The Funding of Young Investigators in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (1994) / Chapter Skim
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4 The Future Supply of Newly Independent Life Scientists
4 The Future Supply of Newly Independent Life Scientists
Pages 73-84
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From page 73... ...
On the basis of projections generated by modeling the future supply of basic research scientists and the demand for their skills, a 1989 National Research Council report (45) predicted a serious shortage of U.S.
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From page 74... ...
Baccalaureates in the life sciences might choose to enter the workforce or go to medical, dental, veterinary, business, or law school, rather than proceed to graduate study. Ph.D.s can choose to take on industrial or government jobs, rather than continue with academic postdoctoral research (22,45,116~.
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From page 75... ...
The assumption that these scientists-in-training become academic scientists has led to the suggestion that the number of scientists is ever-increasing-the "Sorcerer's Apprentice phenomenon" (4, 148~. However, as Figure 4-1 indicates, no Sorcerer's Apprentice has been at work in the life sciences.
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From page 76... ...
degrees awarded annually in the life sciences has not changed dramatically, the absolute number of life scientists has steadily increased over the last 15 years (110~. The mean age of the academic life-scientist population has been steadily increasing (17,62,80,110,118~.
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From page 77... ...
Yet this growth in female participation in the life sciences is not yet reflected in participation in tenure-track or principalinvestigator positions. Until they enter academic positions, statistics on women show that they perform much like their male counterparts in the life sciences.
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From page 78... ...
For example, just 9.1% of full professors and 19.1% of associate professors are female. The underrepresentation of women in the senior ranks can be partially explained by the fact that the increase in the number of women receiving a doctorate in the life sciences is relatively recent.
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From page 79... ...
The survey revealed that the lack of more senior role models and the limitations of the research network were perceived as serious impediments to female entry into research careers. The nonavailability of funding, institutional committee assignments, excessive teaching responsibilities, administrative duties, inadequate clerical support, and family responsibilities were the most frequently cited difficulties.
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From page 80... ...
Given that attitude, reasonable accommodation of the needs of this part of the research workforce cannot help but follow. The committee is unaware of comprehensive studies that tracked the career paths of women trained in the life sciences after they received their advanced degrees.
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From page 81... ...
The federal programs that contribute most to graduate training of minority-group members in the life sciences were initiated in the 1980s and have only now begun to provide funds for a sizable number of trainees (97,98, 149~. Two such programs are the NSF fellowship program for minority groups and the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC)
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From page 82... ...
What is striking is how small the numbers are and have remained over the entire decade. Of about 4,000 doctorates in the life sciences conferred in each of the years 1980 and 1990, African-Americans received 58
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From page 83... ...
In addition, recent data indicate that both men and women in those groups are underrepresented both in NIH predoctoral programs and among those expressing postdoctoral plans. The pace of recruitment from these groups into scientific careers is not proportional to their growth as segments of the population.
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