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Review
. 2015 Jun;209(6):1083-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2015.01.015. Epub 2015 Mar 21.

Recent trends in National Institutes of Health funding for surgery: 2003 to 2013

Yinin Hu  1 , Brandy L Edwards  1 , Kendall D Brooks  1 , Timothy E Newhook  1 , Craig L Slingluff Jr  2
Affiliations
Review

Recent trends in National Institutes of Health funding for surgery: 2003 to 2013

Yinin Hu et al. Am J Surg. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the compositions of federally funded surgical research between 2003 and 2013, and to assess differences in funding trends between surgery and other medical specialties.

Data sources: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool database was queried for grants within core surgical disciplines during 2003 and 2013. Funding was categorized by award type, methodology, and discipline. Application success rates for surgery and 5 nonsurgical departments were trended over time.

Conclusions: Inflation-adjusted NIH funding for surgical research decreased 19% from $270 M in 2003 to $219 M in 2013, with a shift from R-awards to U-awards. Proportional funding to outcomes research almost tripled, while translational research diminished. Nonsurgical departments have increased NIH application volume over the last 10 years; however, surgery's application volume has been stagnant. To preserve surgery's role in innovative research, new efforts are needed to incentivize an increase in application volume.

Keywords: Academic surgery; Mentorship; National Institutes of Health; Outcomes research; Research funding; Surgical research.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relative change in award number between years 2003 and 2013 across medical departments, by award activity (a) and award type (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in award success rate (a) and application volume (b) within surgery and five top-funded non-surgical departments between years 2004 and 2013.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relative distribution of National Institutes of Health funding allocations to surgery, by surgical discipline (a) and research methodology (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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