Unintended Consequences At Nih

摘要

Former nih director elias zerhouni has done his level best to destroy biomedical basic research in the United States ("Zerhouni's parting message: Make room for young scientists," J. Kaiser, News of the Week, 7 November 2008, p. 834). Zerhouni's parting shot is a devastating quota system that requires funding disproportionate numbers of new investigators. The consequence will be a brutal "Darwinian" scenario in which hundreds oi bright-eyed new assistant professors will sail through receiving their first R01. When they come to their competitive renewal, they will no longer be in the favored group, and most will fail (especially if the R01 pay-line stays at 10%).