Summary objectIve. To assess the profile and scientific output of medical researchers supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) grants. Methods. Data were extracted from the Lattes curricula of 411 medical researchers with active grants for the 2006-2008 period. The variables of interest were gender, institutional affiliation, scientific output, and advisership of undergraduate research fellows and master's and doctoral candidates. results. Researchers were predominantly male (68%) and recipients of category 2 grants (55.7%). Four Brazilian states (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and Minas Gerais) accounted for 90% of all researchers. Eight institutions accounted for roughly 80% of researchers in the sample, particularly USP (30.7%) and UNIFESP (17%). The study identified 30 areas of expertise for researchers. Median scientific output was 4.13 published articles per year (interquartile range, IQ, 2.9-5.8), or 2.23 per year (IQ, 1.4-3.2) after adjusting for articles published in Web of Scienceindexed journals. The most productive areas in terms of indexed articles were Neuroscience (3.16 articles/year; IQ, 1.8-4.7) and Psychiatry (2.92; IQ, 1.73-4.5). conclusIon. Medical researchers are concentrated in the Southeast region of Brazil. The scientific output of most Brazilian researchers has increased over the past five years. An understanding of the profile of medical researchers in the country may aid development of effective strategies for qualitative improvement of scientific output.

Pesquisadores brasileiros têm demonstrado aumento na produção científica associada à publicação de trabalhos na literatura corrente. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o perfil dos bolsistas de produtividade científica da área de Saúde Coletiva no Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Foram analisados os currículos Lattes de todos os pesquisadores da área de Saúde Coletiva no triênio 2004-2006. As variáveis estudadas foram: gênero, categoria do bolsista, instituição de origem, tempo de conclusão do doutorado, artigos nacionais e internacionais com o respectivo Qualis, publicação de livros e capítulos, orientações de iniciação científica, mestrado e doutorado e os periódicos utilizados para publicação. Entre os pesquisadores, houve similaridade de gêneros masculino e feminino (1,03:1), com a maioria dos bolsistas na categoria 2 (48,39%), distribuídos por 12 estados da federação, com predomínio de Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo. Do total, 73,54% dos bolsistas encontram-se vinculados a universidades e 66,45% deles concluíram o doutorado entre 5 a 15 anos. Na produção científica, verifica-se prevalência de artigos internacionais Qualis A e C e nacional B. A publicação de capítulos de livros foi 2,91 vezes superior ao de livros. Quanto à orientação, verifica-se prevalência na formação de mestres, seguida de doutores e de iniciação científica. Os periódicos que concentraram maior parte das publicações foram Cadernos de Saúde Pública e Revista de Saúde Pública, respectivamente. Estudos em outras áreas com metodologias similares possibilitarão melhor conhecimento da produção científica nacional e definição de estratégias de demandas induzidas de pesquisa.

Quantifying the relative performance of individual scholars has become an integral part of decision-making in research policy. The objective of the present study was to evaluate if the scholarship rank of Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) researchers in Medicine is consistent with their scientific productivity. The Lattes curricula of 411 researchers (2006)(2007)(2008) were included in the study. Scholarship category was the variable of interest. Other variables analyzed were: time since receiving the doctorate, teaching activity (undergraduate, master's and doctoral students), number of articles published, and number of papers indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and Scopus databases. Additional performance indicators included were: citations, h-index, and m-index. There was a significant difference among scholarship categories regarding number of papers per year, considering the entire scientific career (P \ 0.001) or the last 5 years (P \ 0.001). There was no significant difference among scholarship categories regarding the number of citations per article in the ISI (Thomson Reuters) database (P = 0.23). There was a significant difference in h-index among scholarship categories in both databases, i.e. (P \ 0.001) and Scopus (P \ 0.001). Regarding the m-index, there was a significant difference among categories only in the ISI database (P = 0.012). According to our findings, a better instrument for qualitative and quantitative indicators is needed to identify researchers with outstanding scientific output.

Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the profile and scientific production of researchers in Nephrology and Urology, receiving grants in the area of Clinical Medicine from the Brazilian National Research Council. Methods: The standardized online curriculum vitae (Curriculum Lattes) of 39 researchers in Medicine receiving grants in the 2006-2008 triennium were included in the analysis. The variables analyzed were: gender, affiliation, time from completion of the PhD program, scientific production, and supervision of undergraduate students, and master's and PhD programs. Results: Males (74.4%) and category 2 grants (56.4%) predominated. The following three Brazilian states are responsible for 90% of the researchers: São Paulo (28; 71.8%); Rio Grande do Sul (4; 10.3%); and Minas Gerais (3; 7.7%). Four institutions are responsible for 70% of the researchers: UNIFESP (14; 36%); USP (8; 20.5%); UFMG (3, 7.7%); and UNICAMP (3; 7.7%). Considering the academic career, the assessed researchers published 3,195 articles in medical journals, with a median of 75 articles per researcher (QI = 52-100). The researchers received a total of 25,923 citations at the database Web of Science ® , with a median of 452 citations per researcher (QI = 161-927). The average number of citations per article was 13.8 citations (SD = 11.6). Conclusions: The Southeastern region of Brazil concentrates researchers in Nephrology and Urology. Our study has shown an increase in the scientific production of most researchers in the last five years. By knowing the profile of researchers in Nephrology and Urology, more effective strategies to encourage the scientific production and the demand for resources to finance research projects can be defined.