The association between scholarly impact and National Institutes of Health funding in ophthalmology.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether there is an association between scholarly impact, as measured by the h-index, academic rank, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards in academic ophthalmology.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of NIH RePORTER and Scopus databases.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Five hundred seventy-three NIH awards to 391 primary investigators (PIs) in ophthalmology departments were examined. Grant recipients were organized by academic rank, obtained from online listings, and h-index, calculated using the Scopus database. Non-NIH-funded faculty from 20 randomly chosen academic ophthalmology departments also were organized by rank and h-index for comparison with their NIH-funded colleagues.


METHODS
Scholarly impact, as measured by the h-index, and NIH funding.


RESULTS
The h-index increased with successive academic rank among non-NIH-funded and NIH-funded faculty, as did NIH funding among the latter group. The NIH-funded faculty had higher scholarly impact, as measured by the h-index, than their non-NIH-funded PIs (h = 18.3 vs. 7.8; P <0.0001), even when considering publications only in the prior 5 years; h-index increased with increasing NIH funding ranges. The h-indices of those holding an MD degree (21.4±1.6 standard error of mean) were not statistically higher than those of PhD holders (17.9±0.6) and those with both an MD and PhD degree (18.1±1.7; P = 0.14).


CONCLUSIONS
The h-index increases with increasing academic rank among NIH-funded and non-NIH-funded faculty in ophthalmology departments. This bibliometric is associated strongly with NIH funding because NIH-funded PIs had higher scholarly impact than their non-NIH-funded colleagues, and increasing impact was noted with higher funding. The h-index is an objective and easily calculable measure that may be valuable as an adjunct in assessing research productivity, a significant factor for academic promotion in academic ophthalmology.
Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Peter F
PF
Svider
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Santiago A
SA
Lopez
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Qasim
Q
Husain
Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Neelakshi
N
Bhagat
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Department of Neurological Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Center for Skull Base and Pituitary Surgery, Neurological Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. Electronic address: jean.anderson.eloy@gmail.com.
Jean Anderson
JA
Eloy
Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Paul D
PD
Langer
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics*; D004522:Educational Status; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.) / Q000191:economics*; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012108:Research Personnel; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States