University Of Arkansas For Medical Sciences

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Research and Sponsored Programs Division, operating as Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is a tax-exempt academic medical center and the state's only academic health sciences university delivering specialized clinical services, biomedical research, and medical education to federal agencies as a prime recipient on federal grants and contracts. The institution operates on a full-and-open basis without small-business set-asides, competing primarily for research funding and health services work from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

UAMS operates a large federal prime footprint anchored in grants. Across 1,152 prime awards (contracts, IDIQs, and grants) valued at $575.1 million in combined potential value, the institution's portfolio splits heavily toward research and clinical services. Recent contract work includes dermatopathology and irradiated blood services for VISN 16 under a $3.05 million IDV through September 2029; stimulant drug testing for the DEA under a $1.69 million BPA through September 2029; vascular surgeon and physician on-site services for VISN 16 under a $3.05 million IDV; and expert witness services for the Department of Justice Civil Division ($90,000 purchase order). Federal grant work spans the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Defense Health Agency. Recent NIH awards include research on DNA helicases, retinal pathological angiogenesis, neutrophil inflammasome mechanisms, bone loss and osteogenesis imperfecta, KSHV-associated malignancies, cardiovascular metabolic dysfunction, and maternal and reproductive health. An $8 million HHS grant funds the Arkansas Center for Women and Infants Health postpartum support initiative; a $5.99 million HRSA grant funds rural maternal health services in the Mississippi Delta.

UAMS' customer concentration reflects its mission to support federal research and veteran healthcare. The Veterans Integrated Service Network 16 (VA) accounts for 140 awards valued at $107.4 million combined potential value—the largest customer by dollars. The National Institutes of Health places 187 awards across institutes, with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (62 awards) and the National Cancer Institute (67 awards) as major funders. Concentration signal: VA dominates the contract/clinical services channel; NIH dominates the grant research channel.

UAMS maintains five named parent IDVs. The VA IDV V598P1094A carries $73.1 million across 11 task orders for clinical services; the VA IDV V598P4224 carries $43.5 million across 17 task orders. The DEA BPA ($1.69 million ceiling) and the FDA BPA structure smaller specialized testing and laboratory work. The institution places little work on government-wide GWACs or GSA Schedules, instead relying on direct federal customer relationships.

Activity has declined recently—79 awards in 2023, 128 in 2024, 83 in 2025, 54 in 2026, and only 2 through mid-2027. This decline reflects the 2023–2024 spike characteristic of a mature academic institution managing a large stable of long-duration research grants. Within the next twenty-four months, 102 awards (combined potential value $332 thousand) reach ultimate completion, representing modest recompete pressure relative to the portfolio's overall scale.

Service Contract Inventory reports a narrow slice of UAMS' federal work: six prime contracts and eight named subcontracts across FY2022–FY2025, with $445 thousand in SCI-reportable invoiced revenue in FY2024 alone. The SCI dataset shows 13.3 FTEs in FY2024 on prime contracts, with government-paid hourly rates running a median of $300.75/hr and a 90th percentile of $381.17/hr—reflecting senior clinical and research labor. SCI is not representative of UAMS' total federal revenue or workforce; the institution's federal footprint is dominated by research grants and clinical service IDVs that sit outside SCI's reporting scope.

UAMS operates as a prime on most work and does not rely on subcontractors for delivery. On the few SCI-reportable prime contracts, the average subcontractor share of hours is zero, indicating internal delivery. UAMS appears on the sub side in collaborative grant work—recent examples include subaward roles on Duke University's ECHO study, the University of Connecticut's osteogenesis imperfecta research, Stanford's postpartum outcome studies, and multiple projects led by the Arkansas Children's Research Institute and the Arkansas Department of Health. These sub-positions are secondary to UAMS' dominant prime role in large federal grant programs.

UAMS is a child entity of Arkansas University Of, a parent corporation that holds the UEI and administers the institution's legal and financial structure. The Research and Sponsored Programs Division serves as the operational unit managing federal contracts and grants on behalf of the university.