  The analysis of existing institutional research proposal databases can
provide novel insights into science funding parity. The purpose of this study
was to analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and extramural research
proposal and award rates across a medical school faculty and to determine
whether there was evidence that researchers changed their submission strategies
because of differential inequities across submission categories. The authors
performed an analysis of 14,263 biomedical research proposals with proposed
start dates between 2010-2022 from the University of Michigan Medical School,
measuring the proposal submission and award rates for each racial/ethnic group
across 4 possible submission categories (R01 & Equivalent programs, other
federal, industry, and non-profit). Biomedical researchers from different
racial/ethnic groups follow markedly different proposal submission strategies
within the University of Michigan Medical School. There is also a clear
relationship between race/ethnicity and rates of proposal award. Black/African
American and Asian researchers appear disadvantaged across all submission
categories relative to White researchers. This study can be easily replicated
by other academic research institutions, revealing opportunities for positive
intervention.
