Fostering innovation and discovery in biomedical research

Given the time gap between basic science discoveries and medical application, today's research funding policies will affect whether innovative new therapies become available 10 to 30 years from now. It is time to reverse current trends and empower beginning principal investigators and postdoctoral fellows to carry out innovative, high-risk/high-reward research. A broad view of what sort of science drives medical advances must be taken, while embracing interdisciplinary research, the physical and computational sciences, and biological research on a wide variety of organisms. Finally, it is essential to seize the opportunity to nurture the careers of clinical investigators and patient-oriented physician-scientists not just through their training, but as their careers mature. ©2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.