The Road From NIH Training Grants for Surgeons: What is the Return on Investment?

This study examines the success of surgeon-scientists compared with nonsurgeon physician-scientists in obtaining National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding after participation in a research training grant.

Dedicated research time during postgraduate training for physician-scientists is advantageous for obtaining future independent funding from NIH.

NIH Reporter was used to identify F32 and T32 grants awarded to internal medicine and surgery departments from 2005 to 2015, and an internal NIH database was used to determine funding outcomes. Success rates were recorded for surgeon versus internist PIs who applied for either a mentored career grant or research project grant (RPG). The median time in years from the final year of the training grant and clinical graduation to the first awarded grant was investigated. χ 2 tests, Fisher exact tests, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used.

A greater proportion of surgeons transitioned directly to an RPG, 27% (68 internist PIs) compared with 72% (63 surgeon PIs) ( P <0.001). Both T32 and F32 trained surgeons were able to obtain an RPG sooner than internists, taking a median of 5 years from the end of clinical training versus a median of 7 years for internists [ P =0.033 (F32), P =0.034 (T32)].

Although fewer F32 and T32-funded surgeons apply for subsequent NIH funding compared with nonsurgeons, more surgeons apply for an RPG instead of a K-grant. Remarkably, surgeons obtained independent funding sooner after clinical graduation compared with internists, despite the extensive gap in time between postgraduate training and first faculty appointment, an amazing accomplishment given their clinical training and surgical practice challenges.