Postdoctoral T32 training is correlated with obtaining an academic primarily ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ faculty position.

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Abstract

The mission of NIH-sponsored institutional training programs such as the T32 is to provide strong ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ and career training for early career scientists. One of the main avenues to pursuing health-related ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ is becoming ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ faculty at an academic institution. It is therefore important to know whether these programs are succeeding in this mission, or, if barriers exist that prevent trainees from pursuing these careers. Our institution currently trains ~ 2400 post-doctoral scholars per year, approximately 5% of whom are enrolled in one of our 33 T32 programs. In this study, we 1) compare the proximal professional career trajectories of T32 trainees with non-T32 trainees at our institution, 2) compare proximal career trajectories of trainees in a subset of cardiovascular T32 programs based on their previous training backgrounds, and 3) survey past and current T32 trainees in a subset of cardiovascular T32 programs about the barriers and enablers they experienced to pursuing ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½-oriented careers. We find that former T32 trainees are significantly more likely to attain appointments as primarily ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ faculty members, compared to other trainees. Trainees report a perceived lack of stability, the paucity of open positions, and the 'publish or perish' mentality of academia as the top barriers to pursuing careers in academia. However, they were still more likely to choose ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ over clinical careers after participating in a dedicated T32 program. Our results support the conclusion that structured training programs strengthen the pipeline of young scientists pursuing careers in academic ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½, including those from underrepresented backgrounds. However, T32 postdoctoral ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ers are held back from pursuing academic careers by a perceived lack of stability and high competition for faculty positions.

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