Southern Illinois University School Of Medicine

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, a state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Springfield, Illinois, operates as a federal grant recipient (86% of recent awards) and sub-recipient, delivering medical education, clinical research, and behavioral health services to the federal government across the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The institution's customer base concentrates heavily in research and health workforce training. The top five funding entities account for 50% of awards by count, anchored by the National Institutes of Health (28 awards) and the NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (13 awards), followed by the Department of Defense (12 awards) and the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professionals (8 awards). Combined obligated dollars across all 139 awards total $240.4 million, though combined potential value on active awards stands at $2.9 million, reflecting the institution's historical depth of NIH research funding and the mature, obligated status of most active programs.

Capability work spans biomedical research and specialized medical education and training. Representative prime grants include a $500,000 Office for Victims of Crime award (CFDA 16.582) effective October 2025 through September 2028 for a Trauma Recovery Center Expansion Project delivering trauma-focused behavioral health services to crime victims aged 18–54 in Sangamon County, Illinois; a July 2025 Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Health Professionals grant for a Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program focused on trauma-informed behavioral health fellowship training in rural Southern Illinois; and a July 2025 Bureau of Health Professionals award for residency training in street medicine (PRISM program) preparing family medicine residents across three residency sites to deliver care to individuals experiencing homelessness. Foundational research grants from NIH include studies on cerebellar granule cell dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (June 2022 to April 2027), prevention of seizure-induced sudden death by periaqueductal gray stimulation (April 2022 to March 2026), and cell-type specific neuroadaptations in the nucleus accumbens shell associated with cocaine-seeking vulnerability (September 2021 to January 2027). The institution holds a seat on an indefinite delivery contract (DAMD1788C8024) under the Defense Health Agency with two task orders. Sub-award engagements route through prime grantees including Vanderbilt University Medical Center (consequences of chronic noise exposure in nonhuman primates), the University of Washington (vestibular hair cell research), the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (trauma recovery centers), and the Department of Children and Family Services (Children's Medical Resource Network providing specialized medical services to abused and neglected children).

Activity has grown from 7 awards in 2022 and 2023 to 13 in 2025, with 4 awards recorded in 2026 to date. Five awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, carrying recompete exposure. Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences dominates NAICS representation, with R&D medical (basic research) the primary PSC category across six awards. The institution functions as a research institution and federally qualified health center with clinical operations across central and southern Illinois, supporting rural health workforce development, community mental health service delivery, and biomedical research aligned with NIH and HRSA priorities in underserved populations and health disparity reduction.