other healthcare professionals who return to the community to serve people who are uninsured or underinsured. It has graduated over 500 medical doctors, 2,500 physician specialists, 2,000 physician assistants and hundreds of other health professionals.
The Charles Drew University's unique environment of providing medical education has been lauded as a national model. Research shows both that its students become more committed to the mission as they progress through their medical education and that 10 years after graduation, 70% of Charles Drew University trained physicians are still working with underserved populations.