Applications and grants of National Natural Scientific Foundation of China’s General Program in abnormalities and diseases of locomotor system: a ten-year review

Translational medicine is a branch of medical research that attempts to establish a more direct link between basic research and clinical practice. The improvement of clinical management cannot be separated from the progress and breakthrough made in basic biomedical research. As one of the main funding agencies for basic research in China, National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (NSFC) plays an active role in promotion of the development of basic medical research and translational medicine. General Program mainly supports scientists to carry out basic research on bottom-up based topics within the funding scope of NSFC to conduct innovative research and promote a balanced, coordinated and sustained development of all disciplines. Musculoskeletal injury and disease is a major threat to human health worldwide and has become the major cause of disability in China. In this review, we aim to further promote the clinical transformation by summarizing the trends and hotspots of basic research in this field based on the analysis of the data of General Program in abnormalities and diseases of locomotor system over the last decade, including analyses of the number of applications received and projects funded, the distribution of the keywords in applications and grants, distribution of applications and grants of General Program in the secondary application code of H06 and in the host institution.