Background Cardiovascular research is the main shaper of clinical evidence underpinning decision making, with its cyclic progression of junior researchers to mature faculty members. Despite efforts at improving cardiovascular research training, several unmet needs persist. We aimed to appraise current perceptions on cardiovascular research training with an international survey. Methods and Results We administered a 20-closed-question survey to mentors and mentees belonging to different international institutions. A total of 247 (12%) surveys were available (out of 2,000 invitations). Overall, mentees and mentors were reasonably satisfied with the educational and research resources. Significant differences were found analyzing results according to gender, geographic area, training and full-time researcher status. Specifically, women proved significantly less satisfied than men, disclosed access to fewer resources and less support from mentors (all P<0.05). People working in institutions not located in North America or Northern/Central Europe were significantly less satisfied and disclosed much less support (both P<0.05). Those in training reported limited opportunities for collaboration (P = 0.009), and non-full-time researchers disclosed more limited access to tutors and formal grant writing training (both P<0.05). Conclusions Several potential biases appear to be present in the way training in cardiovascular research is provided worldwide, including one against women. If confirmed, these data require proactive measures to decrease discriminations and improve the cardiovascular research training quality.
Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Eleonora Lorillard Spencer Cenci Foundation, Rome, Italy;Division of Cardiology, Rivoli Hospital, Rivoli, Italy;Division of Cardiology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Division of Cardiology, University of Turin, Città Della Salute e Delle Scienze San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States of America;Department of AngioCardioNeurology, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nephrological, Anesthesiological, and Geriatric Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;Oxford Heart Centre, Oxford University Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom;Laboratory of Vascular Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Centro Cardiologico Monzino-IRCCS, Milan, Italy;Division of Cardiology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain;VCU Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States of America;Laboratory of Biosurgical Research (Alain Carpentier Foundation), Pompidou Hospital, University Paris Descartes, Paris, France;Laboratory of Biosurgical Research (Alain Carpentier Foundation), Pompidou Hospital, University Paris Descartes, Paris, France;Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy;Department of AngioCardioNeurology, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
Recommended Citation:
Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai,Enrico Cerrato,Mariangela Peruzzi,et al. An International Survey on Taking Up a Career in Cardiovascular Research: Opportunities and Biases toward Would-Be Physician-Scientists[J]. PLOS ONE,2015-01-01,10(7)