The University of Arizona’s research enterprise continues to grow. Our research activity topped $622 million in total research and development expenditures, surpassing the previous year’s total by more than $18 million. The UA continues to be a research leader among our peers, a top 25 public research university among the 398 ranked.

Our research made national and global headlines – including a photo by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of the Earth and Moon from a distance of 3 million miles and being honored with a $30 million endowment from Edward P. Bass that will enable Biosphere 2 to address the Earth’s most critical questions in food, water, and energy security.

Other successes included:

• A $43.3 million grant over five years as part of the Precision Medicine Initiative through the National Institutes of Health.
• The Cancer Center’s status as a Comprehensive Cancer Center was renewed and awarded a five-year, $17.6 million grant. One of only 45 designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, the Center is an important resource for the University and our state.
• Neuroscientist Roberta Diaz Brinton and her colleagues in the Center for Innovation in Brain Science received a $10.3 million, five-year grant to study Alzheimer’s disease in women.
• The UA received a $2.2 million grant to train first responders to recognize the symptoms of opioid abuse and to administer naloxone, a drug used to counter the effects of opioid overdose. This program applies UA expertise for a direct impact in the lives of Arizona residents.

To ensure the stability and upward trajectory of our growth, we have added resources to help our faculty compete for some of the most prestigious research awards. We also have begun an extensive strategic planning process that will provide us with a blueprint for the future of the UA. We are engaging our stakeholders to help define the common ground and uniting goals that will be pillars of our strategic plan, and we will be working with them to focus our strengths for the greatest impact.

Robert Robbins
UA President