健康英语新闻:Study shows blacks win fewer U.S. health research grants

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Black scientists were significantly less likely than their white counterparts to receive research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to an analysis of data from 2000 to 2006.

University of Kansas Professor of Economics Donna Ginther was the lead author on the study commissioned by the NIH, which will appear Friday in journal Science.

The researchers found a 10 percentage point gap in research funding -- even after taking into consideration demographics, education and training, employer characteristics, NIH experience and research productivity. For example, for every 100 grants submitted to NIH, 30 grants from white applicants were funded, compared to 20 grants for black applicants.

Applications for NIH funding go through peer review that considers the significance, innovation and approach of grant applications, the investigator(s) and the research environment. About half of the applications are determined to be worth scoring. Among those scored, budgets and NIH Institutes priorities determine which applications are funded. Priorities can vary by year and by Institute.

The study found that applications from black researchers were less likely to be scored and on average had worse scores. After controlling for the score of the grant, there were no race or ethnicity differences in funding.

Applicants self-identify race, ethnicity and gender, but that information is not available during the peer review. However, biographical facts that are included in the review materials can provide clues to the identity of the applicants.

The research suggests it is possible that cumulative advantage may explain the funding differences.

"Small differences in access to research resources and mentoring during training or at the beginning of a career may accumulate to become large between-group differences," the paper says.

Additionally, the paper suggests further research is needed to determine why black researchers are less likely to be funded.

NIH Director Francis Collins and Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak call the findings unacceptable and commit to immediate action by the NIH.

"NIH commissioned this study because we want to learn more about the challenges facing the scientific community and address them head on. The results of this study are disturbing and disheartening, and we are committed to taking action," said Collins in an accompanying commentary. "The strength of the U.S. scientific enterprise depends upon our ability to recruit and retain the brightest minds, regardless of race or ethnicity. This study shows that we still have a long way to go."

NIH initiated the study in 2008 to determine if researchers of different races and ethnicities with similar research records and affiliations had similar likelihoods of being awarded a new NIH research project grant.