Importance of Giving

ENCOURAGING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS

Contributions from donors address the most significant problem in gastroenterology. At a time of unparalleled scientific and clinical opportunity, the entire field of gastroenterology faces a significant decline in the number of gastroenterologists entering academic research careers. Increasing support to maintain an adequate level of physician scientists is critical for the future of gastroenterology research and essential to the development of new treatments and cures for digestive diseases. The barriers to entering academic research careers are significant.

• There is a critical lack of money for entry-level researchers. Although the NIH funds a significant amount of gastroenterology research, it rarely funds young investigators working independently without a research track record.
• In the last two decades the average age at which individuals receive their first NIH grant has gone from age 37 to 42. At the same time, the proportion of academic researchers under the age of 35 who are receiving NIH support has dropped from 23 percent in 1980 to less than four percent in 2001. These startling numbers reflect a serious problem and are discouraging many young researchers from choosing academic research careers.
• Inadequate reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid, combined with managed-care constraints, are forcing the faculty of the nation’s leading academic medical centers to provide more clinical services to generate revenue, thus limiting the amount of protected time for research.
• NIH gastroenterology research funding is proportionately much smaller than for diseases with less or similar health impacts (such as HIV/AIDS or breast cancer). The primary sources for research funding in the United States (NIH, Centers for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Veterans Administration) fund less than one-in-three qualified research projects.
• Young physicians face increasingly high levels of debt upon completion of training. As a result, young faculty are leaving academic medical centers for private practice where remuneration for clinical practice is significantly better.

To ensure an adequate supply of well-trained investigators in gastroenterology and ultimately improve patient care through digestive disease research, the AGA established its Research Awards Program to encourage academic research careers in gastroenterology.

Selection of recipients for AGA Research Awards is based on the qualification of the candidate, the quality of the research proposal and the commitment of the candidate’s institution.

Members of the AGA Research Committee review grant applications and select awardees in a merit-based competitive approach. Reviewers are broadly representative of both the AGA’s diverse research mission and the most outstanding gastroenterology and hepatology programs in the United States. As world-recognized leaders in gastroenterology, they are in the best position to select the highest caliber applicants for the awards.

The importance of these Awards is evidenced by the outstanding research track record of recipients of AGA Research Awards. Over 92% of awardees have continued in academic gastroenterology research careers.