Multidisciplinary Mentoring Programs to Enhance Junior Faculty Research Grant Success

Abstract

Problem: Junior faculty face challenges in establishing independent research careers. Declining funding combined with a shift to multidisciplinary, collaborative science necessitates new mentorship models and enhanced institutional support.

Approach: Two multidisciplinary mentorship programs to promote grant success for junior faculty were established at the Duke University School of Medicine beginning in 2011. These four-month programs-the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) for National Institutes of Health (NIH) R applicants and the K Club for NIH K applicants-use multiple senior faculty mentors and professional grant-writing staff to provide a 20-hour joint curriculum comprising a series of lectures, hands-on workshops, career development counseling, peer groups, and an internal study section. In March 2016, the authors analyzed the success rate for all NIH grants submitted by participants since program enrollment. In a 2015 postprogram survey, participants rated their feelings of support and competency across six skill factors.

Outcomes: From October 2011 to March 2016, the programs engaged 265 senior faculty mentors, 145 PtIP participants, and 138 K Club participants. Success rates for NIH grant applications were 28% (61 awards/220 decisions) for PtIP participants-an increase over the 2010 Duke University junior faculty baseline of 11%-and 64% (38/59) for K Club participants. Respondents reported significantly increased feelings of support and self-ratings for each competency post program.

Next steps: The authors plan to expand the breadth of both the mentorship pool and faculty served. Broad implementation of similar programs elsewhere could bolster success, satisfaction, and retention of junior faculty investigators.

Figure 1

Structure of the conjoined 4-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty at Duke University. The Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club run concurrently three times per year. Program-staff coordinated events occur between the orientation session and the internal review of NIH grant applications prior to submission. For each program component, the number of participants per session and the number of sessions or small groups held in each four-month cycle are shown. All program components are offered for both PtIP and K Club participants, except the individual career development sessions (K Club only). Office for Faculty Mentoring (OFM)-led sessions are indicated as circles; OFM-coordinated sessions led by partnering offices are indicated by hexagons. Each participant is expected to attend one workshop of each type listed. Throughout the program, participants are expected to work closely with their personal research mentors.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 2

Enhanced grant-writing skills across 6 competencies, as reported by participants in the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) and K Club, Duke University’s conjoined four-month grant-writing programs for junior faculty. On a 2015 postprogram survey, PtIP and K Club participants were asked to rate their feelings of competency in 6 core areas following completion of the program (after) and to reflect back on their competency level before participation (before). Ratings used an ordinal scale from 1 (not at all skilled) to 10 (extremely skilled). P values were determined by Mann-Whitney U test. Change in individual scores ranged from 0 to +8 points, and no scores declined. All comparisons were significant, with P values as follows. Panel A: Ratings of research plan competencies, PtIP and K Club respondents (n = 70; 35 PtIP, 35 K Club): left, P = 7.23⁻¹¹; middle, P = 4.98⁻¹³; right, P = 1.26⁻¹². Panel B: Ratings of career development competencies, K Club respondents only (n = 35): left, P =2.32⁻⁷; middle, P = 2.17⁻⁷; right, P = 5.43⁻⁶. The change data for each respondent are shown as symbols in scatter plots. The box and whisker plot around the change data depict the median/interquartile range; the error bars depict the 95% confidence limits of the data.

Figure 3

Grant success rates for the Path to Independence Program and K Club, Duke University. Numbers of awarded grants, unfunded grants, and applications still pending are shown for the Path to Independence Program participants (panel A) and the K Club participants (panel B). Listed above the bars for each year are program success rates for that year. Below that, for the same year, are NIH R01-equivalent success rates for new investigators (panel A) or success rates for NIH K-equivalent mechanisms (panel B). (The NIH success rates were obtained from https://report.nih.gov/success_rates.) Abbreviation: FY indicates fiscal year.