NIH: newer, not younger

Observers outside the U.S. look with envy at NIH's $30 billion budget and the country's capacity for innovation. Internally, though, NIH leadership is concerned about the U.S. losing its edge, as young researchers vie for scarce university tenure positions and committees within the institute remain reluctant to back risky research.

These problems come against the backdrop of about a decade of flat NIH budgets that the institutes argue has left them with diminished buying power. BioCentury spoke with Sally Rockey, NIH's deputy director for extramural research, about what NIH is doing to address these issues. ...