The American Pediatric Society Commentary

The CTSA Mentored Career Development Program: Supporting the Careers of Child Health Investigators

“…Ensuring their success is imperative to the disciplines in academic pediatrics. 2 As new legislation in the US and Europe requires enhanced study of new and existing products in children, it is essential to advocate for the continued identification and training of child health investigators in all publically funded consortia. The proportion of child health investigators at individual institutions within the CTSA consortium varied from 0% to 50%.…”

“…1 More recently, the pressures, including economic challenges, on physician-scientists and the national pediatric research enterprise have significantly increased. 2,3 The pipeline for physician-scientists, particularly those engaged in child health research, has been recognized as limited and leaky, with many qualified individuals leaving research careers for other opportunities. 2,4 Furthermore, NIH support for child health research has been less than that for other disciplines, including anatomy, medicine, pathology, and pharmacology during the first decade of the 21 st century.…”

“…2,3 The pipeline for physician-scientists, particularly those engaged in child health research, has been recognized as limited and leaky, with many qualified individuals leaving research careers for other opportunities. 2,4 Furthermore, NIH support for child health research has been less than that for other disciplines, including anatomy, medicine, pathology, and pharmacology during the first decade of the 21 st century. 2 The limited pool of child health investigators and research dollars dedicated to child health is concerning, as investigators are increasingly aware that the long-term health outcomes are related to life course and events pre-conception, in-utero and during sensitive periods of infancy and childhood effect adult health.…”

“…2,4 Furthermore, NIH support for child health research has been less than that for other disciplines, including anatomy, medicine, pathology, and pharmacology during the first decade of the 21 st century. 2 The limited pool of child health investigators and research dollars dedicated to child health is concerning, as investigators are increasingly aware that the long-term health outcomes are related to life course and events pre-conception, in-utero and during sensitive periods of infancy and childhood effect adult health. 5 The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report evaluating the NIH-supported CTSA program identified clinical and translational research relevant to child health as a priority.…”

Preserving Future Generations of Pediatric Researchers

“…4 This decline in the work-force has been accompanied by a decline in federal funding for biomedical research. 5,6…”