Some of the brightest minds in the fields of science and medicine are advising younger generations to leave the United States and pursue their research in other countries, as government cutbacks are the reducing the amount of grants available to newer researchers.
Michael Levitt, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, said that funds are available for researchers over the age of 65, but subsidies are limited to researchers under 40. He said that’s problematic, considering many of his fellow Nobel laureates made their discoveries before they turned 40. Levitt fears the lack of funding will endanger future discoveries.
James Rothman, who won the prize in the field of medicine, shares Levitt’s view on the cutbacks.
“I actually advise my students not to stay in the United States,” he said. “Frankly, if I were 10 years younger, that’s exactly what I would do.”
While he believes the effects of the government sequester will ultimately subside, Rothman said recent changes in how the National Institutes of Health doles out funding are getting in the way of true scientific progress.
“There’s an underlying problem that is much more profound which is that the budget of the NIH has actually declined in purchasing power by 28% over the last 7-8 years,” he said. “In addition, there’s much more spending within the NIH. We actually have a lot of money in the NIH budget, but more and more of it is going to projects that are predetermined by the government by one group or another – top down science, bureaucrat science.”
Nobel prize laureate Eugene Fama disagreed with Rothman’s belief, saying that government funding isn’t infinite and that funds are being appropriately managed. Rothman strongly disagreed.
“I’ve never heard of a more ill conceived remark than that.”
Dr. Silverman comments
It is terrible that our many of our brightest young minds will leave the country to pursue research elsewhere simply because of foolish government policies that continue to limit funding.
While I understand Fama’s sentiment that funding isn’t infinite, there’s clearly a problem when the brightest minds are telling the next generation that their best bet to make a medical or scientific breakthrough is to leave the country. Cutting programs to save money can do more harm than good if the wrong programs are cut.
Related source: Business Insider