| Now that President Obama and the National Institutes of Health have announced plans to expand federal financing for research on human embryonic stem cells, does your institution plan to expand the research staff and lab space devoted to such studies? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| By a large amount | 3% | 6% |
| Somewhat | 43% | 67% |
| Not at all | 54% | 27% |
| Does your institution currently conduct any such research? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Yes | 40% | 63% |
| No | 60% | 38% |
| Does your institution plan to conduct research on human stem cells derived from blastocysts created through SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer), using nonfederal financing? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Yes | 12% | 23% |
| Maybe, after further study of the ethical, legal, and social implications | 44% | 56% |
| No | 44% | 21% |
| If you had to pick one, what should be the National Institutes of Health’s top priority in spending the extra research money that it will receive from the federal economic-stimulus legislation enacted this year? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Increase the number of research awards | 44% | 42% |
| Help younger scientists land independent research grants and start careers | 37% | 32% |
| Increase financing for revolutionary, outside-of-the-box research proposals | 12% | 14% |
| Increase the amount of the average research award | 4% | 8% |
| Increase the duration of the average research award | 2% | 2% |
| Other | 1% | 2% |
| Does your institution conduct research on your campus using laboratory animals? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Yes | 97% | 100% |
| No | 3% | 0% |
| In the past two years, have opponents of animal research taken any of the following actions against researchers at your institution who work with laboratory animals? (check all that apply) |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| A researcher received harassing or threatening phone calls, e-mail, or letters | 23% | 37% |
| Contact or other personal details about a researcher were posted online | 14% | 24% |
| Demonstrations at a researcher’s home or work | 11% | 28% |
| Break-in or vandalism at a researcher’s home | 4% | 10% |
| Break-in or vandalism at a researcher’s laboratory or office | 3% | 6% |
| Because of activists who oppose animal research, by how much, if any, has your institution reduced the volume of lab-animal research (measured by total money spent or number of studies) during the past two years? |
| 0% | 92% | 86% |
| More than 0% and up to 25% | 2% | 2% |
| More than 25% and less than 100% | 0% | 0% |
| My institution ended all such research | 0% | 0% |
| My institution increased this research (for whatever reason) | 6% | 12% |
| In the past two years, by how much has your institution increased total spending for security (e.g., alarms, cameras, security officers) to protect researchers working with laboratory animals? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Zero | 40% | 20% |
| More than zero but less than $1-million | 56% | 74% |
| $1-million or more but less than $2-million | 2% | 2% |
| $2-million or more | 2% | 4% |
| Approximately how much did your institution spend last year on research-administration costs that would have been reimbursed by the federal government but for its 26-percent cap on administrative costs on research grants? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Less than $1-million | 39% | 13% |
| $1-million or more but less than $3-million | 27% | 26% |
| $3-million or more but less than $6-million | 17% | 26% |
| $6-million or more but less than $10-million | 6% | 11% |
| $10-million or more | 11% | 24% |
| By approximately how much has your institution’s unreimbursed spending above the federal government’s cap increased compared with five years ago? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| 0% | 12% | 7% |
| More than 0% but less than 50% | 64% | 56% |
| 50% or more but less than 100% | 17% | 27% |
| 100% or more but less than 200% | 6% | 7% |
| 200% or more | 2% | 4% |
| What percentage of researchers hired last year by your institution’s medical school were required to obtain 100 percent of their total salary and expenses through “soft money” (financing from noninstitutional sources) as a condition of their hiring? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Zero | 28% | 26% |
| 1% to 33% | 30% | 50% |
| 34% to 66% | 1% | 2% |
| 67% to 100% | 2% | 4% |
| No medical school | 40% | 17% |
| What is the average total start-up package for a young researcher at your institution? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Less than $500,000 | 67% | 32% |
| $500,000 or more but less than $1-million | 23% | 43% |
| $1-million or more but less than $1.5-million | 9% | 21% |
| $1.5-million or more but less than $2-million | 1% | 2% |
| $2-million or more | 1% | 2% |
| Compared with a few years ago, approximately how many additional hours per week are you working now as a research administrator? |
| | All institutions | Major research institutions * |
| Zero | 14% | 10% |
| 5 hours | 27% | 28% |
| 10 hours | 33% | 30% |
| 15 or more hours | 27% | 33% |
| * A “major research institution” is defined here as one that received $100-million or more in federal research grants in the 2007 fiscal year. Institutions in that elite group received the large majority of all money for academic science. |
| NOTE: Percentages are rounded and so may not add to 100 percent. |