Objective  To analyze the completed projects in medical immunology field of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2018 to 2022, and explore the current development status and existing problems in this field, in order to provide reference for future project applications and optimization of funding direction.

Methods  The data for this analysis were sourced from the Science Fund Sharing Service Network, which provided information on project titles, categories, funding amounts, sub-discipline codes, host institutions, project keywords and research outcomes for completed medical immunology projects funded by NSFC from 2018 to 2022. Microsoft Excel 2021, CiteSpace 6.1.R6 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 softwares were used for visual analysis of the data.

Results  From 2018 to 2022, there were 1 206 completed projects of NSFC in the field of medical immunology, with funding of 601.545 million RMB from 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Among them, 57.88% of the projects were distributed in Shanghai (191 items), Beijing (184 items), Jiangsu (136 items), Guangdong (127 items) and Shandong (60 items). The number of completed projects in southern region was 2.43 times higher than that in northern region. All the projects belonged to 160 supporting institutions, mainly concentrated in comprehensive universities, among which Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked first with 64 projects. The research achievements were mainly reflected in three aspects: journal papers (7 481 articles), personnel training (1 748 people) and patents (269 authorized items). The subdisciplines focused on H1104 (inflammation, infection and immunity) and H1107 (autoimmune diseases), with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) being the hotspot diseases in the field, and macrophages being the hotspot cells.

Conclusion  Between 2018 and 2022, there were significant differences in the distribution of completed medical immunology projects of NSFC in terms of geography, host institutions, categories of research outcomes, and sub-disciplines. The research hotpots were mainly focused on immune regulation and autoimmune diseases.

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