NIH research funding and early career physician scientists: continuing challenges in the 21st century

Abstract

Physician scientists (researchers with either M.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. degrees) have the unique potential to combine clinical perspectives with scientific insight, and their participation in biomedical research has long been an important topic for policymakers and educators. Given the recent changes in the research environment, an update and extension of earlier studies of this population was needed. Our findings show that physician scientists are less likely to take a major role in biomedical research than they were in the past. The number of physician scientists receiving postdoctoral research training and career development awards is at an all-time low. Physician scientists today, on average, receive their first major research award (R01 equivalent) at a later age than in the 1980s. The number of first-time R01-equivalent awards to physicians is at the same level as it was 30 yr ago, but physicians now represent a smaller percentage of the grant recipients. The long-term decline in the number of physicians entering research careers was temporarily halted during the period of substantial U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget growth (1998–2003). These gains are lost, however, in the subsequent years when NIH budgets failed to keep pace with rising costs.— Garrison, H. H., Deschamps, A. M. NIH research funding and early career physician scientists: continuing challenges in the 21st century.

Contemporary global perspectives of medical students on research during undergraduate medical education: a systematic literature review

“…Many studies have unequivocally shown that the numbers of physician-scientists have been in decline for many years [2,4–6,10–12]. In 2003, the number of physicians involved primarily in research was 1.8% compared to 4.6% in 1985 [6].…”

Mentored Training to Increase Diversity among Faculty in the Biomedical Sciences: The NHLBI Summer Institute Programs to Increase Diversity (SIPID) and the Programs to Increase Diversity among Individuals Engaged in Health-related Research (PRIDE)

“…Moreover, fewer physicians are applying for post-doctoral fellowships and early-career mentored-K awards. 13 With this metric of success, a key consideration is to help junior faculty obtain the required research skills and publications to be favorably reviewed. We found that award receipt was nearly equally split between R series and K series grants.…”

Training the next generation of Canadian Clinician-Scientists: charting a path to success

“…Data from the USA indicated that there has been a decline in the number of clinician-scientists who hold primary appointments in a basic science department [12]. This decline in popularity, combined with the rising average age at which new clinician-scientists obtain their first major research grant (37.0 Yin et al Clinician-Scientist training in Canada years of age in 1985 versus 44.3 years in 2011) [13], present a serious threat to the clinician-scientist career pathway. A study from the University of British Columbia indicated that securing salaries and funding for research were two of the key barriers for newly trained clinician-scientists [14].…”