Improving the Infectious Diseases Physician Scientist Workforce From the View of Junior Investigators: Vision, Transparency, and Reproducibility

Abstract

Shortcomings in the current pipeline of infectious disease physician scientists are well documented. With a focus on the transition of early stage investigators to research independence, we outline challenges in existing training pathways for physician scientists. We urge leaders of infectious disease societies, divisions, and governmental and nongovernmental funding organizations to reinvigorate a vision for nurturing trainees with interests in research, to seek transparency in physician scientist funding mechanisms, and to encourage efforts to improve the reproducibility of outcomes for talented junior investigators. We feel that the alternative to making these changes will lead to further drop-off in the physician scientist pipeline in a field that has a perpetual need for research.

Keywords: clinical research; graduate medical education; infectious disease.

Figure 1.

Percentage of F32 awards from the NIAID and the NHLBI supporting physician scientists from 2015 to 2018. The number of NHLBI F32 grants awarded to physician scientists was 18/59 (30.5%), 24/64 (37.5%), 18/53 (34%), and 33/69 (47.8%) in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively. During the same years the number of NIAID grants awarded to physician scientists was 1/37 (2.7%), 0/36, 4/19 (21.1%), and 1/29 (3.4%). Abbreviations: NHLBI, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; NIAID, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Figure 2.

Funded NIAID K applications, funding rates, and paylines 2009–2017. The total number of K08 and K23 awards each year is represented by the bar graph. The line graphs depict the NIAID combined K08 and K23 success rate (green), the NIH-wide combined K08 and K23 success rate (blue) and the NIAID K award payline (red). Abbreviations: NIAID, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; NIH, National Institutes of Health.

Figure 3.

Median salary in US dollars of infectious disease career paths by age group, gender, and primary work activity among respondents to the 2017 Infectious Disease Society of America member compensation survey. Note that salary data not reported for public health and “other” categories in the <40 age group due to low response rates in these categories. Abbreviations: AMC, academic medical center clinical position; HC, hospital/clinic clinical position; PH, public health; PP, private practice clinical position, R, primary research position.