By almost any measure, the College of Medicine is faring exceedingly well in fulfilling the mission it was given upon creation by the Florida Legislature. Success in the classroom, in the way students have performed in clinical rotations and in the leadership roles early graduates are taking in residency training all have drawn praise for the college’s unique educational model.

Inadvertently, the story of that success might be playing a role in obscuring another important area of remarkable growth.

Despite coming of age during one of the bleakest periods on record for research funding in the United States, the FSU College of Medicine has achieved an increase in funding for medical research every year since inception.

In fact, less than two years after the completion of the college’s research building, and with a group of 37 research faculty all hired since 2002, the College of Medicine has grown from an initial $5.3 million in research awards during its first year to more than $25 million at present.

The grants – about half of which come from the National Institutes of Health - cover a broad spectrum of medical interests from cancer and heart disease to medical humanities. Research in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Medicine is in the process of being translated into discovery of therapeutic products that could aid patients suffering from heart disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer and liver fibrosis, to cite a few examples.

Along the way, the College of Medicine has developed its own Ph.D. program in biomedical sciences. Though still young with 25 students enrolled and one graduate, the program has helped attract faculty who are playing an active role in teaching undergraduate and graduate students from other FSU colleges how to perform research.

In all, College of Medicine faculty are training 40 graduate students in 11 degree programs from six different FSU colleges. Eighty-one FSU undergraduate students from nine majors in four colleges also are receiving research training with College of Medicine faculty.

Soon, the College of Medicine will be launching a translational science initiative with the potential to involve more than 1,300 physicians across Florida, along with their 1.5 million patients.

“We’re a unique medical school, with no teaching hospital by design. That means, by definition, we are having to develop a different type of research model,’’ said Myra Hurt, associate dean for research and graduate programs at the College of Medicine. “We’re building a base right now and we believe we’re going to continue to grow over the next five years with the addition of our translational science initiative.

“We had an altruistic goal from the beginning – to develop the kind of doctors Florida needs and to enhance the quality of care in our state. Our research ultimately will be a big part of that.’’