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. 2011 Aug 19;333(6045):1015-9.
doi: 10.1126/science.1196783.

Race, ethnicity, and NIH research awards

Donna K Ginther  1 , Walter T Schaffer, Joshua Schnell, Beth Masimore, Faye Liu, Laurel L Haak, Raynard Kington
Affiliations

Race, ethnicity, and NIH research awards

Donna K Ginther et al. Science. .

Abstract

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.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Probability of NIH R01 award by race and ethnicity, FY 2000 to 2006 (N = 83,188). Based on data from NIH IMPAC II, DRF, and AAMC Faculty Roster. ‡, P < .001; **, P < .01; *, P < .05.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of race and ethnicity on the probability of R01 award for applications and applicants. (A) Within-race comparisons of applications and applicants with or without previous NIH F or T training program participation using the U.S. citizen and permanent resident sample. (B) The effect of race/ethnicity on R01 award probability for applications and applicants with previous NIH F or T training program participation compared with white participants. . ‡, P < .001; **, P < .01; *, P < .05.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effects of affiliation and previous research on R01 award probability. 1 to 30 and 31 to 100 NIH-funded institutions were derived by ranking institutions by NIH funding received FY 2000 to FY 2006. ‡, P < .001; **, P < .01; *, P < .05.
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Comment in

References

    1. Nelson DJ. http://chemouedu/~djn/diversity/Faculty_Tables_FY07/FinalReport07html.
    1. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2009. (NSF 09-305, Arlington, VA 2009)
    1. Ginther DK, et al. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network; 2009. Available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1677993.
    1. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2010.

    1. IMPAC II, http://www.tfgov.com/data/NIH.gov/Pages/era.nih.gov%5Dimpacii%5Dindex.cfm

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