Lack of Strategic Funding and Long-Term Job Security Threaten to Have Profound Effects on Cardiovascular Researcher Retention in Australia

Climie, Rachel E.; Wu, Jason; Calkin, Anna C.; Chapman, Niamh; Inglis, Sally C.; Colafella, Katrina M Mirabito; Picone, Dean; Tan, Joanne; Thomas, Emma; Viola, Helena M.; Wise, Steven G.; Murphy, Andrew J.; Nelson, Mark; Nicholls, Stephen J.; Hool, Livia C.; Doyle, Kerry; Figtree, Gemma A.; Marques, Francine Z.

doi:10.1016/j.hlc.2020.07.010

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In a Discussion Paper, Climie et al. presented the results of an on-line survey of cardiovascular research employees or students conducted in 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic [ 31 ]. They concluded that a lack of strategic funding and long-term job security threatened to have profound effects on cardiovascular researcher retention in Australia.…”

Section: : Not Just Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heart, Lung and Circulation in the COVID-19 Era: About COVID-19, Not Just About COVID-19

Gregory

Denniss

2021

Heart, Lung and Circulation

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Section: : Not Just Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heart, Lung and Circulation in the COVID-19 Era: About COVID-19, Not Just About COVID-19

Gregory

Denniss

2021

Heart, Lung and Circulation

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“…These small grants offered funding for travel or consumables or other initial project costs to break down these barriers and aid in the establishment of investigatorled research for ECRs only. Research funding in Australia is extremely competitive; short-term contracts and the ever-present need to apply for grants leads to uncertain futures for ECRs in research and high job insecurity (6,15). In most research funding schemes, ECRs must compete with more senior researchers in funding schemes with a low success rate, so it is vital for them to build a strong track record as soon as possible (8,11,16).…”

Section: Collaboration Grantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing CREATE: Lessons learned in setting up a training environment for early-career researchers in respiratory medicine

Christian

Hey-Cunningham

Corte

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: The purpose of the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis (CRE-PF) is to improve and extend the lives of patients living with pulmonary fibrosis through the development of a comprehensive and integrated program of basic and clinical research and education across Australia. A key objective of the CRE-PF was establishment of a unique national training scheme, CREATE, for early-career researchers (ECRs) in respiratory research. CREATE ECRs are broadly drawn from two main fields of researchers: clinicians and scientists, where clinicians tend to be involved in part-time translational research and scientists are involved in broad scientific research including laboratory or genetic research, health economics or population research. Methods: We describe the CREATE Program which, with limited budget and the assistance of key organisations, has provided funding opportunities (scholarships, fellowships, prizes, travel and collaboration grants), professional development (mentoring program, symposia, presentation opportunities and on-line training) and fostered a connected, supportive research community for respiratory ECRs. Results: The CREATE program has successfully fostered the development of the supported researchers, contributing substantially to the future of pulmonary fibrosis research in Australia. During the life of the program the CRE-PF has offered 10 PhD scholarships and five postdoctoral fellowships, awarded 13 travel grants and three grants to promote collaboration between ECRs from different institutes. A mentoring program has been established and CREATE Symposia have been held in association with key meetings. During COVID-19 restrictions, a series of virtual research meetings has offered 12 CREATE ECRs from seven universities the opportunity to present their research to a national audience. CREATE research-related achievements are impressive, including over 80 first-author publications by ECRs, and many conference presentations. Contributions to the research community, measured by committee membership, is also strong. Conclusions: In spite of a very limited budget, wide geographic distribution of participants and the multi-disciplinary nature of the cohort, we have succeeded in providing a unique, supportive academic development environment for CREATE ECRs. Lessons learned in the process of developing this program include the importance of leveraging funding, being flexible, building networks and seeking and responding to ECR input.

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“…In 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Climie et al., on behalf of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance, conducted an online survey investigating perceived challenges faced by Australian cardiovascular researchers [ 28 ]. In their Discussion Paper, they commented that the key issues—a lack of both strategic funding and long-term job security—are likely to be further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.…”

Section: Effects On Research and Publicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dunn, Editor-in-Chief of JACC: Basic to Translational Science , wrote that as the sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent, the pace of scientific publishing accelerated rapidly, dramatically compressing the time from months to weeks for performing experiments and submitting findings to journals, presumably in an effort to mitigate the devastating consequences of the COVID pandemic [ 28 ]. This speed has come at the cost of scientific rigour, and journals—including The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet— have issued retraction notices (when peer review could not be independent or private) [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Section: Effects On Research and Publicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and Heart, Lung and Circulation: Riding the 2020 Waves of Change in Australia & New Zealand✰

Gregory

Pepe

Denniss

2020

Heart, Lung and Circulation

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Lack of Strategic Funding and Long-Term Job Security Threaten to Have Profound Effects on Cardiovascular Researcher Retention in Australia

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Heart, Lung and Circulation in the COVID-19 Era: About COVID-19, Not Just About COVID-19

Heart, Lung and Circulation in the COVID-19 Era: About COVID-19, Not Just About COVID-19

Establishing CREATE: Lessons learned in setting up a training environment for early-career researchers in respiratory medicine

COVID-19 and Heart, Lung and Circulation: Riding the 2020 Waves of Change in Australia & New Zealand✰

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