Why we are here

I would like to begin by giving a little information about myself. My name is Daniel. I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. For those of you who may not know, a Postdoctoral Fellow is basically an apprentice. I equate it to a Residency for physicians. I earned my Ph.D. in 2006 from Wake Forest University. I then moved to Pittsburgh, where my postdoctoral work has focused on developing and testing adeno-associated virus as a vector for gene therapy of type-1 diabetes. If anyone would like to know more about me and my work, you can learn more and contact me through my LinkedIn page here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgaddy.

So, what is the purpose of FundScience and why am I blogging on this site? The central goals of FundScience are to educate the public regarding the scientific research that impacts their lives, and to give the public a direct mechanism to influence the funding of this research, thereby directly shaping the research that takes place. This is a novel idea, and one that is antithetic to all established routes of scientific funding. In the current system, the vast majority of medical research that takes place in the United States is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a government agency in the Department of Health and Human Services. Unfortunately, federal funding is very cyclical and is dependent upon any number of factors, not the least of which is the administration that is governing the country. The budget for the NIH has remained flat throughout the current administration. This may sound reasonable to a layperson, but a flat budget does not take into consideration the steady increase in inflation and the rising costs of conducting research. Thus, a flat budget is actually a declining budget, and every year fewer and fewer worthy projects are funded by the NIH. As a result, many researchers have turned to private funding. However, there is a severe lack of opportunities for private funding. This is where FundScience steps in and offers an alternative to both federal and private funding.

To a scientist, it is actually a frightening proposition to give so much power to the public at large. The vast majority of people in this country are not properly educated in science, even rudimentary science. Thus, it is quite unnerving to turn over the purse-strings to people who know little about what they are funding. Again, this is where FundScience comes in, offering a direct mechanism by which the scientists conducting the research can interact with and educate the public. It is certainly an ambitious goal, but if it works this concept has the potential to revolutionize the scientific funding process.

My role in this is to provide an “insider’s” point of view. My research is currently funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, so I will not be applying for funding through FundScience (at least not in the near future!). However, I offer the perspective of a young scientist at a pivotal point in my career. As I enter the 3rd and final year of my fellowship, I will begin to search for a “real” job in an increasingly competitive market. I am extremely busy, so my posts will likely be few and far between. When I do post, I will attempt to discuss topics that are of interest to me, ranging from the science itself to the politics that influence science, and the jungle that is the job market for young scientists as I navigate my way through it. As I said before, the people behind FundScience have set a lofty goal for themselves, but I am excited to be a part of it.