Gender differences in successful National Institutes of Health funding in ophthalmology.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether gender differences in individual National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards and in funding totals exist in ophthalmology, and to further characterize whether factors such as experience, academic rank, and terminal degree play a role.


METHODS
A retrospective review of awards granted to primary investigators (PIs) in ophthalmology departments from 2011 through the present was conducted. PIs were classified by gender, degree, experience, and academic position. The NIH funding database was used to gather award data.


METHODS
Academic medical center.


RESULTS
Men had higher mean NIH awards ($418,605) than their female colleagues ($353,170; p = 0.005) and had higher total funding per PI (p = 0.004). Men had statistically higher awards at the level of assistant professor than their female counterparts (p < 0.05). A gender difference was statistically significant and most marked among researchers holding an MD (or equivalent) degree. When controlled for publication experience, men had higher NIH awards throughout their careers, although this difference only reached statistical significance on comparison of faculty with 10 or fewer years of experience.


CONCLUSIONS
Male PIs receiving grants since 2011 had higher awards than their female colleagues did, most markedly among PIs in the earlier portions of their career. Differences in gender representation among senior faculty and in positions of leadership in academic ophthalmology may be partially a result of disparities in research output, as scholarly productivity is an important component of the academic advancement process in ophthalmology.
Department 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.
Christine M
CM
D'Aguillo
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Priscilla E
PE
White
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Anna A
AA
Pashkova
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Neelakshi
N
Bhagat
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Paul D
PD
Langer
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, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. Electronic address: jean.anderson.eloy@gmail.com.
Jean Anderson
JA
Eloy
D001363:Awards and Prizes; D005260:Female; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States
Interpersonal and Communication Skills; NIH RePORTER; NIH funding; NIH funding gender disparity; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Professionalism; academic promotion; gender; gender disparity