Funding Anatomic Pathology Research: A Retrospective Analysis of an Intramural Funding Mechanism

Abstract

Context.-In 2006, the department of pathology at our institution established an intramural research funding mechanism to support anatomic pathology research projects for faculty and trainee development. A review committee consisting of faculty members with diverse academic interests evaluated applications; proposals were eligible for a maximum award amount of $30 000 per project with a maximum program cost of $150 000 annually.Objective.-To report our experience based on a retrospective review of the research proposals submitted to the committee since the inception of the Anatomic Pathology Research Fund and evaluate the outcomes of the funded projects.Design.-We retrospectively analyzed all project applications that were received by the committee. Outcome data were collected by reviewing progress reports, abstracts for national and international meetings, PubMed search results, and/or direct communication with investigators.Results.-To date, a total of 59 individual projects have been awarded funding, for a total amount of $349 792, with an average award amount of $5381 per project. A total of 26 faculty members have secured funding for projects through this mechanism, and 27 resident and fellow trainees have been engaged in the funded projects. Spanning 11 subspecialty disciplines in anatomic pathology, 32 abstracts (54%) have been presented at national meetings and 26 (44%) have been published in the peerreviewed literature to date. One project generated data used to secure an extramural (R01) grant.Conclusions.-Our funding mechanism could serve as a model used by other academic departments to support research activities, thereby fostering faculty development through scholarly activities. (Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013;137:1270-1273 doi: 10.5858/arpa.2012-0546-OA) A cademic pathology represents a unique specialty in medicine owing to the diversity of academic and scholarly activities that can be performed.1 Research in anatomic pathology represents a proportion of scholarly work produced by pathology departments and consists of a diverse array of projects in multiple subspecialties, including but not limited to autopsy, bone and soft tissue pathology, breast pathology, cytopathology, dermatopathology, endocrine pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, genitourinary pathology, gynecologic pathology, renal pathology, neuropathology, and pediatric pathology. Unfunded research appears to account for the vast majority of pathology research activity.2 Specifically, Borkowski and colleagues 2 observed that of 295 publications for which the principal author was a member of a pathology department, only 47 acknowledged competitive grant support. Deficits in intramural and extramural funding can be significant barriers to scholarly activity. Furthermore, lack of funding for research projects could represent an obstacle to recruiting academically oriented young physicians to junior faculty positions in academic departments.3 Therefore, in 2005, the senior leadership of the department of pathology at our institution initiat...

Conducting a Pathology Research Study, From Start to Finish

“…Your faculty mentor should cover this; you should not be expected to contribute funds at this point in your career. Potential sources of funding include departmental/institutional grants, 6 extramural government grants, and grants from private organizations. Such sources of funding should be disclosed when appropriate, along with any potential conflicts of interest that might arise from such monetary support.…”

Anatomical Research: Misconceptions and opportunities

“…1 This may have negative repercussions in terms of recruiting Omani students who aspire to be anatomists. A common fallacy in the scientific academic sphere is that anatomy is outdated and irrelevant.…”