President Obama wants to expand federal support for science, so The Chronicle surveyed university research administrators about a variety of key issues that would be affected.
Of the 132 institutions that responded, 51 were major research universities with $100-million or more in federal grants, and their concerns often differed from those of institutions that received less money.
Among the surprising findings was the relatively small percentage of universities and colleges that plan to increase research on human embryonic stem cells “by a large amount,” even after President Obama announced a change in policy intended to help expand those studies. Just 6 percent of the major research institutions plan a large expansion.
The finding underscores that those studies are at the frontier of science and technically tricky to conduct successfully. They also remain ethically controversial in some communities.
The survey results appear to contradict predictions by advocates of stem-cell research that the field is poised to expand rapidly, revolutionizing medicine. That promise, they say, was stymied by President George W. Bush’s decision in 2001 to restrict federal financing for the research. Mr. Obama significantly relaxed that policy in March (although some advocates have complained that he didn’t relax it enough).
The survey’s findings may also offer some good news for scientists whose studies of laboratory animals have led to angry confrontations with animal-rights activists: Relatively few universities report that the activists have used the most-confrontational protest tactics on their campuses.
Over the past three years, members of the Animal Liberation Front have claimed responsibility for vandalism, including arson, and other acts of harassment against animal researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles. But those tactics have apparently not spread very far: Survey respondents reported relatively little vandalism, although they described a higher incidence of other pressure tactics, like demonstrations.
And although a few researchers at Los Angeles and elsewhere who were harassed decided as a result to drop such work altogether, almost all respondents said that their institutions as a whole had not reduced such studies because of the opposition.
The survey responses also provide new details on the extent to which colleges are dipping into their own pockets to subsidize the costs of scientific research. A federal policy dating to 1991 caps the overhead or “indirect” costs that colleges may collect on each federal research grant for expenses like photocopying, accounting, and electric bills. Most survey respondents reported that their contribution had increased by up to 50 percent over the past five years. A minority reported larger increases.
Survey respondents reported offering a range of “start-up” packages that in some cases can approach $1.5-million to attract the very best young scientists. Those are cash commitments for research assistants, laboratory equipment, and other expenses. Biomedical researchers generally find it difficult to start independent careers as principal investigators without that kind of jump-start.
