Colton D. Wayne MD , Zachary Dumbauld BS , Ethan Mills BS , Diana L. Farmer MD , Gail E. Besner MD
{"title":"NIH funding for the pediatric surgeon-scientist: An analysis of current trends","authors":"Colton D. Wayne MD , Zachary Dumbauld BS , Ethan Mills BS , Diana L. Farmer MD , Gail E. Besner MD","doi":"10.1016/j.sopen.2024.12.005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background/purpose</h3><div>Previous studies highlighted the success of pediatric surgeons in obtaining NIH funding. Given increasing clinical demands, we sought to analyze the current state of NIH funding for pediatric surgeon-scientists.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>APSA membership in August 2023 was filtered for Regular/Associate members and referenced through NIH RePORTER. Data included history of prior/active NIH funding, award type/institute, and funding pathways. Demographics collected included level of professorship, post-graduate degrees, and gender. Academic productivity was assessed by PubMed publications. In addition, a survey was distributed to Regular/Associate APSA members.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>1079 APSA Regular/Associate members were identified. <u>Total (previous/current) funding</u>: 149 (13.8 %) surgeons had previous/current NIH funding, 145 with complete funding information. There were 371 previous/current grants totaling $387,148,625. 31.7 % of funded surgeons held Chair/Chief positions, 77.9 % were male, and 84.1 % had M.D. degree only. 282 (76.0 %) grants were independent, and 42 (11.3 %) were mentored. 100 (69.0 %) funded surgeons obtained independent investigator awards, 33 (22.8 %) with and 67 (46.2 %) without prior training/mentored grants. <u>Current funding</u>: 52 (4.8 %) surgeons had current NIH funding, with 80 grants totaling $44,232,644. 73 (91.25 %) were independent while 7 (8.75 %) were mentored awards. <u>Academic productivity</u>: Assessment revealed 7197 total publications (range = 0–207, mean = 49.6). <u>Survey:</u> results highlighted perceived challenges and suggested improvements.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Compared to a 2013 study by King et al., the percent of funded APSA members has trended downward; however, the number of funded pediatric surgeon-scientists and dollar amount of active NIH funds has increased. Concentrated efforts are needed to support surgical trainees and junior faculty, particularly females, to pursue research and academic pediatric surgery.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74892,"journal":{"name":"Surgery open science","volume":"23 ","pages":"Pages 42-49"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Surgery open science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589845024001428","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/purpose
Previous studies highlighted the success of pediatric surgeons in obtaining NIH funding. Given increasing clinical demands, we sought to analyze the current state of NIH funding for pediatric surgeon-scientists.
Methods
APSA membership in August 2023 was filtered for Regular/Associate members and referenced through NIH RePORTER. Data included history of prior/active NIH funding, award type/institute, and funding pathways. Demographics collected included level of professorship, post-graduate degrees, and gender. Academic productivity was assessed by PubMed publications. In addition, a survey was distributed to Regular/Associate APSA members.
Results
1079 APSA Regular/Associate members were identified. Total (previous/current) funding: 149 (13.8 %) surgeons had previous/current NIH funding, 145 with complete funding information. There were 371 previous/current grants totaling $387,148,625. 31.7 % of funded surgeons held Chair/Chief positions, 77.9 % were male, and 84.1 % had M.D. degree only. 282 (76.0 %) grants were independent, and 42 (11.3 %) were mentored. 100 (69.0 %) funded surgeons obtained independent investigator awards, 33 (22.8 %) with and 67 (46.2 %) without prior training/mentored grants. Current funding: 52 (4.8 %) surgeons had current NIH funding, with 80 grants totaling $44,232,644. 73 (91.25 %) were independent while 7 (8.75 %) were mentored awards. Academic productivity: Assessment revealed 7197 total publications (range = 0–207, mean = 49.6). Survey: results highlighted perceived challenges and suggested improvements.
Conclusions
Compared to a 2013 study by King et al., the percent of funded APSA members has trended downward; however, the number of funded pediatric surgeon-scientists and dollar amount of active NIH funds has increased. Concentrated efforts are needed to support surgical trainees and junior faculty, particularly females, to pursue research and academic pediatric surgery.