Outcomes from the Research Conducted with CBCRP Funds
Standard indicators of scientific productivity include quantity and quality of publications produced from the research, citations of the work in peer-reviewed journals, patents that result from the research, and awards won. For the purposes of this study, we collected the number of publications, presentations and patents that resulted, at least in part, from the CBCRP-funded research. The respondents reported a total of 108 publications, 78 presentations, and four patents that were at least partially funded by the CBCRP fellowship. See table 2 for more information about publications resulting from CBCRP funded postdoctoral research. Additionally, we were also interested in whether or not any respondents won awards or honors for the research they did as CBCRP postdoctoral scholars. We found that seven of the respondents won a total of nine awards. Additionally, three of these respondents were awarded a CBCRP Cornelius J. Hopper Scientific Achievement Award.
|
# of Publications at Least Partially Supported by CBCRP Fellowship Award |
Range per Respondent |
Average per Respondent |
% of Respondents Who Have Published at Least 1 Paper |
|
108 |
010 |
2.8 |
82% |
Obtaining Additional Funds for Breast Cancer Research
The CBCRP postdoctoral fellowship awards are meant to help new investigators begin independent careers in breast cancer research. For many of our respondents, the CBCRP fellowship was the first grant they served as the principal investigator. One essential aspect of an independent career is the ability to obtain on-going funding. CBCRP is particularly interested in whether or not our grantees were able to obtain additional funds for breast cancer research as a result of the research they conducted with CBCRP funds. Has CBCRP helped grantees to obtain additional funds for breast cancer research?
In order to answer this question, we asked each respondent if they have received funding for subsequent grants based on their CBCRP funded research. Realizing that some of our postdocs are not yet in a position to be principal investigators on grants, we also asked if the research they did with CBCRP funds helped their mentor or other colleagues to obtain additional funding for breast cancer research. We found that CBCRP-funded research has helped 31 of the 39 (80%) postdocs and/or their colleagues obtain additional funds for breast cancer research. In all, postdoctoral fellowship awardees reported that 51 grants totaling over $36 million were obtained as a result of the work performed during the CBCRP-funded fellowship. Furthermore, 19 of the 39 (49%) respondents have obtained over $8 million for breast cancer research where they are the primary recipient or principal investigator (see table 3).
One way of considering whether or not CBCRP has made an worthwhile investment in the postdoctoral fellowship program is to consider the amount of funds obtained by postdocs and/or their colleagues and divide it by the amount of money CBCRP invested in the postdoctoral awards during the first four cycles. When we do this, we learn that:
- For every $1 CBCRP invested in postdocs during Cycles I-IV, respondents and their colleagues have obtained over $12 for breast cancer research from various funders.
- For every $1 CBCRP invested in postdocs during Cycles I-IV, respondents have obtained almost $2 in additional funds for breast cancer research from other funders besides CBCRP.
- For every $1 CBCRP invested in postdocs during Cycles I-IV, respondents have obtained almost $1 in additional funding for breast cancer research from CBCRP.
- For every $1 CBCRP invested in postdocs during Cycles I-IV, respondents' mentors/colleagues have obtained more than $9.50 in additional funds.
|
|
TOTAL IN FUNDS |
TOTAL IN NUMBERS |
|
OVERALL |
$36,117,818 |
31 people/51 grants |
|
Postdoc PI: |
$2,804,452 |
8 people/11 grants |
|
Mentor/Colleagues: |
$1,344,836 |
4 people/4 grants |
