Duke is one of the world's leading research universities. How is the Duke scientific research ecosystem funded, who does the research, and what is its impact?

Funding Sources

Research isn't free, and scientific research is more expensive on average than research in the humanities and other disciplines. In addition to supplies, facilities, and instruments, researchers themselves need to be paid. Thankfully, Duke pulled in a whopping 1.33 billion dollars in research funding during the fiscal 2023-2024 school year, according to the Duke Office for Research and Innovation’s annual report. 

Of this sum, roughly 863 million (about 57.5%) was federal money. This funding comes from various government agencies and organizations, with the two biggest sponsors being the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional sources of funding include the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), and private sources, including foundations, which generally give to specific programs or projects in line with their core principles. For example, the Gates Foundation funds health and health-policy-related research at Duke, as does the Arnold Foundation through its wing Arnold Ventures.

In addition to the large amount of outside money, Duke also relies on the endowment for research support. This includes the money for endowed professorships and funding for student research through the Undergraduate Research Support Office and other departments like the library.

Where the Money Goes‍

Ultimately, all the funding goes to research, but there are many types of scientific research. While Duke University is one entity, it contains many schools with different research and education focuses. For example, the Nicholas School of the Environment conducts environmental research while the Pratt School of Engineering focuses on engineering. Additionally, Duke Hospital and the Duke Hospital System do much of Duke’s research. As a result, Duke divides the money between these different groups.

Above: The Duke Clinical Research Institute. Image courtesy of The Chronicle.

Even within a school, funding is further divided. Duke has several research institutes that either function within a wider school or operate autonomously. Notable examples include the Margolis Center, the Duke Clinical Research Institute, the Duke Cancer Institute, and the Duke Population Research Institute. While these institutes aren't the sole funders or doers of research at Duke, they play a critical role in much of Duke's research.

Within each subdivision of the university, the money is primarily split between the actual research costs and the costs of staff and personnel. Additional ingredients and tools are required for most research that students are doing, in addition to things like computing power and utilities. More importantly, and usually less thought about, researchers need to be paid. This includes professors, students working in labs or on independent projects, graduate students earning masters and PhDs, and researchers and workers who help the labs operate.

Research Impact

Not all scientific research has immediate or even close applications, and not all experiments succeed. Even still, Duke has been the site of dozens of world-altering innovations. During World War Two, Paul Gross (namesake of Gross Hall) helped invent a frangible bullet that would break on impact, allowing fighter pilots to practice shooting without damaging friendly aircraft. Duke has also invented treatments for gout, pompe, and blind staggers (a disease that affects horses) while making significant improvements in the delivery and design of medical treatments. On the non-medical side, Duke has made significant strides in areas like materials science and computing.

Above: Duke’s “A Century of Innovation at Duke” exhibit. Image courtesy of Duke University.

This impact continues to this day. In fiscal year 2023-2024 alone, Duke faculty (both scientific and otherwise) produced 11,810 publications and won 101 awards for their achievements in various fields. Duke also filed 302 new invention disclosures based on its research, saw six new Duke-related startups launched, and was granted 94 patents. 

Not all papers are transformational or highly read, and many inventions and companies fail to have a major impact. But research at Duke clearly has had, and continues to have, a major impact in the world at large.