Beck I T, Depew W T
Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
Clin Invest Med. 2001 Feb;24(1):44-53.
The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) is committed to fostering the development of future Canadian investigators. Up to 1986, research fellowship support was obtained from the Medical Research Council (MRC) of Canada. Since that time, several peer-reviewed, industry-sponsored, CAG-supported research fellowships and a variety of independently funded awards have augmented this effort. In the same period, peer-reviewed operating grants (OGs) from the MRC and other agencies have been constrained. The aim of this study was to determine the success of CAG, MRC or any other Canadian research fellowships in the development of career investigators in digestive sciences and to identify factors influencing the outcomes of such training.
MRC records and the minutes of CAG annual meetings were reviewed to identify research fellowship support. Canadian program directors were requested to list research fellows affiliated with their groups between 1986 and 1997. Only fellowships providing at least 1 year of training were included. A 7-page questionnaire detailing biographic characteristics, the site and duration, and specific issues related to the quality of research training was sent to identified trainees. Significant associations between success in achieving an academic appointment or OG support and several variables of training were identified.
Eighty-six research fellows were trained. Responses were obtained from 43 of them. The demographic characteristics of the whole group and the respondents were similar. Of the respondents, 81% of trainees obtained academic appointments. Fellowships longer than 1 year were associated with higher rates of academic posting, and MRC-funded fellows had greater success rates of academic appointments. Of eligible trainees 63% have obtained OG support. None of the other variables examined predicted success. Of the trainees responding, 85% valued the fellowship very highly.
The establishment of the additional research fellowships has fostered the development of career investigators in digestive sciences. The high success rate of former trainees in obtaining academic appointments and OG support suggests that the fellowship programs are effective and appropriately oriented. The structure of the current programs does not require substantial revision. OG support for new investigators appears now to lag substantially.
加拿大胃肠病学协会（CAG）致力于促进加拿大未来研究人员的发展。直到1986年，研究奖学金支持由加拿大医学研究理事会（MRC）提供。自那时以来，几项经过同行评审、行业资助、CAG支持的研究奖学金以及各种独立资助的奖项增加了这方面的努力。同一时期，MRC和其他机构的同行评审运营补助金（OGs）受到限制。本研究的目的是确定CAG、MRC或任何其他加拿大研究奖学金在培养消化科学领域职业研究人员方面的成效，并确定影响此类培训结果的因素。
查阅MRC记录和CAG年会会议记录以确定研究奖学金支持情况。要求加拿大项目主任列出1986年至1997年间与其团队相关的研究人员。仅纳入提供至少1年培训的奖学金。向确定的学员发送了一份7页的问卷，详细列出个人特征、地点和时长以及与研究培训质量相关的具体问题。确定了获得学术职位或OG支持的成功与几个培训变量之间的显著关联。
培训了86名研究人员。其中43人回复了问卷。整个群体和回复者的人口统计学特征相似。在回复者中，81%的学员获得了学术职位。超过1年的奖学金与更高的学术职位获得率相关，由MRC资助的学员获得学术职位的成功率更高。符合条件的学员中有63%获得了OG支持。所检查的其他变量均未预测到成功情况。在回复的学员中，85%对该奖学金评价很高。
增设的研究奖学金促进了消化科学领域职业研究人员的发展。前学员在获得学术职位和OG支持方面的高成功率表明奖学金项目是有效的且方向正确。当前项目的结构无需大幅修订。新研究人员的OG支持目前似乎大幅滞后。
