RESEARCH & EDUCATION PROGRAMS - Help shape research training and career development programs at the NIH

In light of the continued evolution in scientific workforce needs, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is soliciting input on research training and career development programs. The NIGMS’s current suite of such programs is disciplinarily broad, reflecting the institute’s focus on foundational research. And it also supports scientists at several different career stages. But, taken together, are these programs sufficient to, as the NIGMS puts it, “most effectively meet current demands, anticipate emerging opportunities and help build a highly capable, diverse biomedical research workforce”?

The NIGMS seeks input on seven key questions:

1. What constitutes "success" in biomedical research training from the perspectives of an individual trainee, an institution, and society?
2. What can NIGMS do to encourage an optimal balance of breadth and depth in research training?
3. What can NIGMS do to encourage an appropriate balance between research productivity and successful outcomes for the mentor’s trainees?
4. What can NIGMS do through its training programs to promote and encourage greater diversity in the biomedical research workforce?
5. Recognizing that students have different career goals and interests, should NIGMS encourage greater flexibility in training, and if so, how?
6. What should NIGMS do to ensure that institutions monitor, measure, and continuously improve the quality of their training efforts?
7. Do you have other comments or recommendations regarding NIGMS-sponsored training?

As you may know, NIGMS has a robust history of funding plant biology research (and researchers). Even so, respondents do not need to be current or former NIGMS grantee to share their thoughts on this topic. Indeed, a wide range of opinions and perspectives is sought, although the NIGMS is particularly interested in hearing from graduate students and postdocs.

From now until April 21, 2010 you can submit your comments anonymously via the NIGMS’s online form. Additionally, four in-person stakeholder meetings are scheduled for Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco between April and June 2010. And a special webinar designed just for graduate students and postdocs will be held on the afternoon of June 11, 2010.