SCISIPBIO: Examining the Career Barriers Confronting African American or Black Biomedical Scientists

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest science funding agency in the world. Discoveries linked to NIH funding have contributed to the health and longevity of the population in the United States. NIH funding is also essential for academic careers in biomedical research fields. Several researchers have documented race and ethnicity differences in the likelihood of receiving NIH funding. However, a full account of the career challenges facing scientists from historically underrepresented groups has been hampered by a lack of access to data on science faculty linked to their publications and grants. This study will construct a dataset that identifies the race, gender, academic field, academic rank, publications, citations and grants of individual scientists by linking data on over 2 million individual faculty from Academic Analytics for the years 2009-2023, the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates, NIH Reporter, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and web searches. These data will be used to examine race/ethnicity differences in the career paths of scientists at research-intensive universities. This study will have five specific aims. Aim 1 of this study will create the Demographic Academic Careers (DAC) data set that will be housed in a data enclave at National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) so that the research community can make use of this rich data to understand academic careers as well as other Science of Science Research questions. Aim 2 will document the race/ethnicity distribution of faculty at 427 research-intensive universities and medical schools across the United States and their impact on students of color. Although many researchers have examined the demographic makeup faculty of medical schools, and aggregate statistics have been reported, less attention has been given to the demographics of faculty at research institutions that train undergraduates who will become future scientists. This aim will examine whether institutions with more faculty of color produce more undergraduate and graduate students of color. Aim 3 will examine race/ethnicity differences in promotion to associate and full professor as well as the potential double-bind of gender and race/ethnicity. Research funding is considered essential for academic promotion in biomedical sciences. This study will examine whether the race/ethnicity NIH funding gaps contribute to similar academic promotion gaps. Aim 4 will examine race/ethnicity differences in the age of research independence and funding longevity. Although researchers have examined these topics in the aggregate or for women the same has not been done by race/ethnicity. The longitudinal data developed in Aim 1 is ideal for this kind of study. Aim 5 will examine gender and race/ethnicity differences in NIH R01 renewals (Type 2) awards. Researchers have documented that women and faculty of color are less likely to receive Type 2 and renewals. This project will determine whether publications, citations, prior funding, and institutional affiliations explain these differences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.