In academic medical centers across the nation, the research environment is increasingly complex. While conducting research that generates exciting discoveries can be considered a reward unto itself, department leaders have a responsibility to recognize principal investigators for exceeding expectations in their research.
In the Department of Medicine, finding appropriate ways to reward our scientists has been a multi-year process involving division directors and other key stakeholders from the school and department. The result is the DOM Research Awards Program that officially launched last year.
“We heard that our research-intensive faculty felt inadequately supported for exceeding expectations,” shares Department Chair Seth Landefeld, M.D. “We knew we needed to invest in a meaningful way to demonstrate how much we value their hard work.”
The DOM Research Awards Program allocates a percentage of the Department’s indirect cost recovery and other funds allocated by HSOM to PIs who fund more than 75% of their salary with extramural grants. The first year’s distributions for FY22 amounted to $650,000 across 60 DOM investigators.
According to Timmy Lee, M.D., DOM Vice Chair for Research and one of the recipients of a DOM Research Award, those dollars are already at work supporting new research. “We know that resources are vitally important for conducting top-tier research. We have done our best to provide the funding that keeps our research engines running and helps recognize our high-performing investigators.” In his own research, the funds enabled his lab to perform assays such single cell and spatial transcriptomics to generate preliminary data for future grant submissions, as well as training for gap year students in biomedical research related to kidney disease.
Awards for FY23 are being calculated now, with distributions expected in early 2024.
“We know that this investment will fuel even more exciting research, and we expect to see many discoveries that will advance medical science and treatment,” Landefeld says.