A cross-sectional survey and analysis of Dermatology Foundation Career Development Award recipients

Background: The Dermatology Foundation (DF) has a comprehensive career development award (CDA) program. Objective: To assess the impact of this program, a cross-sectional survey of recipients receiving support between 1990 and 2012 was performed. Methods: Award recipients completed a questionnaire concerning their career status and record of research funding. To verify the self-reported funding data, information about each awardee was extracted from the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools database and used to define funding acquired by CDA recipients. Results: In all, 84% of CDA recipients responded to the survey. A total of 213 awardees (79%) hold full- or part-time positions in academic medicine. Approximately 70% of the award recipients in academic medicine have received federal research funding. The National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools database and other sources indicated that the funding acquired by CDA recipients through 2015 and 2017 amounted to approximately $365.4 million and $451.8 million, respectively. Each dollar of DF CDA funding through 2015 (ie, $36.2 million) was linked to more than $10 in grant support through 2015 and $12 through 2017. Limitations: This cross-sectional survey was retrospective and (in part) self-reported. Conclusions: The DF has succeeded in supporting the career development of basic, translational, and clinical investigators and fostered the promotion and retention of these individuals in academic medicine.