Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Roadmap
  • Published:

A roadmap of strategies to support cardiovascular researchers: from policy to practice

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 19, pages 765–777 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiovascular research has therefore never been more crucial. Cardiovascular researchers must be provided with a research environment that enables them to perform at their highest level, maximizing their opportunities to work effectively with key stakeholders to address this global issue. At present, cardiovascular researchers face a range of challenges and barriers, including a decline in funding, job insecurity and a lack of diversity at senior leadership levels. Indeed, many cardiovascular researchers, particularly women, have considered leaving the sector, highlighting a crucial need to develop strategies to support and retain researchers working in the cardiovascular field. In this Roadmap article, we present solutions to problems relevant to cardiovascular researchers worldwide that are broadly classified across three key areas: capacity building, research funding and fostering diversity and equity. This Roadmap provides opportunities for research institutions, as well as governments and funding bodies, to implement changes from policy to practice, to address the most important factors restricting the career progression of cardiovascular researchers.

Key points

  • Diversity is key to innovation, but the current system and culture of the cardiovascular research sector are driving researchers, particularly those from under-represented groups, out of the sector.

  • Our team conducted research to identify the key short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to addressing issues faced by early-career and mid-career researchers, focusing on three key areas: capacity building, research funding and fostering diversity and equity.

  • Capacity building needs to support collaboration and team-based research, improve and incentivize mentorship, and provide training to cardiovascular researchers to develop management, financial and communication skills.

  • Research funding needs to be used to improve job security and the assessment of career disruptions and opportunities and to support early-career and mid-career cardiovascular researchers to prepare for leadership roles.

  • To improve diversity and equity in cardiovascular research, working parents, women and individuals from other under-represented groups need additional support.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: The current reality and future goals of the cardiovascular research sector.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Roth, G. A. et al. Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: update From the GBD 2019 Study. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 76, 2982–3021 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Hewlett, S. A., Marshall, M. & Sherbin, L. How diversity can drive innovation. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation? (2013).

  3. Schnabel, R. B. & Benjamin, E. J. Diversity 4.0 in the cardiovascular health-care workforce. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 17, 751–753 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Capers, Q. T., Johnson, A., Berlacher, K. & Douglas, P. S. The urgent and ongoing need for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the cardiology workforce in the United States. J. Am. Heart Assoc. 10, e018893 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Climie, R. E. et al. Lack of strategic funding and long-term job security threaten to have profound effects on cardiovascular researcher retention in Australia. Heart Lung Circ. 29, 1588–1595 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Garcia-Dorado, D. Insufficient cardiovascular research & development funding. Eur. Heart J. 38, 10–11 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Nicholls, M. Funding of cardiovascular research in the USA: Robert Califf and Peter Libby – speak about cardiovascular research funding in the United States and what the latest trends are with Mark Nicholls. Eur. Heart J. 39, 3629–3631 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Nicholls, M. Funding cardiovascular research in Europe. Eur. Heart J. 40, 80–82 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Fye, W. B. Cardiology’s workforce shortage: implications for patient care and research. Circulation 109, 813–816 (2004).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Narang, A. et al. The supply and demand of the cardiovascular workforce: striking the right balance. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 68, 1680–1689 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Milojevic, S., Radicchi, F. & Walsh, J. P. Changing demographics of scientific careers: the rise of the temporary workforce. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 12616–12623 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Wellcome Trust. What researchers think about the culture they work in (Wellcome, 2020).

  13. Muric, G., Lerman, K. & Ferrara, E. Gender disparity in the authorship of biomedical research publications during the COVID-19 pandemic: retrospective observational study. J. Med. Internet Res. 23, e2537 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Staniscuaski, F. et al. Gender, race and parenthood impact academic productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic: from survey to action. Front. Psychol. 12, 663252 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Cook, I. Who is driving the great resignation? Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation (2021).

  16. Malekzadeh, A., Michels, K., Wolfman, C., Anand, N. & Sturke, R. Strengthening research capacity in LMICs to address the global NCD burden. Glob. Health Action. 13, 1846904 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Thomas, E. E. et al. Strategies to support early- and mid-career cardiovascular researchers to thrive. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.06.22270563 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Bloomfield, G. S. et al. Training and capacity building in LMIC for research in heart and lung diseases: the NHLBI–UnitedHealth Global Health Centers of Excellence program. Glob. Heart 11, 17–25 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. American Heart Association. Council hypertension trainee advocacy resources. Professional Heart Daily https://professional.heart.org/en/partners/scientific-councils/hypertension/trainee-advocacy-resources (2022).

  20. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Global cardiovascular research funders forum. NHLBI https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/global-cardiovascular-research (2021).

  21. National Institutes of Health. Early stage investigator policies. Grants and Funding https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-stage/index.htm (2019).

  22. Fitzsimons, D. Patient engagement at the heart of all European Society of Cardiology activities. Cardiovasc. Res. 115, e99–e101 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Vandigo, J. et al. Continuous patient engagement in cardiovascular disease clinical comparative effectiveness research. Expert Rev. Pharmacoecon. Outcomes Res. 16, 193–198 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Shilton, T., Champagne, B., Blanchard, C., Ibarra, L. & Kasesmup, V. Towards a global framework for capacity building for non-communicable disease advocacy in low- and middle-income countries. Glob. Health Promot. 20, 6–19 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Fordyce, C. B. et al. Cardiovascular drug development: is it dead or just hibernating? J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 65, 1567–1582 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Schwartz, D. University-industry collaborations aspire to pharmaceutical innovation. Tech Transfer Central https://techtransfercentral.com/staged.techtransfercentral.com/2017/02/21/university-industry-collaborations-aspire-to-pharmaceutical-innovation/ (2017).

  27. Novo Nordisk Global. Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford (NNRCO). Novo Nordisk https://www.novonordisk.com/science-and-technology/research-and-technology-centres/oxford-research-centre.html (2022).

  28. AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca in Cambridge. AstraZeneca https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-company/our-locations/cambridge.html (2021).

  29. Venkatasubramanian, K. V. India promotes industry-academia R&D collaborations. CEN Glob. Enterp. 95, 15 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Noormahomed, E. et al. The evolution of mentorship capacity development in low- and middle-income countries: case studies from Peru, Kenya, India, and Mozambique. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 100, 29–35 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Gandhi, M. et al. Mentoring the mentors: implementation and evaluation of four Fogarty-sponsored mentoring training workshops in low-and middle-income countries. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 100, 20–28 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Sharma, G., Narula, N., Ansari-Ramandi, M. M. & Mouyis, K. The importance of mentorship and sponsorship: tips for fellows-in-training and early career cardiologists. JACC Case Rep. 1, 232–234 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Ayyala, M. S. et al. Mentorship is not enough: exploring sponsorship and its role in career advancement in academic medicine. Acad. Med. 94, 94–100 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Patton, E. W. et al. Differences in mentor-mentee sponsorship in male vs female recipients of National Institutes of Health grants. JAMA Intern. Med. 177, 580–582 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. American Heart Association. Mentoring for professionals. Prefessional Heart Daily https://professional.heart.org/en/partners/mentoring-for-professionals (2022).

  36. International Society of Hypertension. Mentorship. ISH https://ish-world.com/mentorship/ (2021).

  37. Figtree, G., Doyle, K., Hsu, M. P. & Freedman, B. The Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA). Eur. Heart J. 42, 8–10 (2021).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Cole, D. C. et al. Mentoring health researchers globally: diverse experiences, programmes, challenges and responses. Glob. Public Health 11, 1093–1108 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Chi, B. H. et al. Evaluating academic mentorship programs in low- and middle-income country institutions: proposed framework and metrics. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 100, 36–41 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Van Noorden, R. Some hard numbers on science’s leadership problems. Nature 557, 294–296 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Nabel, E. G., Stevens, S. & Smith, R. Combating chronic disease in developing countries. Lancet 373, 2004–2006 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. UnitedHealth Group/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Centres of Excellence. A global research network for non-communicable diseases. Lancet 383, 1446–1447 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. World Heart Federation. Emerging leaders programme. WHF https://world-heart-federation.org/emerging-leaders/ (2021).

  44. Geerts, J. M., Goodall, A. H. & Agius, S. Evidence-based leadership development for physicians: a systematic literature review. Soc. Sci. Med. 246, 112709 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Collins, F. New NIH approach to grant funding aimed at optimizing stewardship of taxpayer dollars. NIH https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/new-nih-approach-grant-funding-aimed-optimizing-stewardship-taxpayer-dollars (2017).

  46. Levitt, M. & Levitt, J. M. Future of fundamental discovery in US biomedical research. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 6498–6503 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Deloitte Access Economics. Australia’s health and medical research workforce: expert people providing exceptional returns (Deloitte, 2016).

  48. de Oliveira, C. et al. Estimating the payoffs from cardiovascular disease research in Canada: an economic analysis. CMAJ Open 1, E83–E90 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Richards, G. C. et al. Challenges facing early-career and mid-career researchers: potential solutions to safeguard the future of evidence-based medicine. BMJ Evid. Based Med. 26, 8–11 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Woolston, C. Work environment: when labs go bad. Nature 525, 413–415 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Kruger, R. et al. Highlights from the International Society of Hypertension’s New Investigators Network during 2019. J. Hypertens. 38, 968–973 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Casassus, B. Scientists disappointed by plan to boost France’s research prowess. Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02217-4 (2020).

  53. Boytchev, H. How Germany retains one of the world’s strongest research reputations. Nature 587, S104–S105 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Remmel, A. Massive science-funding bill passes US Senate – but China focus worries researchers. Nature 594, 485 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. National Health and Medical Research Council. Outcomes of funding rounds. NHMRC https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/data-research/outcomes (2021).

  56. Ferguson, C., Henshall, C. & Albert, N. M. Global perspectives on under-funding for clinical research training fellowships in nursing. J. Clin. Nurs. 30, e48–e50 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Adam, D. Science funders gamble on grant lotteries. Nature 594, 485 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  58. Tan, T. Q. Principles of inclusion, diversity, access, and equity. J. Infect. Dis. 220, S30–S32 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. AlShebli, B. K., Rahwan, T. & Woon, W. L. The preeminence of ethnic diversity in scientific collaboration. Nat. Commun. 9, 5163 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Jaijee, S. K., Kamau-Mitchell, C., Mikhail, G. W. & Hendry, C. Sexism experienced by consultant cardiologists in the United Kingdom. Heart 107, 895–901 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Mehran, R. Women’s voices in cardiology: an uncomfortable silence. JAMA Cardiol. 3, 676–677 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Curtis, A. B. & Rodriguez, F. Choosing a career in cardiology: where are the women? JAMA Cardiol. 3, 691–692 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Rymer, J. A. et al. Evaluation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic group representation in a general cardiology fellowship after a systematic recruitment initiative. JAMA Netw. Open 4, e2030832 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Rai, D. et al. National trends of sex disparity in the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline Writing Committee authors over 15 years. Circ. Cardiovasc. Qual. Outcomes 14, e007578 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Denby, K. J. et al. Representation of women in cardiovascular clinical trial leadership. JAMA Intern. Med. 180, 1382–1383 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  66. Magliano, D. J., Macefield, V. G., Ellis, T. M. & Calkin, A. C. Addressing gender equity in senior leadership roles in translational science. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. 3, 773–779 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  67. Cech, E. A. & Blair-Loy, M. The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 4182–4187 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  68. Pavalko, E. K. & Henderson, K. A. Combining care work and paid work: do workplace policies make a difference? Res. Aging 28, 359–374 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. King, T. et al. Reordering gender systems: can COVID-19 lead to improved gender equality and health? Lancet 396, 80–81 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Designing and supporting gender equitable parental leave (WGEA, 2019).

  71. Hagqvist, E., Nordenmark, M., Pérez, G., Trujillo Alemán, S. & Gillander Gådin, K. Parental leave policies and time use for mothers and fathers: a case study of Spain and Sweden. Soc. Health Vulnerability 8, 1374103 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World. The OWSD–Elsevier Foundation awards for early career women scientists in the developing world. OWSD https://owsd.net/awards/awards (2021).

  73. Department of Higher Education and Training. Future professors programme 01. FPP https://futureprofessorsprogramme.co.za/programme/ (2021).

  74. Vassallo, A., Walker, K., Georgousakis, M. & Joshi, R. Do mentoring programmes influence women’s careers in the health and medical research sector? A mixed-methods evaluation of Australia’s Franklin Women Mentoring Programme. BMJ Open 11, e052560 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  75. Human and Infrastructure Capacity Development. Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) framework (HICD, 2021).

  76. Clarke, A. J., Burgess, A., van Diggele, C. & Mellis, C. The role of reverse mentoring in medical education: current insights. Adv. Med. Educ. Pract. 10, 693–701 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  77. Guarino, C. M. & Borden, V. M. H. Faculty service loads and gender: are women taking care of the academic family? Res. High. Educ. 58, 672–694 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Chang, E. H. et al. The mixed effects of online diversity training. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 7778–7783 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  79. Carnes, M. et al. The effect of an intervention to break the gender bias habit for faculty at one institution: a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Acad. Med. 90, 221–230 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  80. Saccoh, A., Tcheandjieu, C., Mukaz, D. K. & Amartey, J. #BlackInCardioWeek: How it started, what happened, and what is to come. BMC https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2020/11/11/blackincardioweek-how-it-started-what-happened-and-what-is-to-come/ (2020).

  81. Matsui, J. T. “Outsiders at the Table”–diversity lessons from the Biology Scholars Program at the University of California, Berkeley. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 17, es11 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  82. Gill, G. K., McNally, M. J. & Berman, V. Effective diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Healthc. Manag. Forum 31, 196–199 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Olzmann, J. A. Diversity through equity and inclusion: the responsibility belongs to all of us. Mol. Biol. Cell 31, 2757–2760 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  84. Green, B. N. & Johnson, C. D. Interprofessional collaboration in research, education, and clinical practice: working together for a better future. J. Chiropr. Educ. 29, 1–10 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  85. Williams, J., Craig, T. J. & Robson, D. Barriers and facilitators of clinician and researcher collaborations: a qualitative study. BMC Health Serv. Res. 20, 1126 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  86. NSW Ministry of Health. Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program. NSW Gov https://www.medicalresearch.nsw.gov.au/cardiovascular/ (2021).

  87. Advance HE. Athena Swan Charter members. Advance HE https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan-charter/members (2020).

  88. Advance HE. The transformed UK Athena Swan Charter. Advance HE https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/transformed-uk-athena-swan-charter#report (2020).

  89. Science in Australia Gender Equity. SAGE accreditation and awards. SAGE https://sciencegenderequity.org.au/sage-accreditation-and-awards/ (2021).

  90. Science in Australia Gender Equity. Australian HER institutions stick with gender equity and diversity journey despite COVID-19 impact. SAGE https://www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/australian-her-institutions-stick-with-gender-equity-and-diversity-journey-despite-covid-19-impact/ (2020).

  91. American Association for the Advancement of Science. What is SEA Change? AAAS https://seachange.aaas.org/about/what-is-sea-change (2021).

  92. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Equity, diversity and inclusion: Dimensions charter. NSERC https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/InterAgency-Interorganismes/EDI-EDI/Dimensions-Charter_Dimensions-Charte_eng.asp (2019).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) Board for their support and acknowledge that the authors were members of the ACvA Emerging Leaders Committee at the time this paper was written. The authors acknowledge the supporting roles of the ACvA President G. Figtree, ACvA Chief Executive Officer K. Doyle and ACvA Project Officer M.-P. Hsu in the facilitation of this initiative. Finally, the authors acknowledge the following international cardiovascular researchers for their honest and generous feedback: M. Bertagnolli (McGill University, Canada), E. Bianchini (Institute of Clinical Physiology, Italy), D. Casarini (Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil), L. Gafane-Matamane (North-West University, South Africa), A. Kirabo (Vanderbilt University, USA), C. McCarthy (University of South Carolina, USA), A. Montezano (University of Glasgow, UK) and M. Patel (India Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Association, India). E.T. (105215), S.C.I. (102821), R.E.C. (102484), D.S.P. (104774), L.B. (102498), S.G.W. (105622), A.C.C. (105631) and F.Z.M. (101185, 105663) are funded by fellowships from the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia supports K.M.M.C. through a C.J. Martin Fellowship (1112125) and L.B. through an Emerging Leader Investigator Grant (1172987). F.Z.M. is also supported by a Senior Medical Research Fellowship from the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Niamh Chapman, Emma Thomas.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    Niamh Chapman, Rachel E. Climie & Dean S. Picone

  2. Centre for Online Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Emma E. Thomas

  3. Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Emma E. Thomas

  4. Vascular Research Centre, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Joanne T. M. Tan

  5. Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Joanne T. M. Tan

  6. IMPACCT — Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Sally C. Inglis

  7. The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Jason H. Y. Wu

  8. Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Rachel E. Climie, Anna C. Calkin & Francine Z. Marques

  9. Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, Integrative Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease, Université de Paris, Paris, France

    Rachel E. Climie

  10. Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    Lauren C. Blekkenhorst

  11. Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    Lauren C. Blekkenhorst

  12. Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    Lauren C. Blekkenhorst

  13. School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Steven G. Wise

  14. Department of Physiology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Katrina M. Mirabito Colafella

  15. Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Anna C. Calkin

  16. Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Anna C. Calkin

  17. Hypertension Research Laboratory, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Francine Z. Marques

Authors
  1. Niamh Chapman
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emma E. Thomas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joanne T. M. Tan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sally C. Inglis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jason H. Y. Wu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Rachel E. Climie
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Dean S. Picone
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Lauren C. Blekkenhorst
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Steven G. Wise
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Katrina M. Mirabito Colafella
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Anna C. Calkin
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Francine Z. Marques
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All the authors wrote parts of the manuscript, and reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission, all having a substantial role.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francine Z. Marques.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer-review information

Nature Reviews Cardiology thanks Barbara Casadei, who co-reviewed with Rohan Wijesurendra, and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Related links

Athena Scientific Women’s Academic Network Charter: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan-charter

Black in Cardio: https://blackincardio.com/

Black in Physiology: https://blackinphysiology.com

Dimensions: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/InterAgency-Interorganismes/EDI-EDI/Dimensions_Dimensions_eng.asp

European Research Council: https://erc.europa.eu

MINDSHIFT: https://www.eumindshift.eu

Science in Australia Gender Equity: https://www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/the-athena-swan-accreditation-framework/

STEMM Equity Achievement Change: https://www.aaas.org/programs/sea-change

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chapman, N., Thomas, E.E., Tan, J.T.M. et al. A roadmap of strategies to support cardiovascular researchers: from policy to practice. Nat Rev Cardiol 19, 765–777 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00700-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-022-00700-1

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing