I’m
probably preaching to the choir; I would hope that everyone knows how
detrimental this is for research. However, what people may not realize is what
it can do for young people in training to become scientists or physician
scientists. We need to be concerned with how this funding drop will affect our
future, not just the present research. Looking
down the road, this low level of funding and insanely competitive grant
applications will inhibit young people from entering careers in biomedical
research.
Another possible ramification of
decreased biomedical research funding is that it accidental discoveries may
become less likely. Some of our
greatest advancements have been made by accident, namely Alexander Fleming’s
discovery of penicillin. Only grants that are extremely well thought out and have
very clear, logical hypotheses get funded. This leaves little/no room for
riskier experiments where there is no clear hypothesis.
So what do we do about it? Well we
cannot just sit back and wait for it to happen. You can write letters to your
Senators and Representatives. You can write letters to the editor of newspapers
or magazines. We must let our voice be heard so that America’s future
biomedical research is not jeopardized.
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