Gender Differences in Research Project Grants and R01 Grants at the National Institutes of Health

Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary; Sadiq Naveed; Beenish Safdar; Sundas Saboor; Muhammad Zeshan; Faisal Khosa

doi:10.7759/cureus.14930

Gender Differences in Research Project Grants and R01 Grants at the National Institutes of Health

Cureus. 2021 May 10;13(5):e14930. doi: 10.7759/cureus.14930.

Authors

Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary¹, Sadiq Naveed², Beenish Safdar³, Sundas Saboor⁴, Muhammad Zeshan^{5

6}, Faisal Khosa⁷

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatry, Nishtar Medical College & Hospital, Multan, PAK.
² Psychiatry, institute of Living, Hartford, USA.
³ Graduate Medical Education, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, Northwell Health, Port Jefferson, USA.
⁴ Psychiatry, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, PAK.
⁵ Psychiatry/Child and Infant Psychiatry, Rutgers Medical School, Newark, USA.
⁶ Psychiatry, Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Bronx, USA.
⁷ Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, CAN.

Abstract

Objectives The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the world's largest funding source for research, offers various types of competitive grants depending on the duration, research type, and budget. The Research Project Grant (RPG) is the oldest mechanism for grant allocation that is used by the NIH. In this study, we explored the gender trends of NIH RPGs and R01 grants over the last two decades. Methods By utilizing the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT), data for gender were extracted, and the percentage of women as RPGs Investigators, R01-equivalent grant including R01 type 1 and type 2 grant awardees, from 1998 to 2019 were tabulated. The absolute change was calculated. Results From 1998 to 2019, the percentage of female RPG awardees has increased. However, the success rates for female RPG applicants have decreased during the same period. The funding and success rates for new R01 awards have been similar for both men and women, but women have been less successful at the renewal of R01-equivalent awards. Conclusion Gender disparity exists in awardees of higher RPGs, including the R01 award. This highlights the need for further actions to ensure gender parity in grant allocations at the NIH.

Keywords: academic productivity; female researcher; gender; gender disparity; nih funding; nih funding gender disparity; r01 grant; r01-equivalent grant; research career.