Research plays a crucial role in the world of medicine. It is through research that doctors learn more about the makeup of our bodies and how disease, and illness, can harm us. Research also allows for the discovery of cures for disease, and affective approaches to making our bodies and minds well when we suffer injuries or when we fall ill. When it comes to research medical schools there are some that stand out among the rest with regard to their success, and achievements. The following are the 10 best research medical schools in the world in no particular order.
Harvard University
Harvard is one of the oldest and most noted medical schools in the entire world. It has been consistently ranked first in medical schools by the U.S. News and World Report. The staff at Harvard numbers more than 2,800 and more than 5,000 non-voting instructors. Students may enroll in one of two programs. The New Pathway focuses on problem-based learning while the HST emphasizes medical research.
The John Hopkins University School of Medicine
Two of the most significant medical advances in the past 25 years were discovered at John Hopkins. The discovery of restriction enzymes which opened the flood gates for genetic engineering, and the discovery of the brains naturally-produced opiates that caused an avalanche in research in neurotransmitter pathways and functions.
Duke University
Duke is one of those universities that always receives some of the highest amounts of annual funding from the National Institute of Health. That’s because Duke University continues to make valuable breakthroughs in the world of medicine including the world’s first three-dimensional ultrasound diagnostic system, and the first engineered blood vessel. Duke continues to pioneer studies that include the many complex systems in the world of physics.
Yale University
Yale University is the third oldest institute of higher education in the United States, and part of the renowned “Ivy League” a term used to denote academic excellence. Yale is noted for its unique curriculum which promotes small seminar teaching, conference and tutorial settings, and requires its students to self-evaluate, think independently and thoroughly investigate all relevancies to their course of studies.
Columbia University
Columbia is also part of the Ivy League, and has had more Nobel Prize winner associated with the institution than any other in the world. Scientists at Columbia are credited with more than 150 new inventions in the health sciences annually, and there are currently more than 30 pharmaceutical products on the market today as a direct result of discoveries and inventions at this educational institution.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Vanderbilt School of Medicine is ranked No. 10 among all U.S. medical schools for funding from the National Institutes of Health. According to a survey by The Scientist Magazine, researchers from both within the U.S. and abroad ranked Vanderbilt as the 5th best place in the United States to work in science. In 2009, Vanderbilt University made Fortune magazine’s “Fortune 100″ list of best U.S. companies to work for. No other academic institution has ever done this.
Trudi Buck writes about the metrics for online universities reviews.