Sidebar: Some Organizations and Programs That Support New Investigators
The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, as well as several private foundations, offer early-career awards, special grants, and training programs to help new scientists get an extra edge. Many of these awards not only fund research, but also provide money for equipment and both graduate and undergraduate student support. Program officers say that for many scientists, such career-starters are vital for building experience and successfully competing for research grants. But award winners and program officials note that while the awards are invaluable to some scientists, their limited funding-and, in some case, restrictive burdens-can hinder recipients' research efforts in the long run.
On the positive side, however, such programs give new scientists "a possible inside track and a relationship with a funding agency," asserts Claire Carlson, director of research and sponsored programs at Ohio University in Athens. "Agencies ...
