Institutions in Illinois received $1.42B in NIH funding in fiscal year 2026 across 2,266 awards, #8 among states. Northwestern University received the most, $514.2M, and the NCI was the largest funding institute.
| Rank | Institution | Awards | NIH funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern University | 853 | $514.2M |
| 2 | University of Chicago | 522 | $314.2M |
| 3 | University of Illinois at Chicago | 345 | $177.8M |
| 4 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 170 | $85.6M |
| 5 | National Opinion Research Center | 9 | $84.4M |
| 6 | Rush University Medical Center | 85 | $60.9M |
| 7 | Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago | 66 | $37.0M |
| 8 | Alliance Nctn Foundation | 5 | $28.3M |
| 9 | Loyola University Chicago | 55 | $20.0M |
| 10 | Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago D/B/A Shirley Ryan Abilitylab | 17 | $9.3M |
| 11 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 12 | $8.9M |
| 12 | Chestnut Health Systems, Inc. | 12 | $8.7M |
| 13 | Uchicago Argonne, Llc | 4 | $8.7M |
| 14 | Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science | 16 | $7.1M |
| 15 | Endeavor Health Clinical Operations | 11 | $6.3M |
| 16 | Decatur Memorial Hospital | 1 | $3.4M |
| 17 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | 9 | $3.3M |
| 18 | Midwestern University | 6 | $2.6M |
| 19 | Carle Foundation | 1 | $2.3M |
| 20 | Loyola University of Chicago | 4 | $1.9M |
| 21 | Illinois State University | 4 | $1.8M |
| 22 | Hektoen Institute for Medical Research | 1 | $1.7M |
| 23 | Rhaeos, Inc. | 3 | $1.5M |
| 24 | Tango Biosciences, Inc. | 2 | $1.5M |
| 25 | Encue Inc. | 1 | $1.4M |
| Institute | Focus | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| NCI | cancer | $211.8M |
| NIA | aging and Alzheimer's disease | $169.8M |
| NIAID | infectious disease, immunology and allergy | $158.2M |
| NHLBI | heart, lung, blood and sleep | $151.0M |
| NIGMS | basic biomedical science and research training | $124.5M |
| NIDDK | diabetes, digestive and kidney disease | $91.3M |
| NINDS | neurology and stroke | $83.6M |
| OD | cross-NIH programs | $71.5M |
| NICHD | child health, pregnancy and development | $60.4M |
| NIMH | mental health | $58.6M |
NIH awards to Illinois institutions moved from $1.35B in fiscal year 2025 to $1.42B in 2026, a change of +5.5% against -0.3% nationally.
| Institution | FY2025 | FY2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola University Chicago | $27.2M | $20.0M | -26.4% |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | $89.8M | $85.6M | -4.7% |
| Rush University Medical Center | $64.1M | $60.9M | -5.0% |
| Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago D/B/A Shirley Ryan Abilitylab | $11.5M | $9.3M | -19.5% |
| Neurolux, Inc. | $2.0M | $249K | -87.5% |
| Northwestern University | $485.8M | $514.2M | +5.8% |
| National Opinion Research Center | $58.4M | $84.4M | +44.4% |
| Alliance Nctn Foundation | $7.9M | $28.3M | +259.5% |
| University of Chicago | $306.5M | $314.2M | +2.5% |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | $5.7M | $8.9M | +55.2% |
Largest decreases first, then largest increases. Every state compared.
See Illinois university research spending (all sources, NSF HERD) and every federal funder.
Illinois is #8 on NIH funding by state.