Young transplant surgeons and NIH funding.

Area of Science:

• Transplantation Surgery
• Medical Research Funding
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Transplant surgeons are vital for advancing transplantation science.
• Securing external funding, often via National Institutes of Health (NIH) K awards, is crucial for research careers.
• The NIH K award is a traditional pathway for junior investigators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess NIH K award acquisition among transplant surgeons post-fellowship.
• To identify research effort, attitudes, and barriers faced by transplant surgeons.
• To evaluate the impact of K awards on subsequent research funding.

Main Methods:

• Matched transplant surgeons completing fellowships (1998-2004) with NIH funding data.
• Surveyed surgeons on research experience, effort, and career barriers.
• Analyzed K award receipt and subsequent R-level grant acquisition.

Main Results:

• Only 1.8% of 373 surgeons received a K award; 3 of these later secured R-level funding.
• An additional 5 surgeons obtained R-level grants without a K award.
• Most surgeons had significant research training and desired more research time, but cited clinical burden and lack of mentorship as barriers.

Conclusions:

• The low rate of NIH K award funding for early-career transplant surgeons is concerning.
• Significant institutional barriers appear to impede transplant surgeons' research pursuits.
• The Association for Surgical Technology and Science (ASTS) and the transplant surgery community should address these access barriers.