Purpose
The loss of new investigators from academic science is a “crisis” placing the future of biomedical science at risk. Failure to obtain independent funding contributes significantly to attrition from the NIH career path. The purpose of this paper is to describe the components and outcomes of the Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Geriatric Mental Health, an NIMH grant-funded national program that targets successful transition of new investigators to independence.
Method
The authors first describe the program participants and key components. They then compare the record of federal grant funding, derived from the NIH Reporter database, of the first four cohorts (2004–2007; n=42) to those of all NIMH mentored career development (K) awardees funded 2001–2005 (n=404).
Results
As of January 2010, 45.2% of Scholars had achieved R01 funding. Nearly 70% obtained some NIH grant (not including K or small grants). Among all NIMH mentored K awardees, ARI Scholars were 2.36 (p=0.048) more likely to achieve an R01; outcomes were similar (OR=2.42, p= .045) when including R34s.
Conclusions
Based on objective outcomes, the Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Geriatric Mental Health offers an effective model to promoting successful transition of new investigators to independence. While organized around a specific public health and scientific need, ARI’s components are generalizable to other fields. Further, the inclusion of biological, clinical and services researchers into a single program promotes translational science. Thus ARI is one tool to stemming attrition from the NIH career path and promoting the next generation of science.