Times They Are a-Changin'
10/13/2011 Casey McDonald
As the NIH struggles to support the country’s biomedical workforce, two
deans offer some advice: embrace change.
As the National Institutes of Health (NIH) struggles to support the US
biomedical research workforce, two deans from the University of California,
Davis are encouraging students to embrace change and be prepared.
In an article published in Science Translational Medicine (1), Frederick J.
Meyers and Claire Pomeroy stress that the workforce has been changing and
will continue to for the foreseeable future. The traditional career path of
becoming a primary investigator with an NIH grant is unrealistic for most
students given the agency’s current funding levels. The best way for future
biomedical researchers to have successful careers is to recognize and
prepare for these changes.
“Training shouldn’t just be about a particular research project. Training
could give them career skills such as lab safety, research compliance,
research administration, intellectual property, etc. All these other areas
are so important for a career in industry which is where most will end up,”
said Meyers.
One change will be the collaborative and multidisciplinary nature of future
research grants, according to the pair. Researchers will have to use a
variety of techniques to investigate their questions. As a result, they will
have to rely on collaborations with other researchers with expertise in
these different techniques.
Accordingly, sole ownership of a project may be a thing of the past.
Therefore, training should prepare students for this aspect of the job. “
Teamwork and collaboration are one of the very important competencies moving
toward team science,” said Meyers. “It’s not always easy to work with
other people.”
Another change will be the growth areas that require specialized training.
For example, nanotechnology and “-omics” which require a deeper
understanding of biostatistics and informatics.
Meanwhile, the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director has assembled a
working group to find solutions on how to support the future workforce.
Currently, the task force is gathering information and opinions from the
research community. Their goal is to develop a sustainable, diverse, and
productive model for future policy and funding.
Issues that the task force will address include optimizing and balancing the
number of domestic and foreign Ph.D.s. The group will also suggest changes
in the length of training programs for graduate and postdoctoral programs as
well as curriculum. The group’s report is scheduled to be released in 2012
.
“Frankly, I think the PIs are vulnerable if their institutions don’t
recognize the importance of this change in training model and research. The
institutional policies will have to change to reflect the workforce,” said
Meyers.
Reference:
1) Meyers F.J. and Pomeroy C. 2011. Creating the Future Biomedical Research
Workforce. Science Translational Medicine 3:1-2.