Agricultural Biotechnology Strategies for National Competitiveness (1987) / Chapter Skim
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4. Training
4. Training
Pages 90-107
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From page 90... ...
Other programs are needed to retrain traditional agricultural scientists in biotechnological methods, so they can apply these powerful tools to two of the long-standing goals of agricultural research: improving food quality and production efficiency. Four types of programs merit increased federal support: pro- and postdoctoral fellowships, training grants, career 90
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From page 91... ...
Training in agricultural sciences shares many features with training in other biological sciences. Therefore, for this report the committee examined existing biological and biomedical training programs that could prove helpful in improving programs for agricultural sciences.
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From page 92... ...
This statement applies to agricultural biotechnology, but as noted in a recent report by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Users Advisory Board (1986~: Basic science curriculums in colleges of agriculture must be brought up to the same standards as those in the colleges of science. Many agricultural colleges over courses to agriculture majors in the basic sciences that are not as stringent as those offered by colleges of science.
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From page 93... ...
Allocating some of them to modern agricultural research would help to ensure the nation's supply of scientists trained in agricultural biotechnology. Demographic bends Another justification for increasing federal support to graduate education in agricultural biotechnology as well as science in general is demographic: The college-age population is declining, and this decline will decrease the pool of graduate students and could lead.
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From page 94... ...
In 1983, 59 percent of new Ph.D.s in the biological and health sciences planned postdoctoral study, contrasted with 18 percent of agricultural science Ph.D.s (National Research Council iNRC]
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From page 95... ...
The high percentage of foreigners earning Ph.D.s in agriculture in the United States is noteworthy. In 1983, 20 percent of all graduate students and 33 percent of all postdoctoral researchers in plant biology in the United States were foreigners (Anderson, 1984~.
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From page 96... ...
Of many science and mathematics teachers is questionable, and patterns of undergraduate majors are changing that is, 50 percent fewer arts and sciences degrees are awarded compared with business and management degrees (National Center for Education Statistics, 1985~. The NSB has recommended several ways to upgrade the quality of science education in America, including increasing science and mathematics instruction in secondary schools and raising college entrance requirements in science and mathematics (NSB Commission on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 1983~.
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From page 97... ...
Several types of programs can attract and train top-quality scientists for careers in agricultural biotechnology research. Programs can adciress needs at several stages of research training: education at pre- and postdoctoral levels, developing careers in research for young faculty, retraining established agricultural scientists to use biotechnological techniques, and facilitating interdisciplinary projects that are critical to the success of biotechnology.
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From page 98... ...
students through peer-reviewed, competitive training grants awarded to university departments. These training grants covered four areas (each area's share of funds is given in parentheses)
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From page 99... ...
Furthermore, plant science is underfunded in proportion to the number of students in the field. The $98 million in federal funds used to support plant biology research was only 4 percent of federal funds for life sciences in 1982, although plant biology graduate students accounted for 12 percent of all graduate students in life sciences and 17 percent of the doctorates awarded (Anderson 1984~.
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From page 100... ...
NSF awards about 50 NATO fellowships per year at a cost of around $1 million. SUMMER COURSES Since 1981, NSF has funded a summer course on plant molecular biology at Cold Spring Harbor I.aboratory in New York that, like the plant biology postdoctoral fellowships, aims to give scientists educated in related disciplines a foundation in this relatively new field.
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From page 101... ...
NRSA predoctoral traineeships support graduate education in basic biomedical science; about 5,000 such positions were funded in 1985 at a cost of $73 million. Similarly, NRSA funded about 5,700 postdoctoral awards in basic biomedical science in 1985 from an appropriation of $145 million.
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From page 102... ...
In addition to predoctoral traineeships and entry-level postdoctoral traineeships and fellowships, NRSA extramural awards are given for Senior Postdoctoral Fellowships, Mid-Career Conversion Awards, Academic Investigator Awards, Clinical Investigator Awards, Physician Scientist Awards, Research Career Development Awards to aid young scientists setting up independent research laboratories, and Special Emphasis Research Career Awards to develop an individual's multidisciplinary capacity for research. INTRAMURAL NTH appoints Intramural Staff Fellows through a different peer-reviewed, competitive program.
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From page 103... ...
Recently, the privately funded McKnight Foundation broke new ground: it initiated a Midyear program to award a total of $15 million for interdisciplinary, problem-oriented university training grants in plant biology related to agriculture and a second 10-year program to award $3.5 million to outstanding young plant biologists. Both types of grants are awarded through a peer-reviewed, competitive process, and each grant lasts 3 years.
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From page 104... ...
From 1981 to 1983 the 1-year postdoctoral appointments required the same civil service hiring practices used for permanent staff; beginning in 1984, special authority under the Office of Personnel Management's Schedule B has been used to expedite postdoctoral appointments. b NSF predoctoral fellowships cover all scientific and engineering disciplines; postdoctoral fellowships exist under four programs only: Mathematics, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Environmental Biology, and Plant Biology.
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From page 105... ...
Peer-reviewed, competitive training grants for research areas spanning several disciplines are another way to electively educate pre- and postdoctoral students and at the same time promote interdisciplinary cooperation. These grants provide stipends for students and may also cover the costs of equipment and research.
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From page 106... ...
Faculty sabbaticals and senior postdoctoral appointments that cross traditional disciplinary lines are very important avenues for the exchange of ideas and personnel retraining. Providing established researchers with opportunities to learn new biotechnological methods capitalizes on their existing expertise in agricultural systems.
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From page 107... ...
INCREASED RETRAINING PROGRAMS For the short term, highest priority should go to increasing the retraining opportunities available to university faculty and federal scientists to update their background knowledge and provide them with laboratory experience using the tools of biotechnology. This retraining will expand the abilities of researchers experienced in agricultural disciplines.
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