As scientists are turning more to foundations for grant funding, they're running into obstacles that may prevent them from accepting the much-needed money.
In late 2008, the newly-created linkurl:Found Animals Foundation;http://www.foundanimals.org/ announced it would be offering $50 million in grant money to get researchers to study non-surgical sterilization methods for cats and dogs. As further enticement, the foundation started the Michelson prize, which would give an additional $25 million to whoever came up with a viable sterilization treatment first. The goal was to attract researchers from a wide range of disciplines, and it worked. The foundation has received nearly 200 letters of intent since it started accepting proposals last year. linkurl:William Ja,;http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20100208/ja.html a molecular biologist who works on __Drosophila__, was one of the first to apply. The subject matter was completely outside his field, but he came across an...
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Image: James McEntee courtesy of The Scripps Research Institute |
Editor's note (May 12): This week, Ja learned from his department head at Scripps Florida that he would indeed be able to accept the funding from the Found Animals Foundation. "So, everything ended up okay," he said. "It just took a little longer than usual."
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