Final Career Stage Analyses of Applications Submitted During the Pandemic (Part 7)

The HHS-declared public health emergency for COVID-19 ended on May 11, 2023 (NOT-OD-23-095). With this milestone, we are also closing out our series of blogs on the distributions of gender and race of designated principal investigators (PIs) of R01 and RPG applications submitted before and after the onset of the pandemic. This final post builds on previous career stage analyses, specifically focusing on applications received between September 8 and May 7 over several consecutive years.

Our first four analyses (from April 2022, October 2021, June 2021, and July 2020) did not show any marked changes in the high-level demographics of designated principal investigators. The most recent analyses, which focused on understanding the gender distribution by career stage (reported in June 2022 and October 2022), did show that the proportion of applications designating either female or underrepresented minority early stage investigators (ESIs) increased over the assessed time periods.

R01-equivalent applications received between January 8 and May 7 (Table 1) and September 8 and January 7 (Table 2) are shown according to career stage. The data include both Type 1 new applications (de novo) and Type 2 renewal applications. Please also note that these data are drawn as of May 31, 2023, and may be subject to change.

Though the overall numbers received in 2022 was less than 2021, we did see a modest rebound in the number of applications in the most recent timeframe. The proportion of applications designating ESI PIs continued to trend higher than the earliest timeframe assessed, whereas the contrary was seen for other new investigators not identified as an ESI.

Table 1: R01-equivalent applications by Career Stage received between January 8 and May 7 in 7 consecutive years

Year	Number	ESI (%)	NI Non-ESI (%)	Experienced (%)
2017	11331	12.7	14.9	72.3
2018	12322	13.4	15.3	71.3
2019	12430	13	14.8	72.2
2020	12091	13.9	13.3	72.8
2021	12543	15.2	13.1	71.7
2022	11857	14.5	12.5	73.1
2023	12119	13.6	13	73.4

Table 2: R01-equivalent applications by Career Stage received between September 8 and January 7 in 6 consecutive years

Year	Number	ESI (%)	NI Non-ESI (%)	Experienced (%)
2017/2018	13437	17.5	15.4	67.1
2018/2019	13578	18.2	14.4	67.4
2019/2020	13391	17.3	14.2	68.5
2020/2021	14666	16.6	14.3	69.1
2021/2022	12984	17.6	12.9	69.5
2022/2023	13058	18.4	12.3	69.3

Let’s now focus on ESIs. All the demographic data used in these analyses were self-reported. Also, the remaining data in this post represent only Type 1 R01-equivalent applications. When reviewing the data, please keep the following in mind:

• We use the White House’s Office of Management and Budget Minimum Standards for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data (see also this Nexus article for more).
• These demographic data are used for statistical purposes only and not linked to consideration of funding of individual grant applications.

The proportion of applications that designated only male ESIs continued to decrease over the assessed time, while those designating only female ESIs generally increased. Multi-PI applications designating both male and female PIs were generally stable, while applications from PIs whose sex/gender is unknown trended upward.

Table 3: Type 1 R01-equivalent ESI applications by gender received between January 8 and May 7 in 7 consecutive years

Year	Number	All Men (%)		All Women (%)	Both (%)	Unknown (%)
2017	1440	55.6	39.3		2.6	2.5
2018	1651	54.4	40.4		2.6	2.6
2019	1617	53.7	41.4		1.8	3.1
2020	1680	51.4	42.7		2.5	3.4
2021	1900	51.5	41.6		3.2	3.7
2022	1713	49.6	43.6		3	3.7
2023	1647	48	44.3		2.8	5

Table 4: Type 1 R01-equivalent ESI applications by gender received between September 8 and January 7 in 6 consecutive years

Year	Number	All Men(%)	All Women(%)	Both(%)	Unknown(%)
2017/2018	2349	55.9	39.2	2	3
2018/2019	2466	57.3	37.8	1.3	3.6
2019/2020	2320	54	41.4	1.6	3.1
2020/2021	2431	52.3	41.6	1.7	4.3
2021/2022	2286	49.1	43.5	2.4	4.9
2022/2023	2406	51.5	42.2	2.2	4.1

Tables 5 and 6 continue to show a general increase in the proportions of applications designating all underrepresented minority (URM) researchers. The proportion of applications from non-URM ESIs generally decreased over time. 

Table 5: Type 1 R01-equivalent ESI applications by URM received between January 8 and May 7 in 7 consecutive years

Year	Number	All URM1 (%)	All Not URM2 (%)	Other3 (%)
2017	1440	7.7	81	11.2
2018	1651	8.1	81.8	10.2
2019	1617	8.1	81.4	10.5
2020	1680	8	80.1	11.9
2021	1900	9.2	77.8	12.9
2022	1713	9	79.7	11.3
2023	1647	9.8	77.2	12.9

¹ URM includes Black, American Indian, and Pacific Islander Race or Hispanic Ethnicity. All principal investigators had to be a URM.  

² Non-URM includes White or Asian Race and Non-Hispanic Ethnicity. All principal investigators had to be a Non-URM.

³ For “Non-URM Only,’ All other combinations including those with unknown/withheld race or ethnicity are considered as “Other.”

Table 6: Type 1 R01-equivalent ESI applications by URM received between September 8 and January 7 in 6 consecutive years

Year	Number	All URM (%)	All Not URM (%)	Other (%)
2017/2018	2349	7.7	81.4	10.9
2018/2019	2466	8.6	79.4	12
2019/2020	2320	8.6	80.1	11.3
2020/2021	2431	7.8	80.6	11.6
2021/2022	2286	9.2	77.8	13
2022/2023	2406	11.1	77.2	11.7

We are pleased to see that, generally speaking, the proportions of applications from female or URM ESIs continued to increase during the public health emergency. As we move forward, we will continue assessing various aspects of the research workforce, including any possible lingering effects the pandemic may have caused.

I am grateful to colleagues in the NIH Office of Extramural Research’s Division of Statistical Analysis and Reporting for help with these analyses.