The Pediatric Surgeon-Scientist: An Evolving Breed or Endangered Phenotype?

Introduction National Institute of Health (NIH) funding is a “gold-standard” of achievement; we examined trends in NIH-funded pediatric surgeons. Methods NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools(RePORT) was queried for American Pediatric Surgical Association(APSA) members(2012vs2022). Demographics and time-to-award(TTA) from fellowship were compared. Number of grants, funding allotment, award classification, administering institutes/centers, research type were studied. Results Thirty-eight(4.6%) APSA members were NIH-funded in 2012 compared to 37(2.9%) in 2022. Of funded surgeons in 2022, 27% were repeat awardees from 2012. TTA was similar (12vs14years,p=0.109). At each point, awards were commonly R01 grants (40vs52%, p=0.087) and basic science-related (76vs63%, p=0.179). Awardees were predominantly men (82%[2012] vs 78%[2022],p=0.779) and White (82%[2012] vs 76%[2022], p=0.586). Median amount per grant increased: $254,980(2012) to $364,025(2022); by $96,711 for men and $390,911 for women. Median awards for White surgeons increased by $215,699(p=0.035), and decreased by $30,074 for non-White surgeons, though not significantly(p=0.368). Conclusion The landscape of NIH-funded pediatric surgeons has remained unchanged between time points.