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SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FROM SPEAKERS 1 SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FROM SPEAKERS On May 3, 1993, the National Research Councilâs (NRC) Committee on National Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Research Personnel convened a public hearing to gather the views of colleagues on the future direction of the National Research Service Awards (NRSA) program. In preparation for the hearing, the committee formulated a set of questions to be addressed by respondents and consulted with the staff of the National Institutes of Health in compiling a list of individuals and organizations to whom a letter soliciting a response to those questions could be sent. (See Appendix A .) A letter posing the following four questions was sent to over 1,000 individuals: ⢠What is the most significant challenge we face today in the United States in maintaining an adequate supply of qualified scientists to sustain and advance health research? ⢠What improvements might be made in the National Research Service Awards (NRSA) program to assure a continuing supply of skilled investigators in the biomedical and behavioral sciences in the coming years? ⢠What steps might be taken to improve the effectiveness of the NRSA program in recruiting women and minorities into scientific careers? ⢠What features of the NRSA training grant might be strengthened to assure the maintenance of high quality research training environments? Respondents also addressed the need for biomedical and behavioral research personnel in nontraditional settings, such as industry. Approximately 200 responses were received ( Appendix B ) and guided the selection of issues that follows. In addition, from these 200 respondents, 35 individuals were invited to participate in a one- day public hearing convened on May 3rd in Washington, D.C. (See Appendix C.) At a subsequent meeting of the committee, issues frequently mentioned by hearing participants were identified and discussed, including: ⢠the need for realistic assessments of supply and demand; ⢠the matter of attracting young people to careers in science; ⢠the role of stable research funding in facilitating scientific careers; ⢠the need to raise NRSA stipends; ⢠reasons to expand the Medical Science Training Program; ⢠the role of NRSA support for women in science; ⢠the role of NRSA support in recruiting underrepresented minorities into science and technology careers; and ⢠some ways to increase the effectiveness of the NRSA program. This report summarizes the views of speakers at the 1993 public hearing organized around those themes.
