Over the past generation, the age at which American biomedical researchers with PhD degrees succeed in obtaining their first R01 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has increased from 34.2 to 41.7 years of age.
As a consequence, the biomedical community in the United States lives with the prospect of relying on an aging cohort of researchers to direct its research projects. The reasons for this are surely complex, but the long-term trend is ominous for the future of the American research enterprise. Why are R01 grants becoming so difficult to obtain? And what does this portend for future innovation and discovery by NIH-supported researchers?
The funding policies of the NIH have made it increasingly difficult for young researchers to procure research funds
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