Research forum Why apply for a Pilot Research Grant?


of inclusion and strengthen a culture of IR research. The Pilot Research Grant, which is designed to fund research in areas that promote the advancement of IR and patient care, is reserved for individuals who have not received major grant support—making it a great first step in pursuing further research.


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Elizabeth A. Ignacio, MD, FSIR, is in the process of applying for a Pilot Research Grant to help fund her research on the IR workforce. Dr. Ignacio spoke to IR Quarterly about how the Pilot grant can be used to explore different areas of research.


Tell us about your research. What are you investigating? Elizabeth A. Ignacio, MD, FSIR: I started with a simple question about the IR workforce, which, as I dug deeper, became


more complicated to answer. I was inspired by my experiences practicing in Hawaii—we have a physician shortage here, and specific geographic challenges compound the deficits. I wanted to see how we could address these deficits, as well as how to define them.


Initially, I thought it would be a straightforward project: We would take a census of physicians in an area and say, “These are the IR providers we have.” Since Hawaii is geographically isolated, I didn’t expect we would have the difficulties that arise in land-locked states where providers travel between states, or practice on borders. However, an unexpected wrinkle that arose is that those who may self-identify


24 IRQ | FALL 2022


he SIR Foundation Pilot Research Grant is at the heart of the SIR and SIR Foundation mission to promote a culture


those individuals who are performing IR procedures be included in a census on IR physicians?


SIR Foundation awards grants to


multiple scientists each year.


Since 2015, SIR Foundation has awarded….


7 Dr. Ernest J. Ring Development Grants 34 Pilot Research Grants


as an IR aren’t necessarily the same people delivering IR services in an area. You may have someone fully trained in IR who, in practice, doesn’t do many IR procedures. Or perhaps a physician only does IR part time, or they sub in when an IR is on vacation. And that’s not to mention that there are a lot of general radiologists and diagnostic radiologists who are doing IR procedures, as well as non- radiologists—vascular surgeons won’t come up in the average census, and neither will dermatologists or plastic surgeons working on malformations. NP and PAs who work with IRs also wouldn’t be included. So should all


Because we don’t want to confuse the issue, we’re seeking to define ourselves so that we can then talk about supply, demand and workforce in specific regions. Hopefully, once we have these answers, we can analyze the workforce and determine who and where the IR providers are in my state. And from there, we can investigate if the methodology we create will work in other states.


Why did you decide to apply for the Pilot Research Grant? El: Confronted with the almost philosophical question of “who is an IR provider?” I went to SIR, who has been investigating and expanding on this and related questions. SIR has so many champions and information resources, and as I asked these questions and spoke to other IR colleagues, I was encouraged to pursue this analysis further and apply for the support of a SIR Foundation grant.


What impact do you think the Pilot Research Grant would have on your research? El: The grant impact would be twofold. The first is, obviously, the funding. I had anticipated that this project could be done by myself and a medical student, but as it has grown, I’ve realized that funding would be crucial for things like accessing claims databases, hiring researchers and paying for the extension and expansion of multiple statistical analyses that will be necessary.


Secondly—and in some ways, more importantly—just the act of receiving a grant reflects interest and support. Whether you’re being granted $5 or $5 million, receiving a grant injects forward momentum and positivity, indicates an


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