The Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences ranks 11th in the nation and No. 1 in Michigan medical schools in National Institutes of Health research funding.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, which provides an annual ranking of NIH funding to medical schools and individual departments, this year placed the WSU department 11th among the nation’s academic Ophthalmology departments.

In 2019, the department secured $8,014,848 in NIH research funding, making it the leading Ophthalmology department among Michigan’s medical schools in that category.

In 2018, the Department of Ophthalmology merged with the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology to create the new Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences. Research in the department encompasses major areas of vision and neurosciences, focusing on the retina and other areas of the brain and spinal cord in addition to infectious diseases of the cornea and retina.

The department is a center of excellence in vision and holds both a National Eye InstituteP30 grant renewed for years 36 through 40 in 2019 and a Research to Prevent Blindness grant.

Clinical activities take place at the Kresge Eye Institute, which excels in all areas of ophthalmology, with major strengths in retina, glaucoma, infectious diseases and cataracts. The Kresge Eye Institute is considered one of the nation's leading medical centers for the preservation of sight and has an international reputation for pioneering eye research programs.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has monitored NIH funding to medical schools and other health science schools and organizations since 2006. It generates an annual ranking of NIH funding for United States medical schools and their departments.