Longitudinal analysis of National Institutes of Health funding for academic thoracic surgeons.

Abstract Objective National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for academic (non-cardiac) thoracic surgeons at the top 140 NIH-funded institutes in the United States was assessed. We hypothesized that thoracic surgeons have difficulty in obtaining NIH funding in a difficult funding climate. Methods The top 140 NIH-funded institutes’ faculty pages were searched for non-cardiac thoracic surgeons. Surgeon data including gender, academic rank, and post-fellowship training were recorded. These surgeons were then queried in NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (NIH RePORTER) for their funding history. Analysis of the resulting grants (1980-2019) included grant type, funding amount, project start/end dates, publications, and a citation-based Grant Impact Metric to evaluate productivity. Results A total of 395 general thoracic surgeons were evaluated with 63 (16%) receiving NIH funding. These 63 surgeons received 136 grants totaling $228 million, resulting in 1,772 publications, and generating over 50,000 citations. Thoracic surgeons have obtained NIH funding at an increasing rate (1980 – 2019); however, they have a low percentage of R01 renewal (17.3%). NIH-funded thoracic surgeons were more likely to have a higher professorship level. Thoracic surgeons perform similarly to other physician-scientists in converting K-Awards into R01 funding. Conclusions Contrary to our hypothesis, thoracic surgeons have received more NIH funding over time. Thoracic surgeons are able to fill the roles of modern surgeon-scientists by obtaining NIH funding during an era of increasing clinical demands. The NIH should continue to support this mission.