Browsing by Subject "Research Support as Topic"

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    The Role of PhD Faculty in Advancing Research in Departments of Surgery
    (Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer) - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2017-01) Bell, Teresa M.; Valsangkar, Nakul; Joshi, Mugdha; Mayo, John; Blanton, Casi; Zimmers, Teresa A.; Torbeck, Laura; Koniaris, Leonidas G.; Surgery, School of Medicine
    OBJECTIVE: To determine the academic contribution as measured by number of publications, citations, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding from PhD scientists in US departments of surgery. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The number of PhD faculty working in US medical school clinical departments now exceeds the number working in basic science departments. The academic impact of PhDs in surgery has not been previously evaluated. METHODS: Academic metrics for 3850 faculties at the top 55 NIH-funded university and hospital-based departments of surgery were collected using NIH RePORTER, Scopus, and departmental websites. RESULTS: MD/PhDs and PhDs had significantly higher numbers of publications and citations than MDs, regardless of academic or institutional rank. PhDs had the greatest proportion of NIH funding compared to both MDs and MD/PhDs. Across all academic ranks, 50.2% of PhDs had received NIH funding compared with 15.2% of MDs and 33.9% of MD/PhDs (P < 0.001). The proportion of PhDs with NIH funding in the top 10 departments did not differ from those working in departments ranked 11 to 50 (P = 0.456). A greater percentage of departmental PhD faculty was associated with increased rates of MD funding. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of dedicated research faculty with PhDs supports the academic mission of surgery departments by increasing both NIH funding and scholarly productivity. In contrast to MDs and MD/PhDs, PhDs seem to have similar levels of academic output and funding independent of the overall NIH funding environment of their department. This suggests that research programs in departments with limited resources may be enhanced by the recruitment of PhD faculty.
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    Understanding Career Success and Its Contributing Factors for Clinical and Translational Investigators
    (Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer) - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2016-04) Robinson, Georgeanna F. W. B.; Schwartz, Lisa S.; DiMeglio, Linda A.; Ahluwalia, Jasjit S.; Gabrilove, Janice L.; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    PURPOSE: To understand the factors that facilitate career success for career development awardees in clinical and translational science and reconceptualize understand ing of career success for this population. METHOD: In 2013-2014, the authors conducted semistructured interviews with former NIH KL2 or K12 scholars from nine Clinical and Translational Science Award-funded institutions. Participants either had or had not secured independent funding at least two years after the end of their last K award. Questions covered the factors that facilitate or hinder junior investigators' transition to independent funding. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the transcripts were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Forty individuals participated, with equal representation by men and women and by independently and not independently funded investigators. Personal factors that facilitated success included networks, persistence and resilience, initiative, autonomy, and personal and professional balance. Organizational factors included appropriate mentorship, protected research time, and institutional resources and support.Even independently funded participants described challenges regarding career direction. Five participants without independent funding modeled a broad spectrum of successful career paths, having assumed leadership positions not reliant on grant funding. Alternative definitions of career success included improving public health, enjoying work, seeing mentees succeed, and receiving external acknowledgment of successes. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness of the factors that facilitate or hinder career success can help junior faculty, mentors, and institutional leaders support career development in clinical and translational science. New definitions of career success are needed, as are career paths for faculty who want to engage in research in roles other than principal investigator.