Can't Spell "Funding" Without "Fun"
retrospectacle | July 15, 2007A little while ago I was "tagged" by Orac of Respectful Insolence in the "How to Fix the NIH" meme. The rules to the meme were a bit laborious, and I'm not going to be so mean as to tag more innocent bloggers with the ponderous task of thinking about grants and funding institutions when it isn't expressly necessary. So, I guess technically I cheating, but oh well.
As how to fix the NIH, well, I really don't know. I've blogged about the NIH before (specifically as to the abysmal funding situation for new scientists) but I think that song and dance has gotten a little tired. And there's the…
retrospectacle | April 3, 2007Who ever said there's no fortune and glory in science? I just got wind of several multi-million dollar prizes for scientists who tackle some tough questions: called X-Prizes.
What is an X PRIZE?
An X PRIZE is a multi-million dollar award given to the first team to achieve a specific goal, set by the X PRIZE Foundation, which has the potential to benefit humanity. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.
The X PRIZE Foundation began a revolution in private…
retrospectacle | November 8, 2006At the Society for Neuroscience meeting last month, there was a special symposium regarding the current NIH funding situation that was supposed to be given by the current director of the NIH, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni. Due to his plane being delayed, he was a no-show, although the talk was instead given by a few of the directors of NIH divisions. The gist of the talk was this: despite the NIH's budget being doubled a few years back, demand for grants has risen much faster and hence the paylines have decline dramatically. And we should all shut up and stop complaining, and ride out the low-funding…
retrospectacle | August 7, 2006Well my second re-submission of my NRSA is finally on its way to the NIH today. This is my last try (for this grant), so if its still not getting a fundable score, I've got to scrap the whole thing. So, obviously, I'm REALLY hoping I don't have to do that. (Fingers crossed!)
While writing it, I became interested in the dynamics of grant funding (specifically the training grants like mine) at the NIH. Incidentally, Nature published a news piece in 2004 (Nature 428, 879 (2004) doi:10.1038/428879a) that touched on the same topic.
Budget pressures caused by flat funding at the US National…