Charles R. Drew University Of Medicine And Science

Charles R. Drew University Of Medicine And Science, a historically Black college and minority-serving institution based in Los Angeles, California, acts as a federal grant recipient and sub-recipient in biomedical research, health professions education, and workforce development, with 60% of recent awards held as prime grants and 40% as sub-awards under larger consortium arrangements.

The institution operates as a tax-exempt non-profit private university designated as both a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and a Hispanic Servicing Institution. Its federal footprint centers on research and training grants rather than contracts; across 197 total awards in the source data, the combined potential value is modest at $550 thousand against obligated dollars of $555.9 million, reflecting the institution's role as a sub-recipient on large federal research and training initiatives anchored by other universities and agencies.

The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dominate the customer base. CDC awards account for 50 awards across the portfolio; NIH carries 22 awards with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences representing 18 of those. The Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education places 12 awards, and the Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professionals places 10. These five agencies account for 57% of awards by count. The gap between award count and dollar concentration reflects CDU's characteristic role: it holds many small sub-awards on larger prime grants managed by universities including UCLA, USC, UC San Francisco, and the University of Michigan, while holding prime recipient status on its own federal grants.

Representative prime-grant work includes a $499,999 HRSA Bureau of Health Professionals Primary Care Training and Enhancement award (CFDA 93.884) to establish the Street Medicine Advance Residency Training (SMART) program, expanding Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residency training in street-based medicine for people experiencing homelessness through June 2031; a $348,480.90 NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke purchase order for the Gateway to Research Opportunities for the Workforce (GROW) Program Undergraduate Track, delivering preparatory education and workforce development for undergraduate students from resource-limited institutions through July 2028; and multiple NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences research project grants (CFDA 93.821) in cardiovascular and metabolic research, including studies on electronic cigarettes and cardiac dysfunction, exercise-induced vascular protection, and fatty liver disease mechanisms, each running three to five years.

As a sub-recipient, CDU participates in UCLA-anchored initiatives including the UCLA-CDU Collaborative, Multidisciplinary, and Translational (CTR) Research Program under the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), the UCLA-CDU Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) with focus on HIV/STI prevention and treatment in African American and Latinx communities, and substance abuse research training programs under NIH and NIDA. CDU also receives sub-awards from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for HIV prevention and surveillance programs, and from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services for child advocacy center services.

Activity has accelerated sharply: the source data show five awards in 2022, ramping to 32 in 2023 and 39 in 2024, before moderating to 12 in 2025 and 6 in 2026 year-to-date. Fourteen awards with ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $348 thousand and face recompete exposure. CDU's federal research enterprise aligns with its institutional mission to serve underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged communities; curriculum and training programs emphasize substance abuse research, aging research, maternal and child health, and mental and behavioral health capacity-building among faculty and trainees from communities of color in Los Angeles County and beyond.