I won’t lie and say that Harvard’s money had nothing to do with my choosing to attend school here. It did. Harvard has the pull and the cash, and can (can) provide the security and freedom that many other institutions lack. We were never gratuitous in our spending in my thesis lab, but we certainly felt few financial constraints. The spend-out at the end of every year was such fun. “Well, I guess we can use an RT PCR machine… .” It went on in this fashion, a bunch of kiddie researchers in a lab supply candy store, until all the ridiculous piles money were spent. I would be lying if I said I didn’t take advantage of it. I didn’t misuse it, mind you, but I certainly didn’t shy away from ordering whatever I needed. It was nice.
And then reality hit. My lab closed down and I was thrust back into the big, scary real science world, back to where I came from. Money, it appears, does not grow on errm, PIs. Labs are losing grants left and right, and at the Neiman Marcus of medical schools no less!! PIs I never thought could struggle for money are having to rethink and reshuffle.
I don’t know or care enough about politics to make any guesses as to why this is happening. All I can comment on is what I see, and I see a squeeze on. I can only hope that the squeeze is temporary because at this rate, it is going to affect the scientific output (if it hasn’t done so already), not to mention give many people very big ulcers.
P.S. It seems Corie and I are thinking about the same things.
Hi Anna
I know how you feel. I am looking for a new job after having decided that I did not like the science being done in my old lab. NAd most labs I a pplied to ahve no money!!! Where as my old lab is very successful as far as publications are concerned and my previous boss has three funded grants. I know what many of you are thinking…what a foolish decision to quit such a successful lab. But what can I do? I want to do exciting science …not science that publishes and gets funded. Is there a paradox here? I mean science that gets funded and published is supposed to the most exciting kind, is it not? But for me I want to address the outstanding risky questions is science. If no one will fund risky science, how are we supposed to make progress instead of just continuing to work on the same traditional way…
Sangeetha – It does seem really paradoxical and not a little confusing. For a long time, it seemed as though the same people got the same grants over and over again, even when their science had gone stale, while up and coming researchers with novel ideas were passed over. I don’t think that’s the case any more. I think it’s even scarier and more confusing. Everyone is losing money, established and up and coming PIs alike. That’s the case at my current institution. Good luck with your job search! I hope you find a lab that will allow you to work on a fulfiling and interesting project. I can imagine few things worse than the drudgery and repetition of a boring research project that does not appeal to you intellectually. That’s awful.
I have to say (and I’m sorry that it’s prickly) that I find it troubling when I read a scientist’s lament about the decline in federal grants alongside their statement ”I don’t know or care enough about politics to make any guesses as to why this is happening.” Pardon me, but I think that you SHOULD care.
Scientists CAN vote. Scientists CAN contact their legislators. Scientists DO have a voice in what happens within our government… the same government that decides how much money the NIH, NSF, DoD, etc… dole out for research. You can ask your elected officials “why” and tell them what they should do. You can write, call, or fax anyone in Washington D.C. or through their community offices. You could even go there and ask to speak with them. That said, I know that we live in a time where some key players in government do not appear to care much about science. You shouldn’t let that hold you back. Voicing YOUR concerns to YOUR government about research funding (or anything else) is a very good second step, the first being of course, to know and care enough about the situation to want to give it a shot. Why on earth would you be content to “hope” when you could act instead?
Prickly is fine, as long as you don’t mind being prickled in return. I can assure you that I am well aware of my options – political, scientific, personal, and patriotic. I consciously chose to avoid the strife of entering into a political discussion in such a public forum, a choice that has clearly backfired. In this post, I made a simple observation, which is what I do, as a rule, when I write on this blog. I was curious to see if anyone else has had the same experiences that I am having, and how it has affected their work, their life, and their career choices (this approach, incidentally, may explain the name of my blog, Lab Life). I applaud your readiness to affect change, but I reserve my right to comment on it.