24 Feb FIU Psychology Ranked No. 3 by National Science Foundation
Florida International University (FIU) has been ranked No. 3 in the nation by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research funding in psychology, moving up from No. 5 in previous rankings.
FIU claimed the highest ranking of all Florida universities in the NSF’s annual Higher Education Research and Development rankings, which ranks total and federally financed higher education research and development expenditures. Based on 2020 fiscal year expenditures, FIU rose to its highest level yet — $34.6 million. According to Raul Gonzalez, interim chairperson of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, this ranking “highlights the success of our faculty in obtaining extramural funding given the high impact and innovation of their research.”
FIU has experienced a rapid ascension in the NSF rankings, jumping from 116 less than 10 years ago to the top 3 in the latest report.
“FIU continues to drive innovative research and clinical work to help reduce the burden of mental illness, increase access to mental health treatments and advance new techniques for public health and law enforcement, all in the hopes of helping people, their families and our communities,” Gonzalez said. “As we continue to rise in these rankings, it only stands to prove that our faculty, staff and students are advancing science and developing solutions worth investing in.”
The Center for Children and Families (CCF), an FIU preeminent program, has provided an optimal setting for psychology faculty to pursue funded research on mental health and neuroscience. Through clinical services and research initiatives, faculty at the center provide services to more than 3,000 families every year. With a team of nearly 40 researchers and experts, CCF continues to deliver new insights about the process, effects, and treatment of child and adolescent mental health disorders, having published hundreds of research papers in recent years.
Programs in public health are advancing health and wellness within our own community. For example, the FIU Research Center in Minority Institutions (FIU-RCMI) is supporting the $3.5 million ACE Project, with Dr. Elisa Trucco and Dr. Matthew Sutherland serving as Co-PIs, which investigates the antecedents and consequences of nicotine vaping among teenagers in Miami-Dade, as well as a separate study examining how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted teenagers’ mental health and substance use.
National agencies are increasingly investing in research that explores the interface of mental health and neuroscience, including the NIH, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Justice and NSF. FIU has the infrastructure needed to conduct groundbreaking research in those specific areas. Students and postdoctoral scholars, who are training with some of the best scientists in the country, are instrumental in the process of securing external funding and assisting with the research once a grant starts.
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