Funding your future: publish or perish

September 11, 2009

By hammersmith

[Source: Science] – Science is one of the few vocations in which a mid-life crisis could coincide with a career gaining traction. A National Academy of Science report highlighted that the average age for a biomedical researcher to secure the famed R01 grant is 42 ( www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11249). The R01 grant is considered the gold standard of biomedical funding, and is often a criterion to gaining tenure. And as the pressure to secure funding mounts, an early-career researcher may forego risky aspirations for a more bankable application. Unfortunately, this may reduce the potential for scientific breakthroughs.

In recent years, several funding programs have been created specifically to help young investigators reach funding goals during the critical two to eight years when a researcher is expected to launch independent lab operations.

For more information: Funding Your Future: Publish Or Perish