$cience is Important

Last week Kei Koizumi, Assistant Director for Federal Research & Development for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, paid a visit to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (my new home as of mid-June). The visit included a tour of several laboratories where everyone did their very best to convince him that our funding (e.g. my salary) is worthwhile as well as a presentation by Mr. Koizumi that outlined the Presidents plans/goals/vision for scientific funding.

On many occasions, President Obama has voiced his strong support of the sciences. In an address to the National Academy of Sciences on April 27, 2009 he emphasized the importance of science by stating “Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life than it has ever been before.” In addition to this type of powerful dialogue we have seen significant action.  Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the scientific funding boost that came through with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, purple block in the graph below). In addition to this quick funding boost there is a continuing effort by the administration to double the 2006 budget for the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation by the year 2017. The approved 2011 budget continues with this upward funding trend as outline in the graph below.

So what does the future hold? Every year a memorandum is sent from the Office of Management and Budget to the major funding agencies requesting their budget proposals for the upcoming year. In this memorandum the current administration outlines how they intend to direct their funding. In the 2012 memorandum, the Obama administration emphasized the following six areas of focus:

• Promoting sustainable economic growth and job creation.

• Defeating the most dangerous diseases and achieving better health outcomes for all while reducing health care costs.

• Moving toward a clean energy future to reduce dependence on energy imports while curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Understanding, adapting to, and mitigating the impacts of global climate change.

• Managing the competing demands on land, fresh water, and the oceans for the production of food, fiber, biofuels, and ecosystem services based on sustainability and biodiversity.

• Developing the technologies to protect our troops, citizens, and national interests.

The proposal writing process is no doubt an exercise in balancing wishful thinking and self control. Along these lines it is not unusual for an agency to submit several versions of their budget (above, below and the same as the previous year). However, due to the recent economic issues, the administration was particular in asking all agencies to submit a funding request that is reduced by 5 percent relative to the previous year. As of Monday, September 13^th the new budget proposals for the 2012 fiscal year were due. Over the next several months negotiations between the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science Technology Policy will determine the 2012 funding situation.  The 2012 budget will then be announced in the first week of February 2011. Although it is unlikely that every agencies budget will be reduced by 5% , 2012 is likely to be a tough year for many researchers.

tl;dr: All you have to do to guarantee funding in 2012 is submit a solid proposal for a commercially viable, bulletproof, CO₂ detecting solar energy converter that cures diseases while still maintaining the ecosystem.

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Obama to Open Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research

President Obama will announce tomorrowMonday that he is reversing President Bush's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (AP, Bloomberg). With the announcement, President Obama will become the second American President to allow the use of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The first, of course, was President Bush. Bush's 2001 announcement declared that federal funding would be available for the 21 lines created before the announcement, but no others.  The ban - and President Obama's lifting of the ban - does not change the policy for privately-funded research.

One of the President's advisors is quoted as saying Obama plans to “use sound, scientific practice and evidence, instead of dogma” to guide his policy, rebuking the previous administration.

The announcement indicates the NIH will have 3 months to write new rules governing the research.

The announcement comes three years after Japanese researchers have shown they can transform skin cells into cells with embryonic stem cell properties.  Last February, those results were confirmed by scientists at UCLA.  With the announcement, researchers can apply for funds for stem cell lines outside the original 21 just like they would apply for any other research grant.

Adult stem cells are currently used in the treatment of some 75 diseases.  With the current success of adult stem cells and the ability to turn cells into embryonic stem cells, I wonder if opening up funding is really necessary.

What do you think?

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