Speak out for Science!

The Johns Hopkins Postdoctoral Association (JHPDA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) recently teamed up to sponsor what they hope will become an annual event entitled, “Speak out for Science!” On March 19, 2014, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for increases in medical research funding. Because United States Congressional Representatives and their staff rarely get the opportunity to hear from the young scientists shaping our nation’s future scientific endeavors, the goal of this event was to link their faces and personal stories to the important budgetary debates Congressional Representatives are having over the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) budget.

The JHPDA Policy and Advocacy Committee arranged office meetings with five of Maryland’s Congressional Representatives, including the Honorable Dutch Ruppersberger, Donna Edwards, Chris Van Hollen, John Sarbanes, and Elijah Cummings. During these meetings, Speak out for science! participants stressed that while federal funding for medical research steadily increased between 2002 and 2010, when those same numbers were adjusted for inflation, the rates were actually unchanged. Since 2010, federal funds for medical research are no longer keeping up with inflation and, in fact, fall well below inflation rates. As a result of these numbers, it is estimated that during this downturn at least 200 new investigators, who would have typically received their first NIH funding, did not. Even more concerning is that the chances of a postdoctoral fellow obtaining a faculty position at a major research university is currently under 15%. (see references here)

With these types of statistics, young scientists are beginning to question their career plans. Even a Hopkins graduate student, Kirill Gorshkov, who recently received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, stated, “The enthusiasm for academic science among my peers is decreasing due to the difficult funding climate. I started graduate school with the hopes of becoming a professor, but this ideal scenario was slowly juxtaposed with reality. I am now considering diverse career options while finishing my Ph.D. degree.”

For other young scientists, they already know that they will be leaving academia. Some will be pursuing the so-called “alternative career” in policy and advocacy. Kirsten Block, one of the organizers and leaders of the Speak out for Science! event, stated, “Leaving academia is not a decision I take lightly, and in a way, it breaks my heart to turn away from something I have held dear for so many years. However, the current fiscal climate motivates me to fight on behalf of my fellow scientists. I know that I can make a positive impact on scientific research through a career in policy.” Many well-trained scientists are increasingly choosing careers in policy and advocacy, hoping to change the landscape of medical research funding.

However, it is still vitally important for academic researchers to make their own voices heard. As scientists, it is our job to ask good questions, devise logical hypotheses, accurately test those hypotheses through experimentation, and convey those results through publication. It is also our duty to make certain that the importance of our work is fully understood by those who fund our research, Congress and the taxpayers. Better communication with the public and Congressional leaders about the importance of medical research will improve our chances of obtaining increased funds for our work in the future