Walter T. Schaffer

RACE, ETHNICITY, AND NIH RESEARCH AWARDS

NIH research project grants from 2000 to 2006 show evidence of racial/ethnic disparities in the probability of receiving an award. We investigated the association between a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 applicant’s self-identified race or ethnicity and the probability of receiving an award by using data from the NIH IMPAC II grant database, the Thomson Reuters Web of Science, and other sources. Although proposals with strong priority scores were equally likely to be funded regardless of race, we find that Asians are 4 percentage points and black or African-American applicants are 13 percentage points less likely to receive NIH investigator-initiated research funding compared with whites. After controlling for the applicant’s educational background, country of origin, training, previous research awards, publication record, and employer characteristics, we find that black applicants remain 10 percentage points less likely than whites to be awarded NIH research funding. Our results suggest some leverage points for policy intervention.

Sex differences in application, success, and funding rates for NIH extramural programs.

Purpose The authors provide an analysis of sex differences in National Institutes of Health (NIH) award programs to inform potential initiatives for promoting diversity in the research workforce. Method In 2010, the authors retrieved data for NIH extramural grants in the electronic Research Administration Information for Management, Planning, and Coordination II database and used statistical analysis to determine any sex differences in securing NIH funding, as well as subsequent success of researchers who had already received independent NIH support. Results Success and funding rates for men and women were not significantly different in most award programs. Furthermore, in programs where participation was lower for women than men, the disparity was primarily related to a lower percentage of women applicants compared with men, rather than decreased success rates or funding rates. However, for subsequent grants, both application and funding rates were generally higher for men than for women. Conclusions Cross-sectional analysis showed that women and men were generally equally successful at all career stages, but longitudinal analysis showed that men with previous experience as NIH grantees had higher application and funding rates than women at similar career points. On average, although women received larger R01 awards than men, men had more R01 awards than women at all points in their careers. Therefore, while greater participation of women in NIH programs is under way, further action will be required to eradicate remaining sex differences.

Are race, ethnicity, and medical school affiliation associated with NIH R01 type 1 award probability for physician investigators?

Purpose To analyze the relationship among National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 Type 1 applicant degree, institution type, and race/ethnicity, and application award probability. Method The authors used 2000–2006 data from the NIH IMPAC II grants database and other sources to determine which individual and institutional characteristics of applicants may affect the probability of applications being awarded funding. They used descriptive statistics and probit models to estimate correlations between race/ethnicity, degree (MD or PhD), and institution type (medical school or other institution), and application award probability, controlling for a large set of observable characteristics. Results Applications from medical schools were significantly more likely than those from other institutions to receive funding, as were applications from MDs versus PhDs. Overall, applications from blacks and Asians were less likely than those from whites to be awarded funding; however, among applications from MDs at medical schools, there was no difference in funding probability between whites and Asians, and the difference between blacks and whites decreased to 7.8%. The inclusion of human subjects significantly decreased the likelihood of receiving funding. Conclusions Compared with applications from whites, applications from blacks have a lower probability of being awarded R01 Type 1 funding, regardless of the investigator’s degree. However, funding probability is increased for applications with MD investigators and for those from medical schools. To some degree, these advantages combine so that applications from black MDs at medical schools have the smallest difference in funding probability compared with those from whites.

Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and National Institutes of Health R01 Research Awards: Is There Evidence of a Double Bind for Women of Color?

Purpose To analyze the relationship between gender, race/ethnicity, and the probability of being awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Method The authors used data from the NIH Information for Management, Planning, Analysis, and Coordination grants management database for the years 2000–2006 to examine gender differences and race/ethnicity-specific gender differences in the probability of receiving an R01 Type 1 award. The authors used descriptive statistics and probit models to determine the relationship between gender, race/ethnicity, degree, investigator experience, and R01 award probability, controlling for a large set of observable characteristics. Results White women PhDs and MDs were as likely as white men to receive an R01 award. Compared with white women, Asian and black women PhDs and black women MDs were significantly less likely to receive funding. Women submitted fewer grant applications, and blacks and women who were new investigators were more likely to submit only one application between 2000 and 2006. Conclusions Differences by race/ethnicity explain the NIH funding gap for women of color, as white women have a slight advantage over men in receiving Type 1 awards. Findings of a lower submission rate for women and an increased likelihood that they will submit only one proposal are consistent with research showing that women avoid competition. Policies designed to address the racial and ethnic diversity of the biomedical workforce have the potential to improve funding outcomes for women of color.

CHLOROTETRACYCLINE-ASSOCIATED FLUORESCENCE CHANGES DURING CALCIUM UPTAKE AND RELEASE BY RAT BRAIN SYNAPTOSOMES

Abstract– The fluorescent divalent metal chelate‐probe, chlorotetracycline (CTC), was used as a dynamic monitor of calcium association with rat brain snynaptosomes. The determined fluorescence excitation and emission maxima, 412 nm and 522 nm respectively, were used to monitor membrane‐calcium interactions as a function of various parameters. Positive correlations were observed between increased or decreased fluorescence quantum yield and the uptake of both CTC and 45Ca by synpatosomes. The divalent metal ionophore A23187 enhanced fluorescence as well as probe and 45Ca uptake. Whereas, the polar chelator, EGTA, markedly reduced fluorescence, and the synaptosomal bound CTC and 45Ca. The CTC fluorescence changes also demonstrated the saturable manner in which 45Ca bound synaptosomes. At concentrations greater than 100μg/ml, CTC bound to the synaptosomes in a manner which quenched fluorescence at 522 nm. Also, CTC, at concentrations above 15 μg/ml, enhanced the uptake of 45Ca. At CTC concentrations between 10 and 15 μg/ml the quenching and iono‐phoretic properties of the probe were minimized without affecting the capability of using the probe to visualize calcium interactions with synaptosomal membranes. Also, at a low CTC concentration (12.5 μg/ml) the inhibition of calcium uptake by increasing monovalent ion concentrations was clearly demonstrated.

Size and characteristics of the biomedical research workforce associated with U.S. National Institutes of Health extramural grants

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) annually invests approximately

Diversity in Academic Biomedicine: An Evaluation of Education and Career Outcomes with Implications for Policy

22 billion in bio‐medical research through its extramural grant programs. Since fiscal year (FY) 2010, all persons involved in research during the previous project year have been required to be listed on the annual grant progress report. These new data have enabled the production of the first‐ever census of the NIH‐funded extramural research workforce. Data were extracted from All Personnel Reports submitted for NIH grants funded in FY 2009, including position title, months of effort, academic degrees obtained, and personal identifiers. Data were de‐duplicated to determine a unique person count. Person‐years of effort (PYE) on NIH grants were computed. In FY 2009, NIH funded 50,885 grant projects, which created 313,049 full‐ and part‐time positions spanning all job functions involved in biomedical research. These positions were staffed by 247,457 people at 2,604 institutions. These persons devoted 121,465 PYE to NIH grant‐supported research. Research project grants each supported 6 full‐ or part‐time positions, on average. Over 20% of positions were occupied by postdoctoral researchers and graduate and undergraduate students. These baseline data were used to project workforce estimates for FYs 2010–2014 and will serve as a foundation for future research.—Pool, L. R., Wagner, R. M., Scott, L. L., RoyChowdhury, D., Berhane, R., Wu, C., Pearson, K., Sutton, J. A., Schaffer, W. T., Size and characteristics of the biomedical research workforce associated with U.S. National Institutes of Health extramural grants. FASEB J. 30, 1023–1036 (2016). www.fasebj.org

Graft-versus-host reactions in nonirradiated mice, early suppression of jerne plaques and hemopoietic colony-forming units.

Currently, the U.S. population is undergoing major racial and ethnic demographic shifts that could affect the pool of individuals interested in pursuing a career in biomedical research. To achieve its mission of improving health, the National Institutes of Health must recruit and train outstanding individuals for the biomedical workforce. In this study, we examined the educational transition rates in the biomedical sciences by gender, race, and ethnicity, from high school to academic career outcomes. Using a number of educational databases, we investigated gender and racial/ethnic representation at typical educational and career milestones en route to faculty careers in biomedicine. We then employed multivariate regression methods to examine faculty career outcomes, using the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients. We find that while transitions between milestones are distinctive by gender and race/ethnicity, the transitions between high school and college and between college and graduate school are critical points at which underrepresented minorities are lost from the biomedical pipeline, suggesting some specific targets for policy intervention.

The Effect of Chronic Ethanol Consumption on the Rate of Whole Animal and Perfused Liver Oxygen Consumption

The effect of graft-versus-host (gvh) reactions was studied at the cellular level. It was found that splenic plaque-forming cells (pfc) and hemopoietic colony-forming units (efu) of nonirradiated adult F1 hybrid mice were inhibited following injection with parental strain lymph node cells (107). Suppression of pfc was evident 3–6 days after injection and there was only 1% of the control pfe level by 10 days. It was found that the donor lymph node cells did not contribute significantly to the remaining pfe response. Colony-forming units were depressed in the spleen by 12 clays or earlier if larger numbers of parental lymph node cells (4.7 × 107)were injected. Suppression of efu in the bone marrow was not noted during the 12-day interval studied. These results may be interpreted as evidence that pfe precursor cells and/or efu are primary targets of the gvh reaction, but other indirect mechanisms, which are discussed, are not necessarily excluded.

STUDIES ON SYNERGISTIC THYMUS--BONE MARROW CELL INTERACTIONS IN IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES.

In order to assess the thyroid state of rats chronically treated with an alcohol containing diet, the rate of minimal oxygen consumption, the level of serum thyroid hormones and the rate of perfused liver oxygen consumption were measured. In no case was there any evidence for alcohol induced systemic or hepatic hyperthyroidism or hypermetabolism.