Sex Differences among Career Development Awardees in the Attainment of Independent Research Funding in a Department of Medicine

Background: National data suggest that women are overall less likely than men to attain independent research funding. However, it remains unclear whether such sex differences are also observed in academic institutions that have integrated diversity in the workplace as a priority. Methods: During 1999-2008, all National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development (K01, K08, or K23) awardees in the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine were identified to investigate differences in the attainment of independent funding by sex, including NIH Research Project Grant (R01) or equivalent awards, (U01, P01, P50), and any R award (also R03, R21, R34) through 2012. Results: A similar number of men (n = 49) and women (n = 43) received a K award. There were no significant sex differences in attaining an R01/equivalent award or any R award. The median time to attaining the first R01/equivalent award was similar for men and women (5.6 vs. 5.3 years, p = 0.93). The actuarial rate of R01/equivalent award attainment at 10 years was 64% overall (56% among men vs. 74% among women; log-rank p = 0.41). For any R award, the rate was 72% overall (70% among men vs. 76% among women; log-rank p = 0.63). In Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for race/ethnicity, age, Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, and funding period, sex was not an independent predictor of R01/equivalent or any R award attainment. Interestingly, black race and/or Hispanic ethnicity significantly predicted any R award attainment (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-5.37). Conclusions: No sex differences were found in the attainment of independent funding by K awardees in our study. Future studies to investigate the impact of specific diversity initiatives on subsequent success in attaining independent research funding are needed.