Training and Career Development Analyses: NICHD Diversity Supplements and F31 Pre-doctoral Fellowships Jennifer Guimond, PhD and Sarah Glavin, PhD Science Policy, Planning and Evaluation Branch Office of Science Policy, Analysis, and Communications Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development October 2012

Evaluation Questions What are the characteristics of scholars in NICHD programs targeted to diversity populations? How many scholars remained active in the community of NIH-supported scientific researchers? How do subsequent grant results vary by the measure used? Are there differences between men and women who receive diversity supplements? How do F31 recipients compare with a matched cohort of predoctoral T32 recipients?

Methods N=462 Diversity Supplement Scholars (66% women, 32% men) N=146 F31 recipients (60% women, 37% men, 3% unknown) o 73 F31scholars with awards in 2004 or earlier o 73 T32 predoctoral scholars matched on sex & date of training Measures & Definitions ◦ Competitive NIH applications & funded grants submitted 12+ mos after diversity supplement start ◦ PERSON SUCCESS RATES: number of people who received grants divided by the number of people who applied ◦ APPLICATION FUNDING RATES: number of funded grants divided by the number of applications

NICHD DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM

NICHD Diversity Supplement Program Scholars join an established principal investigator on an NICHD funded research grant. Principal investigators apply for the supplement. Eligible scholars are: ◦ from specified racial and ethnic groups, ◦ from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, ◦ have a disability, &/or ◦ have taken a hiatus from their research careers to attend to family responsibilities. Trainee level: high school to early stage investigator

Characteristics of Diversity Scholars

Appointments by Scholar Level

DSP Person-Based Application Rates (all scholars) Fisher’s exact test, p=.007 Percent of All Scholars Tracked

DSP Person-Based Success Rates (all scholars) Percent of Scholars Who Applied No significant differences between men & women

DSP Application-Based Success Rates (all applications submitted by all scholars) Percent of Applications Funded No significant differences between men & women

DSP Person Success Rates: Postdoc and Investigator Levels Only 47% of postdoctoral/investigator diversity supplement recipients submitted at least one competitive NIH grant application one or more years after beginning the supplement appointment. 42% of those who applied for a grant were funded. This amounts to 20% of all scholars. 31% of postdoctoral/investigator level diversity supplement recipients applied for a research grant. 27% of those who applied for a research grant were funded. This amounts to 8% of all scholars. A greater percentage of men applied for research and R01 grants compared to women, but women who apply for grants were funded at similar rates.

NICHD F31 PREDOCTORAL FELLOWS PROGRAM

NICHD F31 Pre-doctoral Awards Predoctoral students are sponsored by a faculty member at their training institution. Students apply and are considered the principal investigator. Eligible scholars are: ◦ from specified racial and ethnic groups, ◦ from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, &/or ◦ have a disability. Trainee level: at the dissertation research stage of their training

F31 Person-Based Application Rates Percent of All Scholars Tracked No significant differences between F31s & T32s

F31 Person-Based Success Rates Percent of Scholars Who Applied Fisher’s exact test, p=.042

F31 Application-Based Success Rates Percent of Applications Funded Fisher’s exact test, p=.092

F31 Summary: Subsequent Grants Nearly 40 percent of F31 pre-doctoral recipients submitted at least one subsequent competitive NIH grant application. Over one quarter of F31 pre-doctoral recipients received at least one subsequent competitive NIH grant. F31 recipients had similar application rates, and higher success rates compared to a matched cohort of T32 recipients. Note: Comparisons based on sex were not made due to small numbers.

Implications for Workforce Diversity supplements and F31 grants provide a mechanism to increase diversity in the research workforce. Between 1/3 and 1/2 of recipients continue to pursue NIH research funding. F31 predoctoral scholars and a matched cohort of T32 predoctoral scholars appear equally equipped to compete for subsequent NIH grants. Further study is needed to identify ways to keep more trainees in the research workforce. ◦ Does program duration matter? ◦ How do results vary across institutions? ◦ How do program components affect results?