The Funding of Young Investigators in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (1994) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-14
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These recent trends in the funding of young biomedical research scientists and the fact that young biological scientists have historically had a smaller base of support to draw on when beginning their careers raise serious questions about the future of life-science research. It is the purpose of this report to present data about the trends and examine their implications.
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Any reduction in the quantity or quality of young people embarking on scientific careers both jeopardizes scientific progress in the years ahead and seriously weakens the current pool of talent from which science flows. Yet, largely as a consequence of changes in the funding environment, many young people perceive biological and biomedical research to be less and less attractive.
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The committee's findings and its recommendations of ways to improve the funding of newly independent investigators are excerpted in this executive summary. YOUNG INVESTIGATORS AND THE SCIENTIFIC "PIPELINE" A newly independent scientist who has just secured a junior faculty position has completed a long training process, often lasting 26 years-12 years in elementary and secondary school, 4 years in college, at least 5 years in
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The reduced rate of federal funding for young investigators led to a concern that the research funding agencies might be favoring the maintenance of established scientists over initiating the programs of new investigators. Indeed, newly independent investigators usually apply for their first grants in direct competition with established investigators, who are seeking renewals of previous grants or additional funds for continuing projects.
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Many young investigators that committee members work with daily, whether successful or unsuccessful, describe the current funding situation as "bleak," 'dismal," and "depressing." Despite a frequently stated love for research, large numbers of young investigators talk in our laboratories about leaving academic life for the perceived security of industry. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS The committee was formed in 1991 because of a perception in the scientific community that newly independent investigators were being selectively disadvantaged over the preceding 5 years as research funds for lifescience research stabilized and the absolute number of research grants actually declined.
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The committee recommends that a public agency that does not have a special grant mechanism for newly independent investigators develop one. The benefit of such programs, aside from their intrinsic value of providing funds earmarked for young scientists, is that they will also provide a framework for long-term development of research personnel in each discipline.
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Following on its findings that young investigators did not fare well during the difficult funding environment of the late 1980s, the committee has designed its recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such events by recognizing that young investigators require special attention at the beginning of their independent research careers. The scientific dominance of the United States in the life sciences is built, at least in part, on the tradition of giving scientists their intellectual independence early, when they are most likely to be innovative and productive.
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FEDERAL EXTRAMURAL FUNDING OF NEWLY INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES National Institutes of Health The First Independent Research Support and Transition (FIRST) award (R29)
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The program will incorporate several existing NSF programs aimed at the young investigator, including the NSF Young Investigators Awards, Research Initiation Awards, and Minority Research Initiation Research Awards. Applicants for the CAREER program will generally be within 4 years of their initial appointment, and applications will be judged on the basis of a career plan that includes research, teaching, and outreach.
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NONFEDERAL FUNDING OF NEVVLY INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES Industrial Funding Newly independent investigators and the graduate and postdoctoral students whom they might train form the pool of scientists on which industry draws for its own research efforts. Although many industrial firms support academic research, the amount of support and the mechanisms of support vary widely.
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Philanthropic Funding The philanthropic foundations are to be commended for their efforts in funding newly independent scientists, for developing grants that directly address the specific needs of this cohort, and for identifying and funding "orphan" fields that are not well supported by other, larger institutions. As with many other organizations, it would be valuable for the general research funding mechanisms used by philanthropies to incorporate data-collection features that allow more accurate monitoring of the flow of students and researchers in the scientist pipeline.
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Nevertheless, the committee believes that the continued low enrollment record of minority-group members and the failure of women and minority-group members to gain access to positions of authority in the life sciences is a serious issue with direct implications for the long-term vitality of the enterprise. The committee could identify no difference in likelihood of funcling between women and men in the life sciences, once they had assumed faculty positions.
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From page 13... ...
NSF, NIH, foundations, and VHOs should be encouraged to contribute funds. Individual investigators also should be mobilized by their institutions to participate in these programs.
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