Promoting the transition to independent scientist: a national career development program

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Mental Health
• Biomedical Science
• Translational Science

Background:

• Attrition of new investigators from academic science threatens the future of biomedical research.
• Failure to secure independent funding is a major cause of early-career researchers leaving academia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Geriatric Mental Health, a program designed to support new investigators.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the ARI program in helping scholars achieve independent research funding.

Main Methods:

• The ARI program provides mentorship and training in grant writing and time management.
• Consultation with statistical and other experts is offered to participants.
• Federal grant funding success rates of ARI scholars (2004-2007 cohorts) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• As of January 2010, 45.2% of ARI scholars obtained R01 funding, and 69.1% received National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants.
• Scholars with mentored career development awards from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) were 2.36 times more likely to achieve R01 funding compared to peers.
• The ARI program demonstrates a positive impact on securing federal research grants for early-career scientists.

Conclusions:

• The ARI program serves as an effective model for retaining new investigators in academic careers.
• The program's success in promoting innovative, translational science is generalizable to other research fields.
• Interventions supporting new investigators are crucial for the sustainability of biomedical research.