University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine educates science-based, skilled, and compassionate physicians ready to meet the challenges of practicing medicine in the 21st century and to conduct cutting-edge biomedical research that betters the human condition and advances medical science. The University of Pittsburgh has continuously been among the top 10 recipients of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding since 1998—perhaps the one true metric by which the national stature of research-focused institutions can be objectively assessed. In fiscal year 2014, Pitt faculty ranked fifth in dollars awarded, with more than $456 million in total funding. Among Pitt’s strengths are an environment that encourages student and faculty engagement in research, a high level of faculty collaboration, a well-integrated curriculum, and unusually robust library and information services support for students, according to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (the accrediting authority for MD degree programs in the United States and Canada). Areas of research excellence in the School of Medicine include cancer research and therapy; cardiology and cardiovascular biology; biomedical informatics and computational and systems biology; drug discovery and design; vaccine development; comparative effectiveness research; organ transplantation/immunology; stem cell biology and tissue engineering; medical device development; vascular biology; psychiatry, neurobiology, systems neuroscience, and neurological surgery; structural biology; developmental biology; quantitative systems pharmacology; precision medicine; and clinical research/clinical trials. The School of Medicine encompasses 31 diverse departments, ranging from traditional disciplines like anesthesiology, pediatrics, and orthopaedic surgery to newer scientific programs that integrate advanced concepts in cardiothoracic and plastic surgery, biomedical informatics, critical care medicine, and computational,...