TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns of National Institutes of Health Grant Funding to Surgical Research and Scholarly Productivity in the United States
AU - Mesquita-Neto, Jose Wilson
AU - Dailey, William
AU - Macedo, Francis I.
AU - Merchant, Nipun B.
N1 - Funding Information:
In the last decade, success rates for obtaining new grants from NIH reached a historical low, and the peer-review process has become a fierce competition among many well-qualified investigators. Much of this is due to a significant increase in the overall number of grants that are being submitted, with a significantly higher proportion submitted by PhD scientists and nonpracticing physicians. The inability to secure funding does not only hinder the capacity to create knowledge through research, it also directly impacts the academic careers of the principal investigators (PIs). The capacity to obtain funding from the NIH is a well-recognized career accomplishment, which affects promotion to higher academic ranks. However, the increased demands and pressures to generate clinical revenue by Departments of Surgery (DoS) result in less time to perform high-level research and surgeons’ ability to compete for these grants. Additionally, many surgeons do not have formal research training or their research training was during residency with a long gap before their initial faculty position, making it difficult for surgeons early in their careers to secure independent research funding in a highly competitive research environment. Therefore, it is not surprising that the proportion of practicing surgeon–scientists listed as NIH grantees has decreased over time.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Objective:The aim of this study was to assess the contemporary trends in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants awarded to surgical investigators, including potential disparities.Background:The NIH remains the primary public funding source for surgical research in the United States; however, the patterns for grants and grantees are poorly understood.Methods:NIH RePORTER was queried for new grants (R01, -03, -21) awarded to Departments of Surgery (DoS). Principal investigators' (PIs) data were extracted from publicly available information from their institutions' websites and/or professional social media accounts.Results:The NIH awarded 1101 new grants (total: $389,006,782; median: $313,030) between 2008 and 2018. Funding to DoS has doubled in the last 10 years ($22,983,500-2008 to $49,446,076-2018). Midwest/Southeast institutions and surgical oncologists accounted for majority of the grants (31.9% and 24.5%, respectively). Only 24.7% of the projects were led by female PIs, who were predominantly nonphysician PhD scientists (52% vs 37.7% PhD-only male PIs; P = 0.002). During this time, there was a significant increase from 12.4% to 31.7% in grants awarded to PIs with >15 years of experience. These grants were associated with 8215 publications; however, only 13.2% were published in high-impact journals (impact factor ≥10). 4.4% of the grants resulted in patents, and these were associated with higher award amounts ($345,801 vs $311,350; P = 0.030). On multivariate analysis, combined MD/PhD degree [odds ratio (OR) 5.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.18-16.39; P < 0.001] was associated with improved odds of patent creation; conversely, practicing surgeon PIs affected patent creation negatively (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.11-0.85; P = 0.024).Conclusion:In the last decade, a greater proportion of NIH grants in DoS were awarded to more experienced investigators. Disparities exist among grantees, and female investigators are underrepresented, especially among practicing surgeons.
AB - Objective:The aim of this study was to assess the contemporary trends in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants awarded to surgical investigators, including potential disparities.Background:The NIH remains the primary public funding source for surgical research in the United States; however, the patterns for grants and grantees are poorly understood.Methods:NIH RePORTER was queried for new grants (R01, -03, -21) awarded to Departments of Surgery (DoS). Principal investigators' (PIs) data were extracted from publicly available information from their institutions' websites and/or professional social media accounts.Results:The NIH awarded 1101 new grants (total: $389,006,782; median: $313,030) between 2008 and 2018. Funding to DoS has doubled in the last 10 years ($22,983,500-2008 to $49,446,076-2018). Midwest/Southeast institutions and surgical oncologists accounted for majority of the grants (31.9% and 24.5%, respectively). Only 24.7% of the projects were led by female PIs, who were predominantly nonphysician PhD scientists (52% vs 37.7% PhD-only male PIs; P = 0.002). During this time, there was a significant increase from 12.4% to 31.7% in grants awarded to PIs with >15 years of experience. These grants were associated with 8215 publications; however, only 13.2% were published in high-impact journals (impact factor ≥10). 4.4% of the grants resulted in patents, and these were associated with higher award amounts ($345,801 vs $311,350; P = 0.030). On multivariate analysis, combined MD/PhD degree [odds ratio (OR) 5.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.18-16.39; P < 0.001] was associated with improved odds of patent creation; conversely, practicing surgeon PIs affected patent creation negatively (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.11-0.85; P = 0.024).Conclusion:In the last decade, a greater proportion of NIH grants in DoS were awarded to more experienced investigators. Disparities exist among grantees, and female investigators are underrepresented, especially among practicing surgeons.
KW - academic surgery
KW - funding
KW - research
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U2 - 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004206
DO - 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004206
M3 - Article
C2 - 32740237
AN - SCOPUS:85091126803
VL - 272
SP - 539
EP - 546
JO - Annals of Surgery
JF - Annals of Surgery
SN - 0003-4932
IS - 4
ER -