scholarly journals Racial inequity in grant funding from the US National Institutes of Health

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A Taffe ◽  
Nicholas W Gilpin
Keyword(s):  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Biomedical Science ◽  
Grant Funding ◽  
Federal Grant ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Grant Applications ◽  
The Us ◽  
American Society ◽  
Funding Gap

Biomedical science and federal funding for scientific research are not immune to the systemic racism that pervades American society. A groundbreaking analysis of NIH grant success revealed in 2011 that grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health in the US by African-American or Black Principal Investigators (PIs) are less likely to be funded than applications submitted by white PIs, and efforts to narrow this funding gap have not been successful. A follow-up study in 2019 showed that this has not changed. Here, we review those original reports, as well as the response of the NIH to these issues, which we argue has been inadequate. We also make recommendations on how the NIH can address racial disparities in grant funding and call on scientists to advocate for equity in federal grant funding.

scholarly journals Racial Inequity in Federal Grant Funding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Taffe ◽  
Nicholas W Gilpin
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Current System ◽  
Grant Funding ◽  
Federal Grant ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Peer Reviewers ◽  
American Society

Circulation of videos showing the death of George Floyd, at the hands of police officers, in May of 2020 prompted renewed national conversations about systemic racism. Biomedical research in the USA, including that supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is not immune to the systemic racism that pervades American society. A groundbreaking analysis of NIH grant success revealed in 2011 that applications submitted by Black or African-American Principal Investigators (PIs) were less likely to be funded, compared with those submitted by white PIs. NIH efforts to respond have included attempts to attribute the effect to mediating variables other than PI race; attempts to fix the “pipeline” by funding more African-American trainees; and attempts to eliminate subconscious, or implicit, bias in peer reviewers. An updated report published in 2019 showed that nothing has changed and that topics of interest to African-Americans are less likely to be funded, even with white PIs. Here, we review the response of the NIH to these issues, which we argue are inadequate, and we issue a call to action for all participants in the tax-payer funded NIH system of research funding. It is unacceptable that NIH grant funding disparities based on the race of the PI continue to persist in the current system. It is unacceptable that health conditions and topics of interest to Black citizens are systematically overlooked for research funding. The NIH must create an actionable plan that permanently eliminates racial disparities in grant award.

Hematology Grants Workshop

Hematology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-190
Author(s):  
David A. Williams
Keyword(s):  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Grant Writing ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Grant Funding ◽  
Funding Mechanism ◽  
Grant Applications ◽  
Questions And Answers

Abstract In this yearly update on grant writing, we attempt to provide the attendee/reader with advice from “senior” investigators concerning the application process for external grant funds. While focused particularly on federal (National Institutes of Health, NIH) grants, the advice is generally applicable to any competitive grant-funding mechanism. Drs. Stephanie Lee and Jeffrey Molldrem have provided very thorough advice on clinical and basic grant applications and tips for those early in their careers. The session will include ample time for questions and answers, with key staffers from NIH in attendance.

scholarly journals Comparative evaluation of different operative methods for treating obesity

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Yu I Yashkov ◽  
O E Lutsevich ◽  
A V Nikol'skiy ◽  
D K Bekuzarov
Keyword(s):  
Morbid Obesity ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
Consensus Conference ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
American Society

Obesity is one of the most urgent problems of modern medicine. This is - one of the most common chronic diseases in the world, was characterized by WHO as "non-infectious epidemic of the late XX - early XXI century." According to data presented at the Consensus Conference of the National Institutes of Health and the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons in 2004, as well as the WHO European Conference on Obesity in 2006, 1.7 billion people on the planet, including 2/3 of the US population are overweight (MT), with one in five adults and one in seven teen - morbid obesity, ie, has a body mass index greater than 40 kg / m2. More than 700 000 deaths in the United States, and 1 million in Europe each year can be attributed to obesity, and in the structure of mortality in 13% of Europeans reasons anyway associated with obesity. Life expectancy at morbid obesity is reduced by 9 years for women and 12 years for men. According to forecasts of epidemiologists, 2025 will double the number of patients suffering from obesity.

scholarly journals A 10-year follow-up study of sex inclusion in the biological sciences

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole C Woitowich ◽  
Annaliese Beery ◽  
Teresa Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Biological Variable ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Male Subjects

In 2016, to address the historical overrepresentation of male subjects in biomedical research, the US National Institutes of Health implemented a policy requiring investigators to consider sex as a biological variable. In order to assess the impact of this policy, we conducted a bibliometric analysis across nine biological disciplines for papers published in 34 journals in 2019, and compared our results with those of a similar study carried out by Beery and Zucker in 2009. There was a significant increase in the proportion of studies that included both sexes across all nine disciplines, but in eight of the disciplines there was no change in the proportion studies that included data analyzed by sex. The majority of studies failed to provide rationale for single-sex studies or the lack of sex-based analyses, and those that did relied on misconceptions surrounding the hormonal variability of females. Together, these data demonstrate that while sex-inclusive research practices are more commonplace, there are still gaps in analyses and reporting of data by sex in many biological disciplines.

scholarly journals NIH peer review percentile scores are poorly predictive of grant productivity

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferric C Fang ◽  
Anthony Bowen ◽  
Arturo Casadevall
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Grant Applications ◽  
The Us ◽  
Percentile Scores

Peer review is widely used to assess grant applications so that the highest ranked applications can be funded. A number of studies have questioned the ability of peer review panels to predict the productivity of applications, but a recent analysis of grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US found that the percentile scores awarded by peer review panels correlated with productivity as measured by citations of grant-supported publications. Here, based on a re-analysis of these data for the 102,740 funded grants with percentile scores of 20 or better, we report that these percentile scores are a poor discriminator of productivity. This underscores the limitations of peer review as a means of assessing grant applications in an era when typical success rates are often as low as about 10%.

scholarly journals NIH funding longevity by gender

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (31) ◽  
pp. 7943-7948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Hechtman ◽  
Nathan P. Moore ◽  
Claire E. Schulkey ◽  
Andrew C. Miklos ◽  
Anna Maria Calcagno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Biomedical Science ◽  
Survival Models ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
Application Behavior ◽  
Grant Applications ◽  
Nih Funding ◽  
First Time

Women have achieved parity with men among biomedical science degree holders but remain underrepresented in academic positions. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research—receives less than one-third of its new grant applications from women. Correspondingly, women compose less than one-third of NIH research grantees, even though they are as successful as men in obtaining first-time grants. Our study examined women’s and men’s NIH funding trajectories over time (n = 34,770), exploring whether women remain funded at the same rate as men after receiving their first major research grants. A survival analysis demonstrated a slightly lower funding longevity for women. We next examined gender differences in application, review, and funding outcomes. Women individually held fewer grants, submitted fewer applications, and were less successful in renewing grants—factors that could lead to gender differences in funding longevity. Finally, two adjusted survival models that account for initial investigator characteristics or subsequent application behavior showed no gender differences, suggesting that the small observed longevity differences are affected by both sets of factors. Overall, given men’s and women’s generally comparable funding longevities, the data contradict the common assumption that women experience accelerated attrition compared with men across all career stages. Women’s likelihood of sustaining NIH funding may be better than commonly perceived. This suggests a need to explore women’s underrepresentation among initial NIH grantees, as well as their lower rates of new and renewal application submissions.

Mechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent retriever in the treatment of pediatric acute ischemic stroke

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Zhou ◽  
Xiao-Chuan Wang ◽  
Jun-Yi Xiang ◽  
Ming-Zhao Zhang ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Mechanical Thrombectomy ◽  
Balloon Dilation ◽  
Stent Retriever ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Clinical Prognosis ◽  
Nihss Score ◽  
Grade 3

OBJECTIVEMechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent retriever has been widely applied as a safe and effective method in adult acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, due to the lack of data, the safety and effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent in pediatric AIS has not yet been verified. The purpose of this study was to explore the safety and effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent retriever for pediatric AIS.METHODSBetween January 2012 and December 2017, 7 cases of pediatric AIS were treated via mechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent retriever. The clinical practice, imaging, and follow-up results were reviewed, and the data were summarized and analyzed.RESULTSThe ages of the 7 patients ranged from 7 to 14 years with an average age of 11.1 years. The preoperative National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores ranged from 9 to 22 with an average of 15.4 points. A Solitaire stent retriever was used in all patients, averaging 1.7 applications of thrombectomy and combined balloon dilation in 2 cases. Grade 3 on the modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction scale of recanalization was achieved in 5 cases and grade 2b in 2 cases. Six patients improved and 1 patient died after thrombectomy. The average NIHSS score of the 6 cases was 3.67 at discharge. The average modified Rankin Scale score was 1 at the 3-month follow-up. Subarachnoid hemorrhage after thrombectomy occurred in 1 case and that patient died 3 days postoperatively.CONCLUSIONSThis study shows that mechanical thrombectomy using a Solitaire stent retriever has a high recanalization rate and excellent clinical prognosis in pediatric AIS. The safety of mechanical thrombectomy in pediatric AIS requires more clinical trials for confirmation.

Progressive Catholicism in the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Shadle
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
American Catholicism ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Common ◽  
American Society

American Catholicism has long adapted to US liberal institutions. Progressive Catholicism has taken the liberal values of democratic participation and human rights and made them central to its interpretation of Catholic social teaching. This chapter explores in detail the thought of David Hollenbach, S.J., a leading representative of progressive Catholicism. Hollenbach has proposed an ethical framework for an economy aimed at the common good, ensuring that the basic needs of all are met and that all are able to participate in economic life. The chapter also looks at the US Catholic bishops’ 1986 pastoral letter Economic Justice for All, which emphasizes similar themes while also promoting collaboration between the different sectors of American society for the sake of the common good.

scholarly journals Low HbA1c levels and all-cause or cardiovascular mortality among people without diabetes: the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2015

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Inoue ◽  
Roch Nianogo ◽  
Donatello Telesca ◽  
Atsushi Goto ◽  
Vahe Khachadourian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Mortality ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Us ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Hba1c Levels

Abstract Objective It is unclear whether relatively low glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are beneficial or harmful for the long-term health outcomes among people without diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association between low HbA1c levels and mortality among the US general population. Methods This study includes a nationally representative sample of 39 453 US adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2014, linked to mortality data through 2015. We employed the parametric g-formula with pooled logistic regression models and the ensemble machine learning algorithms to estimate the time-varying risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by HbA1c categories (low, 4.0 to <5.0%; mid-level, 5.0 to <5.7%; prediabetes, 5.7 to <6.5%; and diabetes, ≥6.5% or taking antidiabetic medication), adjusting for 72 potential confounders including demographic characteristics, lifestyle, biomarkers, comorbidities and medications. Results Over a median follow-up of 7.5 years, 5118 (13%) all-cause deaths, and 1116 (3%) cardiovascular deaths were observed. Logistic regression models and machine learning algorithms showed nearly identical predictive performance of death and risk estimates. Compared with mid-level HbA1c, low HbA1c was associated with a 30% (95% CI, 16 to 48) and a 12% (95% CI, 3 to 22) increased risk of all-cause mortality at 5 years and 10 years of follow-up, respectively. We found no evidence that low HbA1c levels were associated with cardiovascular mortality risk. The diabetes group, but not the prediabetes group, also showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Conclusions Using the US national database and adjusting for an extensive set of potential confounders with flexible modelling, we found that adults with low HbA1c were at increased risk of all-cause mortality. Further evaluation and careful monitoring of low HbA1c levels need to be considered.

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