Several years ago, then-chair of the Department of Medicine Mary Klotman, MD, approached Michael “Dee” Gunn, MD, professor of medicine (Cardiology), and asked him to start a Research Development Council (RDC) to support young researchers in the department.
Based on the success of the RDC in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Klotman, now the Dean of the School of Medicine, became interested in extending the program school-wide.
A new $2.5-million award ($500,000 over five years) from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, announced June 4, will build on the RDC model to provide enhanced support to trainees and young physician-scientists across the School of Medicine. Dr. Gunn, a faculty leader on the award, says, “It’s impossible to become a good scientist without a substantial amount of guidance and mentoring and support.”
The Duke proposal was one of five that received funding with leadership from multiple departments across the School including:
- Rasheed Gbadegesin, MBBS, a professor of pediatrics and medicine (Nephrology), who will serve as principal investigator (PI) on the project;
- Michael Gunn, MD, professor of medicine (Cardiology) and immunology, and associate professor in pathology;
- Sallie Permar, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics, immunology, and molecular genetics and microbiology;
- Andrew Alspaugh, MD, professor of medicine (Infectious Diseases) and molecular genetics and microbiology;
- Gowthami Arepally, MD, professor of medicine (Hematology) and pathology;
- Gerard Blobe, MD, PhD, professor of medicine (Medical Oncology) and professor of pharmacology and cancer biology;
- Chris Kontos, MD, professor of medicine (Cardiology) and pharmacology and cancer biology, and director of the Medical Scientist Training Program;
- William Steinbach, MD, professor of pediatrics, professor in molecular genetics and microbiology, and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; and
- David Harpole, MD, professor of surgery, associate professor in pathology, and resident research director.
Additional support for the training of physician-scientists will come to the School of Medicine in the form of two Stimulating Access to Research during Residency (StARR) R38 awards from two institutes within the NIH—the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Both awards provide approximately $884,000 over five years to support dedicated research track for resident-investigators within the departments of pediatrics, medicine, and surgery.
The PIs for both awards are Sallie Permar, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics, immunology, and molecular genetics and microbiology; Scott Palmer, MD, vice-chair for research in the department of medicine and a professor of medicine and immunology; and David Harpole, MD, professor of surgery, associate professor in pathology, and resident research director.
Dean Klotman also recently announced plans to form a new Office for Physician-Scientist Development at Duke to coordinate Duke’s efforts in the recruitment, development, mentorship, and retention of physician-scientist across career levels. A search is underway for an Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Development that will be responsible for the operational and strategic oversight of these new initiatives.
Supporting Physician-Scientists
Physician-scientists bring a special and much-needed perspective to their work, but they also face particular challenges in protecting their time in the lab and securing funding. Trainees and young researchers in particular need assistance getting started and finding funding. Support for these researchers has long been a goal in the Department of Medicine.
The Department of Medicine’s RDC has three main activities: sending a weekly list of funding opportunities, reaching out to trainees and young researchers to offer support, and reviewing and critiquing grant proposals. Gunn is chair of the RDC’s basic science research effort, and Heather Whitson, MD, associate professor of medicine (Geriatrics) and ophthalmology, leads the council’s clinical research effort.
The RDC emails a weekly list of funding opportunities to 400-500 people, mostly in the School of Medicine, but also some in the School of Nursing and the Pratt School of Engineering.
Members of the council also regularly check in with young researchers in the Department to see if they are on track and whether they need guidance.
For more in-depth help, researchers can contact the RDC for a grant proposal review. Four to six months before the proposal is due, the researcher provides the RDC with a one-page list of research aims and a Power Point presentation covering an outline of their research proposal. “I put six to eight experts in a room and we spend an hour a half dissecting every aspect of their proposal,” Gunn says. “We’re very proud of our track record of getting people funded through this mechanism.” Gunn says that among those researchers working on resubmissions, scores improve on average by 20 percentage points.
The RDC does about two of these reviews a month and would like to do more. “The rate-limiting step appears to be that people are hesitant to undergo this process,” Gunn says. “No one likes criticism. But in almost 100 percent of the cases, if we make a criticism, we have suggestions as to how you fix this.”
Brent Hanks, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (Medical Oncology), participated in the RDC review after his first K08 proposal wasn’t funded. “There are certain things in grantsmanship that you’re never really truly taught,” he says. “It’s based on experience and they bring that experience to the room. Part of that is having a better understanding of the audience that’s going to be reviewing your grant and sculpting your proposal in a way that’s more conducive to your audience.” He got a perfect score on his resubmission.
Other members of the RDC include Dr. Alspaugh, Dr. Blobe, and Richard Premont, PhD, associate professor of medicine (Gastroenterology). Gunn and Whitson frequently call in others to help out. “The reviewers tend to really enjoy the process and they get a lot of satisfaction because it’s clear we really impact these awards,” Gunn said.
Soon, that kind of impact will be available to the entire School of Medicine, thanks to the BW Fund and other efforts. Gunn convened a group of faculty from multiple departments to help design The Duke Integrated MD-Scientist Development Program, and this group has also found and secured funding from NIH to support research time for residents and fellows. “We are on the lookout for opportunities--funding mechanisms and new initiatives--to support MDs across the board who want to go into research,” he said. Duke University is one of five institutions to receive such funding over the next five years.
“Duke School of Medicine continues to seek creative ways to support younger physician-scientists as they develop outstanding scientific skills within a clinical framework,” said Alspaugh. “The RDC model builds upon a long history of scientists who continuously improve their research focus through constructive feedback by peers.”
Read the School of Medicine announcement about support for Physician-Scientist Development.
This story was written by freelance writer Mary-Russell Roberson.