Evolving demographics of nephrology research workforce in the united states

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evolving demographics of nephrology research workforce in the united states

AU - Quaggin, Susan E.

AU - Humphreys, Benjamin D.

N1 - Funding Information: Additional steps needed to increase kidney research include shortening the time period from graduation to obtaining career development awards and independent funding, which will require more dollar investment from federal agencies; providing mechanisms and resources to protect the time of junior investigators; and expanding the already highly successful student loan repayment programs. Organizations like the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and American Society for Clinical Investigation are committed to building future generations of physician-scientists and investigators. For example, ASN has launched a student loan mitigation program; funds career development awards through Kidney Cure; and partners with organizations, including the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, to fund research grants. Likewise, the American Society for Clinical Investigation promotes the interests of physician trainees through its annual meetings, Young Physician-Scientists Award, partnership with the American Physician Scientists Association, and advocacy to critical stakeholders. Funding Information: And, indeed, these data should not surprise us: it is common for physician-scientists to spend 15 years in training before they become competitive to obtain NIH Career Development (K) awards, often the first step toward a tenure track faculty position. Health care systems in the United States increasingly measure physician productivity by relative value unit–based systems, leaving little room in the annual budget to provide protected time, even for the most promising of young researchers. As the length of time from submission to successful notice of award increases, these fiscal challenges only grow larger. Furthermore, institutions at NIH must compete for funding dollars, which ultimately affects the pipeline of researchers. In the congressional COVID-19 emergency funding packages, which provided $945 million to the NIH, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) did not receive any funding for COVID-19–related kidney research. This is in contrast to the $100 million awarded to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Nephrology is a subspecialty serving on the frontlines of the pandemic, so this discrepancy is baffling. AKI was reported in 30%–70% of all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (6,7), and an estimated 47% of patients who developed AKI in one Veterans Affairs cohort left hospital without full recovery of kidney function (8). Furthermore, during the first 7 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that approximately 7000–10,000 excess deaths occurred in patients on dialysis (9). COVID-19–related mortality was reported as four-fold higher in patients on dialysis. Although the full effect of COVID-19 on new cases of CKD in the country is not Funding Information: This work is supported by P30DK114857.

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115606717&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2215/CJN.09950721

DO - 10.2215/CJN.09950721

M3 - Editorial

C2 - 34497108

AN - SCOPUS:85115606717

SN - 1555-9041

VL - 16

SP - 1312

EP - 1314

JO - Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

JF - Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

IS - 9

ER -