> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Research
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

A New Grant Aims to Help Young Medical Researchers Jump-Start Their Careers

By  Paul Basken
March 23, 2015

The average age at which American medical researchers receive their first major grant from the National Institutes of Health is frustratingly, persistently high. So three leading philanthropic groups are attempting to step in and support young medical researchers early in their careers.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation announced on Monday a $150-million grant program designed to counter tight NIH budgets. The new grant, to be known as the Faculty Scholars competition, will provide five-year nonrenewable awards ranging from $100,000 to $400,000 per year. (Institutions would receive an additional 20 percent for administrative costs.)

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

The average age at which American medical researchers receive their first major grant from the National Institutes of Health is frustratingly, persistently high. So three leading philanthropic groups are attempting to step in and support young medical researchers early in their careers.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation announced on Monday a $150-million grant program designed to counter tight NIH budgets. The new grant, to be known as the Faculty Scholars competition, will provide five-year nonrenewable awards ranging from $100,000 to $400,000 per year. (Institutions would receive an additional 20 percent for administrative costs.)

The program hopefully will “give people some optimism” at a time of great concern that NIH’s budget constraints may be discouraging large numbers of young medical researchers, said Erin K. O’Shea, vice president and chief scientific officer at Hughes.

Faculty Scholars candidates must be postdoctoral researchers in tenure-track positions who have already won at least one smaller grant, such as a training award. They must also be affiliated with one of about 220 institutions selected by program administrators for meeting minimum levels of research activity. Sponsors said they anticipated 70 winners every two-and-a-half-year cycle, though Ms. O’Shea said she hoped to see the program grow to about 100 annually.

The president of one of the eligible institutions, Freeman A. Hrabowski III of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, called the program an important step toward reducing the average age — now about 42 — at which scientists earn their first R01, the NIH’s main independent-research grant.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Faculty Scholars concept appears especially valuable for its emphasis on interdisciplinary research, said Mr. Hrabowski, whose institution is one of the nation’s top producers of minority graduates who later earn doctorates in science and engineering.

In the meantime, the NIH has been making its own efforts to help younger researchers cope with the decade-long decline in the value of its budget relative to inflation. Among other steps, the agency has tried to provide financial support to student researchers through dedicated awards, known as T32 and F31 grants, rather than the R01 awards.

The nation’s leading user of the F31 grant, Emory University, has emphasized teaching students to write grant applications as well as scientific journal articles, said Anita H. Corbett, a professor of biochemistry at Emory. The Faculty Scholars program should help those younger researchers continue along their career paths, Ms. Corbett said, even if its prerequisite of one previous grant might limit its reach.

The eligibility restrictions simply reflect the depth of the need, Ms. O’Shea said. Even with them, she said, the Faculty Scholars award will only reach perhaps a tenth of those who could benefit from such help.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Scholarship & Research
Paul Basken
Paul Basken was a government policy and science reporter with The Chronicle of Higher Education, where he won an annual National Press Club award for exclusives.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin