Using the NIH Research, Condition and Disease Categorization Database for research advocacy: Schizophrenia research at NIMH as an example

Did the human genome project affect research on Schizophrenia?

The Human Genome Project was undertaken primarily to discover genetic causes and better treatments for human diseases. Schizophrenia was targeted since three of the project`s principal architects had a personal interest and also because, based on family, adoption, and twin studies, schizophrenia was widely believed to be a genetic disorder. Extensive studies using linkage analysis, candidate genes, genome wide association studies [GWAS], copy number variants, exome sequencing and other approaches have failed to identify causal genes. Instead, they identified almost 300 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs] associated with altered risks of developing schizophrenia as well as some rare variants associated with increased risk in a small number of individuals. Risk genes play a role in the clinical expression of most diseases but do not cause the disease in the absence of other factors. Increasingly, observers question whether schizophrenia is strictly a genetic disorder. Beginning in 1996 NIMH began shifting its research resources from clinical studies to basic research based on the promise of the Human Genome Project. Consequently, three decades later NIMH's genetics investment has yielded almost nothing clinically useful for individuals currently affected. It is time to review NIMH`s schizophrenia research portfolio.

The 2010-2020 National Natural Science Foundation of China: Radiation Therapy

OBJECTIVE

This study explains the application number and funding rate of oncology projects undertaken by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), with focus on tumor radiotherapy-related research over the past 11 years.

METHODS

A stratified analysis was carried out on the application and funding status of tumor radiotherapy studies in different NSFC project categories, different research areas, and different tumor types. Research areas that required specific focus, such as immunology-related radiotherapy, multimodality imaging and radiomics, and post-radiotherapy organ injury, were separately analyzed.

RESULTS

The status and development trends of various related research fields were studied, and the research results were presented with the support of the NSFC, in order to provide reference for future applications and funding allocations.

CONCLUSION

The number of applications for funding increases every year. Although the total number of funded projects has also increased every year, the funding rate has decreased year by year. Projects on radiotherapy and immunization have been at the forefront in recent years, and the funding rate for these projects increases yearly.

An In-Depth Examination of Surgeon-Scientists' NIH-Funded Areas of Research

Background

Few studies have examined which National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutes or Centers (ICs) provide most of the funding to surgeons, nor examined the specifics of their research focus areas. A better understanding of both the goals of ICs and research focus areas for surgeons may facilitate further alignment of the two.

Methods

A previously created database of NIH-funded surgeons was queried. To understand trends in funding, total grant cost was calculated for each IC in 2010 and 2020, and distribution of IC funds to each principal investigator (PI) category (surgeons, other physicians, and PhDs without a medical degree) was compared. Finally, total cost for Research Condition and Disease Categorization (RCDC) areas funded to surgeons compared to all of NIH was calculated. Statistical analyses were performed; a two-tailed p value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded the largest percentage of all 2020 surgeon funding, 34.3% ($298.9M). Compared to the other ICs, surgeons held the largest percentage of the National Eye Institute's (NEI) total funding in 2010 and 2020 at 8.7% and 9.0%, respectively. The RCDC super category comprising the most funding for surgeons was health disparities with 14.5% of all surgeon funding, followed by neurology (13.8%) and cancer (11.4%). Surgeons were awarded 10.8% of NIH's transplant-related research, 7.0% of ophthalmology-related research, and 3.4% of cancer-related research in 2020.

Conclusions

Our study shows surgeons have positioned themselves to examine new and myriad research topics while maintaining a focus on health disparities and cancer-related research.