Accomplishments

Updated: February 16, 2022

The CBC was launched in 2006 with a generous grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust (SFCCT) at the level of $5 million per year. Through the end of 2021, $71 million has been invested in the CBC. During the 16 years of CBC operation, the CBC has strengthened the Chicago biomedical community in a number of ways.

As of December 31, 2020*, the CBC has supported:

358 Awards supporting cutting-edge research in many areas including antibiotic resistance, cancer, heart disease, drug development, mental health and neurological disorders, infectious diseases and diabetes,
Recruitment of 8 outstanding senior and junior faculty members who have gone on to receive numerous national awards,
Professional development programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows,
Mentoring assistance for researchers interested in commercializing discoveries,
Organizing 73 educational events including 17 annual symposia, showcasing research supported by the CBC and high-end technologies available at CBC universities.

Notable outcomes from CBC support include:

Over 2,650 peer-reviewed publications attributed to CBC-funded research (see the graphs below),
Establishment of six national research centers at CBC universities,
Facilitation of the Open Access Initiative, allowing CBC-affiliated researchers to use all core facilities at ‘in-house’ rates,
$856.4 million in follow-on funding from CBC-initiated research (see the graphs below),
Estimated total economic input exceeding $3 billion for the Chicago economy overall(see the graphs below).

Economic Impact on Chicago
From 2006 to December 31, 2020*, additional funding, primarily from the NIH, totaled over $856.4 million (red bar). Economists have calculated that, in Illinois, each biomedical research dollar increases business activity by $2.43^1,2. Using this multiplier, the Economic Impact of the combined SFCCT (grey bar) and NIH research funding is $2.239 billion (blue bar). Thus, CBC activities (Cumulative leverage + Economic Impact) have provided a total economic input of more than $3 billion to the Chicago economy since 2006 (red/blue bar).

¹Ehrlich E. 2011. “An Economic Engine: NIH Research, Employment, and the Future of the Medical Innovation Sector.” P. 11. United for Medical Research.
²Clinch R. 2012. “Presentation on Measuring the Economic Impact of R&D Investments.” International Symposium on Assessing the Economic Impact of Nanotechnology.

*Data collected through December 31, 2020.

Cumulative Leverage
During 2006-2020 the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust generously provided $65 million in funding to CBC (blue line). Each year the CBC leveraged this funding with additional funding from external sources, primarily from the NIH. By December 31, 2020*, the total leveraged by the CBC amounted to $856.4 million (red line).

*Data collected through December 31, 2020.

Impact on Scientific Discoveries
Research funded by CBC award programs has yielded a total of 2654 publications (as of December 31, 2020*). These papers, most in high-impact journals, report advances in many biomedical subject areas, including antibiotic resistance, cancer, heart disease, drug development, mental health and neurological disorders, infectious diseases and diabetes, moving science forward on many fronts. The graph shows yearly publications (blue line) and cumulative publications (red line).

*Data collected through December 31, 2020.

CBC Perspectives
Starting in 2012, the CBC has summarized its annual accomplishments in “Perspectives.” Please download this annual report to learn more about the research sponsored by the CBC, and its impact on the city of Chicago and the CBC universities.