MGH research award helps women establish scientif...( A program that provides modest researc...),Health

A program that provides modest research funding to women initiating careers in medical research has produced significant results in helping recipients both stay in academic research and establish groundwork for securing future research funding. In the Feb. 27 Archives of Internal Medicine, a team from the Office of Womens Careers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reports on the first nine years of the program, which provides competitive, two-year grants to women junior researchers who also have responsibility for the care of young children.

Among the reports findings are that 90 percent of the recipients have remained at the MGH, and more than half have received academic promotions at Harvard Medical School (HMS), an accomplishment that relies heavily on research productivity. A survey of recipients from the first seven years revealed that subsequent funding from sources such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) exceeded the cost of the award program more than twentyfold.

"These findings suggest that even limited bridge funding during particularly vulnerable years of womens careers can help them stay in academic medicine and enjoy future research success," says Nancy Tarbell, MD, director of the Center for Faculty Development and the Office of Womens Careers at MGH, the papers senior author. "This program was a bold initiative to support women faculty, and its success speaks volumes about the MGHs leadership in this critical issue"

The program is named the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards in recognition of Jane Claflin, a longtime supporter of the MGH who has served as a volunteer, trustee, and fundraiser. She led the hospitals Women in Academic Medicine Committee from 1993 to 1997 and continues as the groups co-chair. Established in 1997, the Claflin Awards provide funding to women physicians and scientists at the MGH who are within seven years of their first faculty appointment and responsible for the care o
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Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
26-Feb-2007