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Nearly two years after COVID-19 was first reported in the United States, the ripple effects of the pandemic are disrupting biomedical research, particularly among young scientists who are reconsidering their career choices as they try to cope with expanded family caregiving responsibilities due to the disease.
为了解决这个问题, the COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists (FRCS) competition has awarded 大发娱乐 a two-year, $500,000 grant to help retain 10 early-career scientists and revitalize their research while allowing them to tend to the needs of their families.
U of U Health has committed matching funds in support of another eight awards—four awards through contributions from the School of Medicine and four through the Department of Internal Medicine.
“对于早期职业科学家来说, 尤其是女性和有色人种, the first few years in their research careers are very challenging,” 安吉拉·法格林博士.D., professor and chair in the Department of Population Health Sciences, 谁与谁共同领导犹他州的COVID-19 FRCS 迈克尔一个. 鲁宾,米.D., Ph.D., vice chair for Faculty Affairs and Development at Department of Internal Medicine. "The COVID-19 pandemic has just served to worsen that situation."
"A lot of these scientists haven't been able to do their typical amount of research in the past two years because of the additional strains of having to devote much of their time to caring for themselves and others,法格林说. “希望这个项目能大发娱乐他们弥补失去的时间."
Each of the U of U Health early-career scientists selected will receive about $50,000 to assist their quest to advance science while coping with family issues that arose during the pandemic. This support includes hiring "extra hands" such as adding administrative personnel, 统计学家, 和技术人员在他们的实验室工作.
"Too many people are leaving the workforce or seeing their progress slow to a halt because of the pandemic,鲁本说. "These funds will help prevent faculty from falling too far behind while still allowing them to attend to their family responsibilities."
U of U Health is one of 22 medical schools nationwide to receive a portion of the $12.为这项工作拨款100万美元. The institutions were chosen to implement COVID-19 FRCS because of their strong body of research, aggressive efforts to provide a more equitable and inclusive environment for faculty and students, 并承诺进一步推进这些努力.
在整个工作队伍中, the pandemic has exacerbated the caregiving demands often borne disproportionately by women and people of color. 科学受到的打击尤其严重, putting at risk decades of gain in greater representation of women in the early ranks of these fields, 根据美国国家科学院的一份报告, 工程, 和医学.
甚至在大流行之前, studies suggested that family caregiving challenges were a likely contributor to the loss of more than 40% of early-career physician-faculty members at academic medical schools within 10 years. COVID-19 has only worsened this attrition and decimated research productivity.
美国国家科学院对女教师的一项调查发现, 由于COVID-19, 58% of respondents were shouldering a majority of child and elder care responsibilities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that researchers of color have also been more deeply affected by such demands.
"We've been trying for years to get more women into science,法格林说. "Unless something is done to help balance their caregiving needs with their research obligations during this pandemic, we could lose up to four generations of talented women scientists in the coming years. 这将是一个重大挫折."
COVID-19 FRCS builds on the promising outcomes of a similar initiative launched in 2015 by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
“作为一个综合性的学术医疗中心, we are defined by the individual people who form our community,克里斯托弗·希尔说, Ph.D.uu Health负责研究的副院长. "I am delighted that this prestigious award will augment our institutional commitment to supporting a diverse and inclusive cadre of researchers that have been impacted by the challenges of COVID."
COVID-19 FRCS at U of U Health is supported by the American Heart Association in conjunction with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, 巴勒斯惠康基金, 约翰·邓普顿基金会, 丽塔·艾伦基金会, 和瓦德基金会. The program is designed to promote policies, practices, and processes at U.S. medical schools that advance research productivity and retention of early-career faculty during the pandemic.
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大发娱乐 provides leading-edge and compassionate care for a referral area that encompasses 10 percent of the US, 包括爱达荷州, 怀俄明, 蒙大拿, 以及内华达州的大部分地区. A hub for health sciences research and education in the region, U of U Health touts a $428 million research enterprise and trains the majority of Utah's physicians, 包括1个以上,每年在其卫生学院大发娱乐提供460名卫生保健大发娱乐提供者, 护理, 药学和牙科医学院. With more than 20,000 employees, the system includes 12 community clinics and five hospitals. 连续11年, U of U Health has ranked among the top 10 US academic medical centers in the rigorous Vizient Quality and Accountability Study.