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Comprehensive National Institutes of Health funding analysis of academic cardiac surgeons
Adishesh K Narahari1, Ian O Cook1, J Hunter Mehaffey1
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Va.
Insights
National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for cardiac surgeons is increasing, particularly at top-tier institutions. Cardiac surgeon-scientists may find greater success in well-resourced academic environments.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Medical Research Funding
- Academic Medicine
Background:
- Cardiac surgeons face intensive clinical demands, potentially hindering research endeavors.
- Understanding National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding trends for cardiac surgeons is crucial for career development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze NIH funding trends for academic cardiac surgeons.
- To investigate factors influencing grant acquisition in cardiac surgery.
Main Methods:
- Identified 818 academic cardiac surgeons at top NIH-funded institutions.
- Queried NIH Reporter for grant funding, publications, and grant types.
- Collected data on academic rank, secondary degrees, and fellowship information.
Main Results:
- 144 cardiac surgeons received 293 NIH grants totaling $458 million.
- Strong association between institutional NIH funding rank and surgeon grant acquisition (P < .0001).
- Funding is concentrated in top-quartile institutions; K award to R01 conversion rate is 42.9%.
Conclusions:
- NIH-funded cardiac surgical research has shown significant impact over 3 decades.
- Top-quartile institutions offer better infrastructure and mentorship, potentially improving surgeon-scientist success.
- The rate of NIH grants to cardiac surgeons is increasing, driven by collaborative project grants.
Objective:
To determine trends in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for cardiac surgeons, hypothesizing they are at a disadvantage in obtaining funding owing to intensive clinical demands.
Methods:
Cardiac surgeons (adult/congenital) currently at the top 141 NIH-funded institutions were identified using institutional websites. The NIH funding history for each cardiac surgeon was queried using the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER). Total grant funding, publications, and type was collected. Academic rank, secondary degrees, and fellowship information was collected from faculty pages. Grant productivity was calculated using a validated grant impact metric.
Results:
A total of 818 academic cardiac surgeons were identified, of whom 144 obtained 293 NIH grants totaling $458 million and resulting in 6694 publications. We identified strong associations between an institution's overall NIH funding rank and the number of cardiac surgeons, NIH grants to cardiac surgeons, and amount of NIH funding to cardiac surgeons (P < .0001 for all). The majority of NIH funding to cardiac surgeons is concentrated in the top quartile of institutions. Cardiac surgeons had a high conversion rates from K awards (mentored development awards) to R01s (6 of 14; 42.9%). Finally, we demonstrate that the rate of all NIH grants awarded to cardiac surgeons has increased, driven primarily by P and U (collaborative project) grants.
Conclusions:
NIH-funded cardiac surgical research has had a significant impact over the last 3 decades. Aspiring cardiac surgeon-scientists may be more successful at top quartile institutions owing to better infrastructure and mentorship.
