Stagnant NIH Funding Threatens Research, Scientists Say

Federal lawmakers should grant adequate funding to the NIH to sustain advances in modern medicine, members of the academic biomedical science and research community said.

Federal funding for the NIH going forward should at least be on par with government appropriations allocated to the agency between 1998 and 2003 -- when its budget doubled -- according to a study released last week that said the continued flat funding of the agency threatens its ability to conduct meaningful research. Approximately one-third of the NIH's budget supports clinical research.

The study shows that while federal funding for the agency grew from approximately $12 billion in 1995 to approximately $28 billion in 2007, the current year's figure in 1995 dollars is just less than $20 billion. The Bush administration has requested $28.9 billion for fiscal 2008.

The study, "Within Our Grasp -- Or Slipping Away? Assuring a New Era of Scientific and Medical Progress," makes the case that flat funding at the NIH halts promising research in midstream, challenges experienced researchers trying to achieve scientific progress despite having limited resources and discourages aspiring investigators from pursuing careers in academic research.

"When scientists have to spend most of their time trying to get funded, caution wins out over cutting-edge ideas, creativity sacrifices to convention and scientific progress gives way to meetings and grant applications," report contributor and infectious disease expert Robert Siliciano of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said. "Right now, very, very productive scientists are doing too little research. Instead, they are spending their time trying to get their labs funded again," he said.

The study can be seen at hms.harvard.edu/public/news/nih_funding.pdf ( http://hms.harvard.edu/public/news/nih_funding.pdf ).