$108.8B
U.S. higher education R&D spending
Universities and colleges reported $108.8 billion in research and development expenditures for fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023Research Reference
U.S. life science research statistics.
Key funding and research activity figures for researchers, writers, and organizations that need a clear starting point.
Last updated September 16, 2026. Each figure includes its source year.
At A Glance
A dated reference for life science research context.
These figures describe the scale of U.S. higher education research activity and the public literature resources researchers use. They are provided as background information only, not as medical, therapeutic, veterinary, diagnostic, or dosing guidance.
11.2%
Year-over-year increase
Higher education research and development expenditures increased 11.2% from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023$55.2B
Life sciences at universities
Health sciences and biological and biomedical sciences together accounted for $55.2 billion in fiscal year 2023 higher education R&D spending.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 202351%
Share of university R&D
Those two life science fields represented 51% of all higher education R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023$35.7B
Health sciences R&D
Health sciences accounted for $35.7 billion in higher education R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023$19.5B
Biological and biomedical sciences R&D
Biological and biomedical sciences accounted for $19.5 billion in higher education R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 202355%
Federal share of academic R&D
Federal funding supplied 55% of all higher education R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023$27.7B
University-funded research
Universities' own funds accounted for $27.7 billion, or 25%, of higher education R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 202333
Universities above $1 billion
Thirty-three institutions reported at least $1 billion in R&D expenditures in fiscal year 2023.
Source: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, FY 2023$26.2B
NIH research project grants
The final fiscal year 2024 NIH allocation listed $26.221 billion for research project grants.
Source: NIH Data Book, FY 2024 final allocation40M+
PubMed citations
PubMed reports more than 40 million citations across biomedical literature, life science journals, and online books.
Source: National Library of Medicine, accessed September 16, 202612.4M
Articles in PubMed Central
PubMed Central reports 12.4 million archived full-text articles.
Source: National Library of Medicine, accessed September 16, 2026Sources And Method
Built from primary public records.
Figures are drawn from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, the NIH Data Book, PubMed, and PubMed Central. Monetary values are reported in current dollars where the source reports them. The source date is shown with every statistic so researchers can assess its currency and context.
- National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D, fiscal year 2023
- NIH Data Book, fiscal year 2024 final allocation
- PubMed, National Library of Medicine
- PubMed Central, National Library of Medicine
Cite this page
Mibio-ops. “U.S. Life Science Research Statistics.” Updated September 16, 2026. mibio-ops.com/research-statistics