The Keck School of Medicine of USC rose in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 edition of Best Medical Schools: Research, moving to 29^th from 31^st a year ago.

“I am very pleased that the Keck School of Medicine of USC has risen in the Best Medical Schools: Research ranking,” said Interim Dean Narsing A. Rao, MD. “This honor recognizes our strength in research, education and clinical care. My thanks to chairs, institute directors, faculty, staff and students at the Keck School who have worked hard over this past year to maintain our high standards and reputation for excellence.”

“These rankings for the Keck School of Medicine show that we’re gaining momentum as one of the top research medical schools,” said Peggy Farnham, PhD, Chair and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, the W.M. Keck Chair in Biochemistry and the Vice Dean for Health and Biomedical Science Education at KSOM.

“Much of this momentum can be attributed to the efforts of our graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, who are dedicated, knowledgeable, and full of curiosity and great ideas,” Farnham added. “The U.S. News and World Report rankings are further evidence that The Keck School is a terrific training environment for our students and postdocs.”

The rankings, released Tuesday, continue a surge for the Keck School’s research operations: In February six KSOM departments ranked among the top 10 nationally in National Institutes of Health grant funding. Since federal fiscal year 2015, KSOM’s NIH funding has increased 80%.

“The continued excellence of our research programs has contributed in a major way to this improvement in our U.S. News and World Report ranking,” said Tom Buchanan, MD, professor of medicine, the Bernard J. Hanley Chair in Medicine and the school’s Vice Dean for Research.

Among the 191 schools surveyed in fall 2020 and early 2021, 129 responded for the rankings.