Scientists Looking To Continue Research Overseas
New survey results collected by a group of top scientific and medical research groups show a broad range of scientists are receiving less federal funding in the past three years, despite spending more time writing grants in search of it. Around twenty percent of scientists are looking to continue their research overseas due to the poor funding climate in the U.S. The data collected by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), is the latest to highlight the extent to which years of stagnant or declining budgets, made worse by sequestration, have damaged the world of science.
Over 3,700 scientists from all 50 states participated in the study, offering online responses in June and July 2013. They offered sobering assessments of the state of their profession. Eighty percent said they were spending more of their time writing grants now than in 2010, while 67 percent said they were receiving less grant money now than they were back then. Only two percent of respondents said they had received money from their employers — predominantly academic institutions — to make up for the loss of federal funds. The drying up of resources has had a damaging effect on the research being conducted, forcing scientists to curtail their projects or trim their staffs. According to the survey, 68 percent of respondents said they do not have the funds to expand their research operations; 55 percent said they have a colleague who has lost a job or expects to soon; and 18 percent of respondents said they were considering continuing their careers in another country.
