(Circulation. 1999;99:2064-2066.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News |
NIH Funding: A Roller Coaster Ride?
Priorities If NIH Funding Increases
From the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Just a few months ago, the American Heart Association (AHA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others in the biomedical research community were celebrating the historically large 15% increase in NIH funding for fiscal year (FY) 1999 that the US Congress had proposed and the President had signed into law. The FY 1999 increase was a very positive step on the road to doubling NIH funding by the year 2003, which is why the Administration's recent announcement that it would request only a 2.4% increase for NIH in FY 2000 is such a shock and disappointment. It is likely that Congress will react this October with a more substantial increase—for FY 1999, the Administration had requested only an 8.4% increase. However, we cannot avoid being concerned and about the message that is being sent to scientists, particularly young researchers, by such a low budget request from the Administration.
The confusing signals from the Administration—the historic 15% increase for NIH in FY 1999 and the proposed 2.4% increase for FY 2000—suggests to young scientists that if they want a career in research, they should get ready for a roller coaster ride. Society needs young scientists for the future, but will they be there–studying the molecular biology of the HIV of 2020, developing a drug to prevent the earliest pathologic changes of Alzheimer's, or conducting phase 3 clinical trials of another neuroprotectant against stroke? Or, will many of them have left research for more stable career paths?
If we are to stay