Characterization of Cardiothoracic Surgeons Actively Leading Basic Science Research

Area of Science:

• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Surgical Research
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Growing concern exists regarding the attrition of surgeon-scientists in cardiothoracic (CT) surgery.
• Characteristics of CT surgeons actively leading basic science research (BSR) remain underexplored.
• Hypothesized that early BSR exposure during training and active grant funding are key facilitators for CT surgeons pursuing BSR.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the characteristics of cardiothoracic surgeons actively leading basic science research.
• To identify factors influencing the pursuit of basic science research among practicing CT surgeons.

Main Methods:

• A database of 992 CT surgeons from accredited US teaching hospitals was compiled in 2018.
• Data on training, professional history, publications, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding were collected from public sources.
• Active researchers were defined as those publishing at least one first- or last-author paper in 2017-2018.

Main Results:

• Only 7.4% of CT surgeons were actively leading BSR; a significant gender disparity was noted, with only 2 women leading BSR.
• Surgeons leading BSR were more likely to hold a PhD (20.5% vs. 9.7%) and have published a first-author BSR paper during training (76.7% vs. 40.9%).
• Active BSR leaders were more likely to have NIH grants (34.2% vs. 5.8%), particularly R01 grants (21.9% vs. 2.5%).

Conclusions:

• A small fraction of CT surgeons in academic settings actively lead BSR.
• Facilitating the development of surgeon-scientists requires enhanced support for trainees and junior faculty, with a specific focus on encouraging early engagement in BSR, especially for women.