Recent trends in National Institutes of Health funding for surgery: 2003 to 2013

Background

The purpose of this study is to compare the compositions of federally funded surgical research between 2003 and 2013, and to assess differences in funding trends between surgery and other medical specialties.

Data Sources

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool database was queried for grants within core surgical disciplines during 2003 and 2013. Funding was categorized by award type, methodology, and discipline. Application success rates for surgery and 5 nonsurgical departments were trended over time.

Conclusions

Inflation-adjusted NIH funding for surgical research decreased 19% from $270M in 2003 to $219M in 2013, with a shift from R-awards to U-awards. Proportional funding to outcomes research almost tripled, while translational research diminished. Nonsurgical departments have increased NIH application volume over the last 10 years; however, surgery’s application volume has been stagnant. To preserve surgery’s role in innovative research, new efforts are needed to incentivize an increase in application volume.