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R. Paul Robertson, Research Funding and Ageism, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 100, Issue 2, 1 February 2015, Pages 398–399, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2015-1069
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You can't travel anywhere in academic circles these days without getting involved in depressing discussions about the pitifully low level of biomedical research funding in the United States—especially since 2008 and 2009. Whether it's the National Institutes of Health or professional societies, a triangulation has emerged among scientists and funding agencies. Some scientists are struggling to renew funding for their established research programs, whereas others are fighting for their first success in competing for independent grant awards.
I was surprised to see this issue spill out onto the New York Times (OP-ED, October 3, 2014), not because it didn't belong there, but because of the author's polarizing and controversial point of view. In “Young, Brilliant, and Underfunded,” he pitted young researchers with fresh approaches against old researchers with experience, thus establishing his argument by using stereotypes. The accompanying cartoon was also suggestive. Two younger people sat primly at low desks with what appeared to be an Erlenmeyer flask and a centrifuge tube, both empty, while three older people were seated on higher stools with indiscriminate overflowing vessels.
