# Peer Mentoring to Overcome Obstacles for Midcareer Women Clincian-Scientists in Academic Medicine

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $241,879

## Abstract

Abstract
Despite long-standing gender parity in the number of medical students, women remain underrepresented in the
senior ranks of the physician-scientist workforce, and research suggests that the mid-career transition is a
point at which many careers stall. Research is needed to identify effective, scalable interventions to promote
the careers of female physician-scientists throughout the career cycle, and particularly at the mid-career stage
when they are positioned to ascend to senior leadership. We previously generated actionable insights by
investigating the early career experiences of a national cohort of highly apt, research-oriented faculty members
with clinical doctorates: recipients of NIH K08 and K23 career development awards. This cohort has been
uniquely informative given its relative homogeneity in terms of high aptitude and motivation to pursue careers
as clinician-researchers and the resources initially invested in supporting their advancement to independence.
Ten years after our original study, we now propose to evaluate the impact of an intervention for women in this
national K-awardee cohort as its members enter mid-career, a time when individuals begin to gain resources
and influence in the form of endowed professorships, honorary society participation, and leadership positions.
Although there is strong evidence to suggest a need for an intervention to promote women’s careers in
biomedical research and some evidence to inform intervention design, we propose a brief period of
observational research to optimize the intervention for this particular mid-career cohort, who reached this
critical transition point just as the #metoo movement and potential backlash (including possible withholding of
sponsorship by senior men) developed. Therefore, in our first two aims, we propose survey and qualitative
methods to illuminate the mechanisms driving differences in career outcomes by gender in the post-#metoo
era and to explore the impact of the intersection of gender with other categories of disadvantage such as race
or sexual orientation, in order to inform the final design of our intervention. In our third aim, which is the primary
focus of the grant, we will implement and evaluate a peer mentorship intervention designed to mitigate the
differential challenges faced by women as they navigate the transition to senior leadership. We will compare
outcomes, including career advancement, productivity, and burnout among women randomized to either a
control arm provided with curricular materials or an intervention arm provided with the same materials but also
engaged in peer mentorship teams modeled on the Leadership Learning Model Framework developed for the
Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program, which is partnering with us in this work. This study will
be the first to test a readily scalable peer mentorship intervention that targets individuals at the critical mid-
career transition to senior leadership in biomedical research ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10691288
- **Project number:** 5R01GM139842-05
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Reshma Jagsi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $241,879
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-21 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10691288

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10691288, Peer Mentoring to Overcome Obstacles for Midcareer Women Clincian-Scientists in Academic Medicine (5R01GM139842-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10691288. Licensed CC0.

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