Research Portfolio Research Articles

Bibliometrics and National Institutes of Health Funding: Associated Factors in Academic Rhinology

AbstractOur study aims to evaluate demographics and research productivity in academic rhinology and to establish the relationship between bibliometrics such as the Hirsch index (h-index) and the more recently developed relative citation ratio (RCR) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Retrospective cohort study. The demographics of academic rhinologists were collected from institutional faculty profiles (N = 207). Funding data were obtained from the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Reports Database. The h-index was calculated using Scopus. The mean (m-RCR) and weighted RCR (w-RCR) were calculated using the NIH iCite tool. The majority of academic rhinologists were men (72.9%). Only 8.7% of rhinologists (N = 18) received NIH funding. Rhinologists receiving NIH funding had greater h-index (31 vs. 11), m-RCR (2.6 vs. 1.6), and w-RCR (339.9 vs. 44.7) (P < 0.001). Men had greater h-index (14 vs. 10, P < 0.001) and w-RCR (56.8 vs. 36.9, P = 0.025) but not m-RCR (1.7 vs. 1.6, P = 0.799) than women. Stratifying by academic professorship rank and across all career durations, h-index, m-RCR, and w-RCR were not significantly different between men and women. Among academic rhinologists the h-index, m-RCR, and w-RCR were all associated with receiving NIH funding. Similar h-index, m-RCR, and w-RCR between men and women across all academic professorship ranks and career durations suggests production of similar quality and quantity of research. The m-RCR and w-RCR help to address some of the limitations of the h-index and are useful for assessing research productivity.

Recent trends in US federal research support for imaging instrumentation grants to departments of radiology

Established by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1982, the S10 program supports the purchase or upgrade of expensive, specialized, and commercially available equipment to be shared among NIH-funded researchers and used to supplement ongoing and future research projects in basic, translational, or clinical research. Given the critical role of biomedical research that uses costly dedicated imaging equipment and requires a large footprint, extensive user training, and frequent upgrades, we analyzed S10 awards to Radiology in the past 10 years.Data were exported from NIH RePORTER (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools) using a search of S10 awards from NIH fiscal year (FY) 2014 – FY2023. All awards and funding data were limited to clinical departments.From FY2014 – FY2023, the NIH awarded $273.0 M in S10 awards, corresponding to an average award amount of $837,377. During this 10-year period, departments of radiology received $135.8 M (49.7 %) across 116 awards (35.6 %), corresponding to an average award amount of $1.17 M Among the different S10 award types to Radiology, the most common was High End Instrumentation (HEI), with 54 (61.4 %) out of 116 awards.Departments of radiology received over one-third-of all S10 awards in the last 10 NIH FYs, corresponding to nearly half all federal S10 funding. The most common S10 award type to Radiology was the HEI, with funding for high priced imaging equipment, including MRI scanners and associated instrumentation for use in human or animal imaging.

Schizophrenia, clinical and basic research at NIMH: A 75 Year retrospective

ObjectiveIn 2024, NIMH is celebrating its 75th anniversary. At the Congressional hearings preceding its initial funding in 1949, witnesses stressed the need for NIMH to carry out clinical and basic research to find the causes and better treatments for severe mental illnesses. Patients with schizophrenia alone were said to occupy one quarter of all hospital beds in the U.S. We therefore sought to ascertain the relative importance of clinical and basic research funded by NIMH over the life of the institute, using schizophrenia as our primary example. MethodsWe used information of published studies, from the NIMH website, and from NIMH employees both past and present. ResultsDuring its first 40 years, NIMH funded clinical and basic research approximately equally. That changed in the 1990s when the funding of the Human Genome Project started a shift in research resources from clinical to basic. By 2015, clinical research at NIMH had been reduced to 10 % of the research portfolio. This decline has continued and been well documented. For example, between 2006 and 2023, NIMH-funded extramural drug trials for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder decreased by 95 %. To clearly illustrate the decline of schizophrenia research at NIMH, research for the 5-year period from 1984 to 1988 was compared with research from 2018 to 2022. ConclusionsIn summary, data suggests that over the past 3 decades NIMH has reduced clinical research on severe mental illnesses by at least 90 %. We therefore recommend that NIMH re-establish clinical research on severe mental illnesses as a priority, as originally intended by Congress; that NIMH spend at least 50 % of all disease-related research dollars on clinical research; and that this distribution be documented in an existing and publicly available database.

Preparing Physician-Scientists for the Future of Academic Medicine.

The changing field of academic medicine presents unique challenges for physician-scientists, who intricately weave the complexities of research and patient care. These challenges have significantly lengthened the time needed for scientific discoveries to be applied in clinical practice. In response to these escalating demands, the training trajectory for physician-scientists has notably expanded over recent decades. In anticipation of and preparation for future training requirements, the National Pediatrician-Scientist Collaborative Workgroup facilitated a series of convenings with a diverse array of stakeholders vested in physician-scientist training. The framework Strategic Foresight was used to explore possible future scenarios and develop strategic plans. Seven pivotal themes, termed "performance zones," emerged from this endeavor: (1) revolution in education through technology-enhanced learning, (2) educational outcomes beyond content mastery, (3) artificial intelligence-empowered research portfolios and expansive networks, (4) evolution of high-performance inclusive, equitable, distributed, and agile teams, (5) evolution of antifragile systems, (6) a multiparadigmatic program of research, and (7) interdependence and commitments to a common agenda for collective impact. These identified zones underscore the imperative for physician-scientists to acquire novel skill sets essential for navigating the impending shifts in the health care landscape. These findings are poised to steer policy initiatives and educational advancements, fortifying the foundation for future physician-scientist training needs.

Building a community-academic partnership to expand services for childhood cancer survivors in a rural, low-income region in California.

360 Background: Community-engaged research is an effective approach to address health disparities that is well-established in the public health domain and has not been widely applied in childhood cancer survivorship. We present our multi-year experience building a community-academic partnership and community-engaged childhood cancer survivorship research portfolio. Methods: We have developed a partnership between Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, a nonprofit community-based organization (CBO) and an academic pediatric cancer survivorship team, with the goal of improving health outcomes for childhood cancer survivors and their families in the Salinas Valley, a rural, low-income region in California with majority Hispanic/Latino/a/e residents. Our partnership process is guided by principles of community-based participatory research, prioritizing trust and involving community members as equal partners in all phases of research. Results: In year 1 (2021-2022), we held successive meetings which identified common goals and shared values, established the collaboration, and sought funding to advance our goals. In year 2 (2022-2023), with internal grant funding, we conducted a qualitative needs assessment interviewing childhood cancer survivors, parents, and CBO staff. Teamwork enriched the data analysis and allowed us to identify problems in communication as an area of need, which directly informed subsequent grant proposals. In year 3 (2023-2024), with external funding we began a multi-year study to understand and improve survivorship-related communication among Hispanic/Latino/a/e young adult childhood cancer survivors, their parents, and clinicians. Current and future projects include collaborative design and pilot testing of a novel communication intervention, formation of a dedicated community advisory board, and a CBO-driven program evaluation. Findings from our community-engaged studies have prompted new sets of research questions and illustrate opportunities for institutional change in the clinic setting. In parallel, the CBO has leveraged research findings in real-time to identify barriers to seeking support among childhood cancer survivors and families, and adapted and improved programming for families in response. Through our joint research portfolio, we have incorporated training and mentorship for staff at the CBO and medical trainees at the academic center. Conclusions: A community-academic partnership in a rural, low-income region has the potential to reduce health disparities and improve childhood cancer survivors’ health outcomes through collaborative program development and community-engaged research. Fueled by mutual investment and strong momentum, our partnership facilitates an interconnected cycle of research and practice change that is grounded in community needs.

Optimizing clinical research in a regional cancer center network: A multidepartment survey-based approach.

27 Background: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s (MSKCC) regional care network (RCN) encompasses 6 sites across NY and NJ. Further expansion of clinical research (CR) in the RCN provides an opportunity to bring clinical research closer to patients. The CR RCN leadership group was created to identify and address barriers to research operations in the RCN. Methods: A survey was conducted among Medical, Surgical, Neurologic and Radiation Oncologists at the RCN sites (February 2022-April 2024) to assess perspectives on research-related challenges. The 23-question survey included multiple-choice, open-ended, and ranking questions regarding protocol availability, consenting processes, and staffing support. Results were used to inform interventions to address barriers in the RCN. Results: 92/108 (85%) medical oncologists, 16/31 (52%) radiation oncologists, 7/9 (77%) neurologists and 28/70 (40%) surgeons completed the survey, revealing three key challenges: 1) Limited protocol availability: Only 47% of the time was there a suitable medicine trial available in the RCN. Identified barriers to opening desired medicine protocols (n=23 in total) included trials that were closed to accrual, pending amendments, and sponsor approval issues. 2) Inadequate investigator representation: 278 medicine protocols lacked RCN physicians listed as consenting providers. 3) Insufficient research staff. Only 33% were satisfied with the research support, and 62% of physicians identified lack of clinical research support staff as the biggest barrier to accrual. 71% reported delays of more than one week in screening eligible patients due to insufficient support. Following these results, interventions were implemented across departments to overcome these challenges. Appropriate RCN physicians were added to the 278 protocols, and an analysis of staffing needs increased clinical trial nursing and administrative staff. Therapeutic and non-therapeutic accruals in the Department of Medicine rose by 10.5%, and total research visits increased by 21.4% compared to the previous year. Thirteen of the 23 studies in medicine, that were previously only open at main campus, were opened to accrual in the RCN. This survey highlighted research portfolio gaps in multiple departments that are now being addressed. Conclusions: This multi departmental survey-based approach identified key barriers to CR within MSKCC's RCN, and in turn, informed interventions that increased research activity. These findings offer a potential roadmap for optimizing research in similar networks by enhancing protocol accessibility, addressing staffing needs, and fostering collaboration. Further investigations are ongoing to address additional challenges and improve workflows across departments.

Mission-oriented innovation for sustainable polymers in liquid formulation.

Industrial chemical producers and formulators are increasingly conscious of their responsibility in stewarding planetary resources and minimizing harm to the environment. In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) engaged an industry task force from across the value chain to drive technical research to classify a new class of polymer-polymers in liquid formulation (PLFs). Building on this, the task force called for step change in sustainability practices for PLFs and instigated a design and development process to identify research themes and priorities that could accelerate innovation in this area. However, a key challenge was that as a novel classification, PLFs were largely unknown outside the chemistry community and entirely absent from the mainstream research agenda. To establish the demand-pull requirements of the value chain for sustainable PLFs, the RSC used a 'mission-oriented' innovation framework to enable the taskforce to co-design an ideal-type portfolio of research and innovation projects, and to set out a realistic roadmap for transition. This perspective article presents a summary of the activities carried out by the task force in its pursuit of mission-oriented innovation for PLFs and describes the strategic design method used to enable cross-value chain consensus on action for PLF sustainability, build system-wide innovation ecosystems and explore common-good scenarios. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future'.

Sex and gender reporting in UK emergency medicine trials from 2010 to 2023: a systematic review

BackgroundFemale participants are underrepresented in randomised control trials conducted in urgent care settings. Although sex and gender are frequently reported within demographic data, it is less common for primary outcomes...

The Impact of PhD Degrees in Academic Plastic Surgery: An In-depth Analysis of Faculty and Residents.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is thehighest academic degreeawarded by universities in most fields of study. In surgery, it is thought to provide surgeons with skills to conduct high-quality research and advance academically. However, this presumed effect has not been assessed among academic plastic surgeons (APSs) and plastic surgery residents (PSRs). The purpose of this study is to determine the differences in multiple strata of career progression and success between PhD and non-PhD graduates in academic plastic surgery. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study of APSs and PSRs. Departmental websites of integrated plastic surgery residency programs were used to identify our study population and their demographics, degrees, and tenure status. Data on research productivity were collected using Scopus. Information on research funding was gathered through the National Institutes of Health and Plastic Surgery Foundation. To assess the plastic surgery programs' reputations, we divided residency programs into four quartiles (Q1, 1-20; Q2, 21-40; Q3, 41-60; Q4, 61+) according to their Doximity ranking. We identified 841 APSs (78.5% men) and 948 PSRs (58.1% men), of whom 5.1% and 2.7% had a PhD degree, respectively. PhD graduates had significantly more advanced research portfolios. PhD APSs were more likely to secure research funding, and PhD PSRs were more likely to train at highly reputed programs. However, academic rank and leadership appointments were not significantly influenced by PhDs. Holding a PhD can strongly advance a plastic surgeon's research portfolio, but it does not guarantee a better position or tenure status. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

The Growth and Development of a Research Division in the Plastic Surgery Department of a Large Urban Academic Medical Center.

Research is a critical component of academic medicine that may or may not be prioritized in centers with high clinical volumes. The benefits of research expansion go beyond notoriety and industry partnerships, expanding into resident training and preparation of the next generation of physician-scientists. Improving a division or department's research portfolio requires a commitment to reorganizing structure, personnel, resources, and a dedication to innovative funding models. To improve research productivity and quality, our group placed several initiatives into motion beginning in August 2017 that we have outlined and evaluated in the present study. Some of these initiatives included restructuring leadership, resourcing both bench and clinical outcomes research, providing initial funding directly from clinical profits and rewarding research fiscally. Reviews of hiring records, publications, grant allocations, and interviews with key personnel were used to generate a road map of initiatives. Average impact factor was calculated by averaging journal impact factors for all publications from the department each year, excluding any publications with greater than 5 times the raw average, and creating a corrected average that more accurately represented the work. Student t tests were used to compare mean number of publications and impact factors from 2010 to 2017 to those from 2018 to 2022. Prior to restructuring (2010-2017), the department published an average of 9 articles annually, which increased to an average of 42 articles since that time (P < 0.01). Average impact increased from 0 in 2010 to 4.02 in 2022, with the number of publications in top 10 plastic surgery journals following a similar trajectory with 1 publication in 2010 and 31 in 2023. Following an initial $1 million investment to create an institutionally directed fund in 2018, the department leveraged its research to earn $3 million in endowments, $1.25 million in industry partnerships, $3.23 million in Department of Defense funding, and $1.65 million from a multi-institutional National Institutes of Health grant. Deliberate prioritization of research initiatives as noted above has led to remarkable growth in academic output.

Evaluating Research Activity and NIH-Funding Among Academic Ophthalmologists Using Relative Citation Ratio

ABSTRACT Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between research activity and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding status of the United States (US) academic ophthalmologists. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of bibliometric data was conducted. The NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Reports (rePORTER) website was utilized to identify ophthalmology departments in the US that received NIH funding. Affiliated faculty from these institutions were then identified using NIH rePORTER and institutional websites. H-index was calculated using the Scopus database, and the NIH iCite tool was used to determine the Relative Citation Ratio (RCR). The h-index and w-RCR quantified research productivity, while m-RCR measured research impact. Results Data on 2688 faculty members from 66 departments we re identified, of which 21% were NIH-funded. Faculty members who received NIH-funding had significantly greater research productivity and impact as measured by h-index (32.5 vs 16.6; p < .001), m-RCR (2.2 vs 1.6; p < .001), and w-RCR (147.2 vs 70.1; p < .001) than their non-funded peers. When stratified by academic rank, NIH-funded faculty still had significantly higher h-index (16.1 vs 7.9; p < .001), m-RCR (2.2 vs 1.4; p < .001), and w-RCR (63.2 vs 61.8; p < .001) than non-funded peers. A similar trend was observed among non-tenured faculty members. Conclusion NIH funding is associated with higher research productivity and impact among US academic ophthalmologists as measured by h-index and RCR, which suggests that NIH funding may be a critical factor in enhancing scholarly contributions of ophthalmologists. These findings underscore the importance of continued investment in NIH funding to foster high-impact research within the field of ophthalmology.

A roadmap to success: Securing a radiology residency through a research fellowship – Insights from a former international fellow

Given the increasing competitiveness of matching into radiology residency programs in the U.S., especially for international medical graduates (IMGs), many IMGs opt to join research fellowships to boost their academic productivity and expand their research portfolios. This strategy helps them become as competitive as their national peers. This paper provides insights from the personal experience of a former international radiology research fellow who successfully utilized a fellowship to match into a radiology residency. It outlines a roadmap and strategic steps taken—from finding and preparing for the fellowship to maximizing its benefits by increasing publications and developing professional connections, ultimately securing a radiology residency, and maintaining ongoing collaboration with the research team after departure.

Impact of Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers: Incubators of innovation in geriatrics.

Since their inception in 1975, the Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) have served as incubators of innovation in geriatrics. Their contributions to the VA mission were last reviewed in 2012. Herein, we describe the continuing impact of GRECCs in research, clinical, and educational areas, focusing on the period between 2018 and 2022. GRECC research spans the continuum from bench to bedside, with a growing research portfolio notable for highly influential publications. GRECC education connects healthcare professions trainees and practicing clinicians, as well as Veterans and their caregivers, to engaging learning experiences. Clinical advancements, including age-friendly care, span the continuum of care and leverage technology to link disparate geographical sites. GRECCs are uniquely positioned to serve older adults given their alignment with the largest integrated health system in the United States and their integration with academic health centers. As such, the GRECCs honor Veterans as they age by building VA capacity to care for the increasing number of aging Veterans seeking care from VA. GRECC advancements also benefit non-VA healthcare systems, their academic affiliates, and non-Veteran older adults. GRECCs make invaluable contributions to advancing geriatric and gerontological science, training healthcare professionals, and developing innovative models of geriatric care.

Analysis of convergence between a unified One Health policy framework and imbalanced research portfolio

The One Health (OH) approach is collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary, acknowledging the interdependence among animal, human and environmental health. It has garnered attention within the scientific community, particularly in response to the rising prevalence and global spread of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Common OH issues include zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food and water safety, and the human-animal bond. Among various OH topics, AMR represents a well-described, long-term, complex issue, with a substantial global death toll and large economic costs. Whereas interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teamwork seems appropriate to address such complex challenges, effects on knowledge production are poorly known. In this study, we investigate how the scientific community mobilizes “One Health.” A comparative bibliometric analysis of OH and AMR research enabled us to assess the level of transdisciplinary research, identify emerging themes, through a co-occurrence network analysis of keywords, and disciplines mobilized, through a co-citation network analysis of scientific journals, in research, as well as level of international collaboration through analysis of co-authorship among countries. We detected a lack of consideration for non-communicable diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases) and the well-being of human and animal populations in analysis of themes. Furthermore, although many disciplines are involved in OH and AMR research, little attention was given to social sciences, environmental health, economics, and politics. There was a strong influence of major global economic powers, including the United States and China, in scientific research on OH and AMR, as well as substantial collaboration among European countries. The present results indicated that guidelines are needed to address the mentioned concerns, and specific funds are required for underrepresented countries.

Aviation Noise in the United States: The FAA's Civil Aviation Noise Policy Review

The FAA has long recognized that aircraft noise is a primary and pivotal concern of many stakeholders. Through input received via a Federal Register notice on its noise research portfolio, FAA was encouraged by stakeholders to revise its policy in light of its research findings. In response to this feedback, the FAA initiated a review of the foundational elements of its Noise Policy (noise metrics and noise thresholds), which aims address four key considerations: how the FAA analyzes, explains, and publicly presents changes in noise exposure from aviation activity, how changes to the civil aviation noise policy may better inform agency decision-making, the types of impacts it considers in making decisions, and potential improvements to how the FAA analyzes, explains, and presents changes in exposure to civil aviation noise. This paper will present an overview of the FAA's rationale for and approach to the noise policy review. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the next steps FAA expects to take in the review process.

Optimizing early phase clinical trial washout periods: a report from the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma consortium.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) issued a 2021 memorandum adopting the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) task force recommendations to broaden clinical study eligibility criteria. They recommended that washout periods be eliminated for most prior cancer therapy and when required to utilize evidence- and/or rationale-based criteria. The Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma (TACL) consortium responded to this guidance. A TACL task force reviewed the consortium's research portfolio, the relevant literature and guidance documents from ASCO-Friends, NCI, and US Food and Drug Administration to make expert consensus and evidence-based recommendations for modernizing, broadening, and codifying TACL-study washout periods while ensuring consistency with pediatric ethics, and federal regulations. TACL's screening log was reviewed to estimate the impact that updated washout periods would have on patient inclusivity and recruitment. Over a 19-year period, 42 (14.6% of all screened ineligible patients [n = 287]) patients were identified as excluded from TACL early phase studies exclusively because of not meeting washout criteria. An additional 6 (2.1%) did not meet washout and at least 1 other exclusion criterion. A new TACL washout guidance document was developed and then adopted for use. Where washout criteria were not eliminated, rationale- and/or evidenced-based criteria were established with citation. In an effort to reduce unnecessary exclusion from clinical trials, TACL created rationale- and/or evidenced-based washout period standards largely following guidance from the NCI and ASCO-Friends recommendations. These new, expanded eligibility criteria are expected to increase access to TACL clinical trials while maintaining safety and scientific excellence.

Introducing the UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR) study: providing real world data on new antimicrobials to support antimicrobial stewardship and tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The UK Antimicrobial Registry (UKAR) has been developed to capture data on real world usage of antimicrobial agents with an initial focus on those used to treat drug-resistant infections. Several industry partners have committed support for the study, which is included in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolio in England with similar arrangements in the three devolved UK nations. The two antimicrobials in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) subscription model pilot (cefiderocol and ceftazidime/avibactam) are included in the UKAR and future expansion of work in this area is planned. This model decouples payment from usage by using a fixed annual fee. The study will provide information on the characteristics of patients receiving study drugs, the infections being treated, treatment effectiveness and adverse events. UKAR potentially provides a novel resource of enduring value to support healthcare in the UK and more widely and contribute to AMR National Action Plan goals for optimal use of antimicrobials.

Stopping anticoagulation for isolated or incidental pulmonary embolism: the STOPAPE RCT protocol.

Is withholding anticoagulation for patients with isolated or incidental subsegmental pulmonary embolism clinically and cost-effective compared with full anticoagulation for 3 months? There has been an increase in the diagnosis of subsegmental pulmonary embolism since the advent of computed tomography pulmonary angiogram to investigate patients with suspected pulmonary embolism. Subsegmental pulmonary embolism is not often detectable with older nuclear medicine-based diagnostic imaging for ventilation/perfusion mismatch. The case fatality of pulmonary embolism has reduced as subsegmental pulmonary embolism diagnoses from computed tomography pulmonary angiogram have increased. There is growing equipoise about the optimal treatment for patients with subsegmental pulmonary embolism, given that full anticoagulation has significant risks of bleeding and subsegmental pulmonary embolism was not often diagnosed previously with ventilation/perfusion scanning and therefore most likely left predominantly untreated prior to the introduction of computed tomography pulmonary angiogram scanning. Determine whether withholding anticoagulation for isolated or incidental subsegmental pulmonary embolism (i.e. subsegmental pulmonary embolism with no coexisting deep-vein thrombosis) reduces the harms of recurrent thromboembolism and major bleeding compared with 3 months of full anticoagulation at 3, 6 and 12 months. Determine the rate of complications of anticoagulation therapy (predominantly bleeding) in patients with isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism. Determine whether not treating isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism is acceptable to clinicians and patients. Determine the reclassification rate of subsegmental pulmonary embolism diagnoses made by general reporting radiologists when reviewed by specialist respiratory radiologists and develop a set of rules to improve general radiologists' diagnoses of subsegmental pulmonary embolism. Assess cost-effectiveness of not treating patients with isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism with anticoagulation, taking a health service perspective. Prospective individually randomised open controlled trial with blinded end-point committee assessment for outcomes, powered for non-inferiority for recurrent venous thromboembolism and for superiority for bleeding events. An internal pilot phase is included for feasibility and acceptability of no anticoagulation. We planned to recruit 1466 patients from at least 50 acute hospital sites. Allowing for a dropout rate of 15%, this would have given us 90% power to detect a reduction in major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding from 7.3% in the anticoagulation arm to 3% in the intervention arm. We were powered to determine that a strategy of no anticoagulation was non-inferior to anticoagulation with an upper margin of a 2.3% increase in recurrent venous thromboembolism from an expected rate of 2% in those who receive full anticoagulation. We also planned to undertake a study comparing acute reporting radiologists' diagnoses of subsegmental pulmonary embolism from all computed tomography pulmonary angiograms with specialist respiratory radiologists. This would have allowed us to determine safety in the pilot study (i.e. patients with pulmonary embolism that was in fact larger than subsegmental would have been identified) and develop guidance for subsegmental pulmonary embolism diagnosis for general radiologists. Patients with lived experience of thrombosis contributed to all aspects of the trial design and were part of the Trial Management Group. The STOPAPE trial was stopped prematurely due to a low recruitment rate in the wake of the COVID pandemic and prioritisation of recovery of the National Institute for Health and Care Research research portfolio. There are no outcome data available for this trial. Separate NIHR Library publications will detail the linked qualitative study examining the views of patients and clinicians around withholding anticoagulation for isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism as well as presenting all collected data of recruited patients. This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme as award number NIHR128073. A plain language summary of this research article is available on the NIHR Journals Library Website https://doi.org/10.3310/HRCW7937.

Women's rugby for all: Toward an intersectional women's rugby research agenda.

Women rugby players are participating in the sport at the highest levels to date. However, despite this increase in participation, sports sciences and sports medicine/sports physiotherapy (SEMS) research output has not mirrored this increase. Females have hormonally mediated anatomical and physiological profiles, which may have implications for rugby performance, injury risk and rehabilitation outcomes. However, hormonal fluctuations and the physiological differences between the sexes are not the only contributors to sex-related differences in the rugby experience. Rugby is a highly gendered environment, which operates within a hegemonic masculine norm and marginalises female and women athletes. Further, while women players in general are underrepresented in sports sciences and SEMS research, women rugby players and experts from ethnic minorities and the Global South are near invisible in the literature as they are marginalised on multiple fronts. Sports sciences and SEMS research should take an intersectional lens to investigate the joint relationship between the various sources of inequity in rugby. Intersectional research in women rugby players would encourage the conceptualisation and analysis of the complex social inequalities that the most marginalised women players and those who simultaneously negotiate multiple identities experience. Such data can better inform federation-level interventions and policy changes to address the needs of historically marginalised player populations as our research portfolio will be more representative of the world's rugby population.

Cracking the code: Can bibliometric attributes predict NIH R01 grant funding outcomes in gastrointestinal oncology? Exploring patterns from a five-year analysis.

9051 Background: The allocation of National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grants holds paramount importance for principal investigators in the field of scientific research. In this study, we explore the relationship between bibliometric attributes of principal investigators- specifically H-index, citations, publications, and seniority with the amount of NIH grant funding for R01 grants under gastrointestinal oncology from the fiscal years of 2018 to 2022. Understanding these interrelationships is crucial for researchers aiming to enhance their profiles to secure higher funding amounts from the NIH. Methods: The data was retrieved from the NIH RePORTER (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditure) using gastrointestinal oncology-related search terms from 2018-2022. The number of citations, publications, H-index, and seniority were obtained from Scopus. The bibliometric attributes of principal investigators were correlated with NIH grant funding amounts. Multiple regression analysis was employed to quantify the predictive power. Additionally, t-tests were performed to examine the significant differences in grant funding between high and low h-index groups. Results: A total of 1652 principal investigators who were awarded a gastrointestinal oncology related R01 grant were included in this study. The H-index consistently showcases a positive correlation with the amount of grant funding, reaching statistical significance in 2020 (H-index coefficient=1510.49, p value=0.07). Concurrently, t-tests emphasize the importance of H-index, illustrating that PI’s with high H-indexes (H-index &gt;42) secure significantly higher funding (average grant=$423,806, p=0.006 compared to those in the lower H-index group (average grant=$420,306, p=0.004). Conversely, citations showcased mixed results, with 2020 revealing a significant negative correlation (coefficient: -1.63, p= 0.04). Publications displayed a strong positive effect in 2021 (coefficient: 231.68, p value=0.10). Seniority exhibited varying impacts across years, notably a significant negative relationship in 2018 (coefficient: -3013.9, p=0.025). Conclusions: This study illuminates the complex interplay between PI’s bibliometric attributes and NIH grant funding outcomes. Notably, high h-index values consistently correlate with a higher funding amount for NIH grants. Although these insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing NIH grants, further analysis should investigate additional variables that may significantly impact NIH grant funding.