NIH F32 Grants Boost Early-Career Researchers’ Success

F32 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) help early-career physician-scientists launch research careers, according to an analysis.¹ Of 735 trainees studied, 36% went on to receive additional NIH K awards, generating thousands of publications that advance patient-centered biomedical discoveries.

The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.²

“It is becoming more and more difficult for young researchers to obtain NIH grant funding,” said Adishesh K. Narahari, MD, PhD, surgery resident, University of Virginia School of Medicine, and one of the study’s authors, in a statement.¹ “Given increasing demands in the clinical world and limited time, physician-scientists may continue to face challenges in establishing a research program, especially early in their career. We need to support physicians who are pursuing science and are beginning their careers, or we may lose out on key biomedical discoveries. Without early career funding, many physicians may abandon science in pursuit of clinical medicine, therefore greatly decreasing the diversity, talent and ideas in the next generation of physician-scientists.”

The NIH F32 National Research Service Award is a postdoctoral fellowship that provides support for up to 3 years to early-career researchers.³ The fellowship is intended to help trainees develop the skills and experience needed for independent research by offering mentorship, career development resources, and institutional support. Applicants must hold a doctoral-level degree and be US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents. The F32 is focused on research training rather than clinical residency, enabling recipients to spend full time on research while participating in clinical trials under a sponsor when appropriate. The program typically encourages training in new settings to broaden scientific knowledge and technical expertise.

The study examined NIH F32 grants awarded to internal medicine trainees over more than 30 years to understand their role in fostering independent research careers and the likelihood of recipients obtaining subsequent K awards.² Using the NIH RePORTER database, researchers identified F32 awards to internal medicine physicians and collected information on awardee specialty and gender from institutional websites, Doximity, and LinkedIn.

RePORTER was also used to track subsequent K awards and gather grant details, including funding institute, start and end dates, total funding, and linked publications. Publications were categorized as human/clinical, animal, or molecular/cellular using the NIH iCite tool, and overall funding success rates were calculated using the NIH Data Book.

The analysis of NIH F32 grants awarded to internal medicine trainees between 1989 and 2021 found that nearly $62 million in funding supported 735 recipients, resulting in over 1750 scientific publications. About one-third (35.6%) of recipients went on to receive NIH K awards, totaling $168 million in additional research funding and generating more than 3000 further publications.

Pulmonary and critical care trainees had the highest conversion to K awards (43%), followed by nephrology (38%) and cardiology (23%). Although these rates may seem modest, they notably exceed the 7.5% conversion rate seen among surgery residents and reflect differences in academic career trajectories among specialties, highlighting both the impact of F32 funding on advancing biomedical research and the challenges early-career physician-scientists face in sustaining research programs.

“As NIH funding comes under more scrutiny, it is important to realize that funding trainees can often lead to further studies and the basis for other research scientists,” said Neeral L. Shah, MD, professor of medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, and one of the study’s authors, in the statement. “As evidenced by the number of downstream citations, people around the country and world depend on our young research scientists to bring novel ideas that can result in life-saving treatments. It is a great accomplishment to receive these grants, but we must find ways to increase funding to our talented physician-scientists through the NIH and not decrease it. This would allow trainees to establish research programs and make biomedical breakthroughs or provide studies that may one day help every one of us or people we care about.”

References

1. Analysis reveals return on investment from NIH funding. UVA Health. News release. November 12, 2025. Accessed November 12, 2025

2. Horgan TM, Chandrabhatla AS, Fronk ED, et al. A 30-year analysis of National Institutes of Health F32 grants to internal medicine trainees. Ann Intern Med. doi:10.7326/ANNALS-24-03445

3. Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32). NIH. Accessed November 12, 2025. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/training/ruth-l-kirschstein-national-research-service-award-individual-postdoctoral-fellowship-