Funding Health Sciences Research A Strategy to Restore Balance (1990) / Chapter Skim
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5 Nurturing Scientific Talent
5 Nurturing Scientific Talent
Pages 117-138
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From page 117... ...
As the post-World War II baby boomers grow older, the retirement rate among scientists trained in the l950s and 1960s will accelerate, increasing the demand for replacements.
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From page 118... ...
However, several recent national and international studies have shown a continuous decline in science and mathematics skills by American students at all educational levels. Although the committee focused its deliberations on the resources for graduate and postdoctoral education and training, the committee recognized that competency in precollege and undergraduate science and mathematics education is critical for preparing students for scientific careers.
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From page 119... ...
Research Council has drawn attention to the poor mathematics proficiency of American students in a report entitled Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education.4 This study called for a complete overhaul of precollege mathematics education in the United States and suggested alternative educational strategies to counteract this growing problem. Moreover, national demographic evidence indicates that the number of high school graduates is expected to decline by 12 percent between 1988 and 1992, from nearly 2.77 million to 2.44 million students (Figure 5-1~.5 Unless these trends change, the declining number of high school graduates is expected to lead to declining undergraduate enrollment in U.S.
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The committee believes that this failure may be due partly to the widespread practice of collegiate science education stressing passive learning through lectures rather than active learning through participation in research. Honors programs that include hands-on research in conjunction with faculty mentors provide an example of active learning that can stimulate students
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The National Science Scholars Program, part of the President's Educational Excellence Act, is designed to encourage exceptional students to pursue careers in scientific and engineering fields.9 Modeled on congressional appointments to military academies, the proposed program calls for federal support for undergraduate education in science and engineering for two appointees (one female and one male) for every member of Congress.
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created the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Honors Program to increase the number of minority students pursuing graduate study leading to a Ph.D.
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This scenario is compounded by the fact that there also will be a significant decline in the size of the 18- to 24-year-old population the talent pool available for recruiting into graduate study in the late l990s, when many tenured faculty members are expected to retire.8 The number of foreign graduate students enrolled in U.S. institutions as well as the percent of degrees conferred on foreign nationals has increased steadily over the past decade.~4~5 The United States produces nearly 14,500 natural scientists and engineers annually, up from 12,000 in 1978.
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This includes the 43,000 scientists and 8,200 postdoctorates employed by academic institutions regardless of their level of research activity, 16,000 scientists employed by industry, as well as other Ph.D.s outside academia actively engaged in or managing research and development. Seventy-six percent of these scientists hold doctorates in biomedical sciences (Figure 5-3~; the remaining twenty-four percent have doctorates in fields other than biomedical science.
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From page 125... ...
biomedical scientists largely has been in industry, growing an average of 12 to 13 percent annually.l9 The employment of behavioral scientists grew 113.6 percent between 1973 and 1987, rising from 31,669 to 67,651.~9 More than 91 percent of the vacancies in behavioral sciences are filled by individuals with doctorates in the behavioral sciences. The number of behavioral sciences doctoral degrees conferred annually has climbed from 3,542 to 3,960, reflecting an 11.8 percent change over the same period.
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From page 126... ...
The recruitment of physician-scientists into research careers is hampered severely by the length of time necessary for clinical training, the often unfocused structure of clinical research experience, the need for the individual to understand increasingly complex technologies, and the requirement of the physician to generate clinical income at the expense of time for performing research. At a time when biology and medicine offer exciting opportunities for improved health care, this declining interest in investigative careers is particularly troublesome.
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There are existing models in the nonbiological sciences that tailor coursework in areas to meet the special needs of the physician-scientist, and that link supervision with an established physician mentor (e.g., the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program)
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Other pressures in the modern medicine environment add to the discouragement of physicians involved in clinical investigation as well. A recent IOM report on resources for clinical investigation concluded that fundamental changes in the organization of health care and the mounting efforts aimed at cost containment discourage clinical research scientists from pursuing clinical investigations.24 Along with the pressures that young physician-scientists face earn in their careers, there are pressures upon all physicians to earn clinical income for their academic health center.
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This authority was expanded in the Public Health Service Act of 1944, expanding training programs sponsored by the NIH. This act not only increased the research capacity of the U.S., but also provided broad financial support to medical students, whether or not they expected to pursue research careers.
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supported by NIH has remained fairly constant each year-between 11,000 and 12,000 since the late 1970s (Figure 5-7~. However, in order to increase sagging stipend levels, NIH trimmed support for 1,000 ~ l lPs in fiscal year 1989.28 Since NIH supports approximately one-quarter of the graduate students in the biomedical sciences through the NRSA program, these cuts in training
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training.27 Of the remaining training funds, 13 to 14 percent are awarded through NRSA individual postdoctoral fellowship awards, and slightly less than 2 percent are allocated to individual predoctoral fellowships. About 55 percent of the predoctoral training positions are awarded through the NIGMS followed distantly by NCI with 14 1 2 10 8 6 4 2 o NUMBER of FTTP (Thousands)
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.. 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 YEAR Predoctoral 85 86 87 88 89 Postdoctoral FIGURE 5-9 Number of full-time training positions (LllPs)
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medical schools by private, state, and institutional funds. However, the committee was not able to determine the size of these commitments.23 The NSF Survey of Graduate Science and Engineering Students and Postdoctorates reports that large numbers of students are supported by teaching assistantships and a smaller but still significant number are supported on research grants.~3 Unfortunately, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supported on research project grants from NIH and ADAMHA are not identified in the NIH database and the magnitude of this support, therefore, is difficult to ascertain.
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For example, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has initiated a series of grants programs to strengthen undergraduate science education and research in private undergraduate
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. Other programs target specific groups like the Robert Wood Johnson program to encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in the health sciences including biomedical research.32 The committee believes that an increasing number of postdoctoral fellows are being supported by industrial sponsors.
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The failure to recruit qualified candidates into the health sciences is due partly to declining levels of support in the NRSA predoctoral and postdoctoral training programs as well as to neglect across the entire educational spectrum. The committee also concluded that the number of trainees supported on research project grants has been growing.
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1985. Minority Access to Research Careers: An Evaluation of the Honors Undergraduate Research Gaining Program.
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31. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
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