University of Hawai‘i biomedical research grants pump millions into state economy

The University of Hawaiʻi was awarded just over $58 million in federal biomedical research grants from the National Institutes of Health in Fiscal Year 2023, generating $158 million in economic activity in the state and supporting 819 local jobs.

This is according to the United for Medical Research 2024 annual report that assesses the economic impact of National Institutes of Health funding in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

National Institutes of Health funding awarded to researchers supports employment and purchase of research-related goods, services and materials. The income generated from these jobs and purchases cycles through the economy to produce new economic activity. The report estimates that every $1 of National Institutes of Health funding generates $2.46 in new economic activity.

“The funding that we receive from NIH [National Institutes of Health] is vital to sustaining the important work of our researchers, as they seek to cure diseases, eliminate cancer, and to improve health equity amongst under-represented groups and in rural communities across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific,” said University of Hawai‘i Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos.  “At the same time, these extramural grants inject much needed dollars into our state’s economy through research-related expenditures.” 

Hawaiʻi received $68.7 million in National Institutes of Health funding in Fiscal Year 2023 with 85% going to the University of Hawai‘i, including 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, National Institutes of Health funding totaled $37 billion in Fiscal Year 2023 and supported 412,041 jobs and generated $92.9 billion in new economic activity.