Optimize funding opportunities for all career phases
The mission of the NIH is best served by a biomedical workforce composed of a balance of early-stage, mid-career and senior investigators, in other words, a smooth and well- functioning pipeline. The NIH depends primarily on the R01 grant as a “one-size-fits-all” mechanism focused strongly on single investigator projects despite the strong scientific value now demonstrated by team-based, transdisciplinary research. While NIH has established programs to facilitate funding of early career scientists, the R01 mechanism continues to set an unacceptably high barrier to entry, delaying the launch of research careers. At the same time, some talented mid-career investigators, in whom the enterprise has made a significant investment, are so discouraged by low funding rates that they are leaving the scientific workforce. To optimize the retention and productivity of researchers at every career stage, the NIH should adopt funding paylines and periods tuned to different career stages. a. Early-stage: Because so few grants can be funded under current budget constraints, many first-time R01 applicants spend two or more years at the beginning of their careers in applying and re-applying for support for research that could be significant and productive, but that they cannot begin without first securing funding. The NIH should pilot a program to fund a substantially greater proportion, e.g., >30%, for an initial three to five-year term R01 application, allowing the work to get underway, so that investigators can demonstrate their skills and the promise of their ideas in time to apply successfully for renewal.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker