Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), held a press conference recently to announce the Institutes’ plans for implementing a series of recommendations about the future of the biomedical research workforce. Dr. Collins initiated a review of the sustainability of the biomedical research workforce based on research that was published in Science Magazine in August 2011, which suggested a huge discrepancy in the success rate for research grant applications between white and black applicants. According to the researcher’s findings, black Americans are 13 percent less likely than whites to be awarded NIH research funding.
When implemented, the recommendations that were made last summer by three working groups will have implications for faculty members, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers conducting this type of research. The goals of the recommendations are “to ensure future US competitiveness and innovation in biomedical research by creating pathways through undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training that provide excellent preparation in a timely fashion.” The two primary goals are to:
- Attract and retain the best and most diverse scientists, engineers, and physicians from around the world to conduct biomedical research as well as increase the number of domestic students from diverse backgrounds who excel in science and become part of the Science Technology.
- Prepare biomedical PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to participate in a broad-based and evolving economy.
The plans that NIH is proposing will be managed through grant guidelines and the tracking of research trainees at all levels of the training process. NIH also plans to establish a new grant program to provide additional resources for innovative approaches to research training as well as more funding for grants to encourage research independence sooner. Moreover, NIH plans to increase stipends for postdoctoral students.
For more information about the recommendations and NIH’s plans, visit the NIH website.