Seven departments at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are in the top 10 nationally in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to rankings of medical schools released for the 2019 federal fiscal year.

Two departments rank No. 1 in the country: ophthalmology and physiology and neuroscience. The latter program rose from No. 2 last year, while ophthalmology retained its top ranking.

The rankings are based on data compiled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research in Horse Shoe, North Carolina, and are eagerly anticipated by medical schools and researchers each year.

Researchers from the Keck School were awarded a total of $186.3 million in funding for the fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2018 and ended Sept. 30, 2019.

The Keck School is second in the country among medical schools in average NIH funding per principal investigator (PI), at $975,484, behind only New York University School of Medicine ($987,256). New York University has 318 PIs, compared with 191 at the Keck School.

Among the ten departments that made the top 20, several improved their ranking from last year: orthopedics went from 10th to 8th; urology from 13th to 9th; otolaryngology from 12th to 10th; dermatology from 27th to 20th; and molecular microbiology and immunology from 24th to 20th.

“It’s great to see two new programs in the top 10,” said Tom Buchanan, MD, vice dean for research at the Keck School, referring to Urology and Otolaryngology. “Keck School of Medicine continues to build its reputation as a strong research institution.”

Here’s a rundown of the USC departments that made the top 20:

— Landon Hall