NAS webcast on bridges to independence

[Marilyn T. Smith]

Below  is an invitation from the Whitehead Institute's Postdoc 
Association to join them for a live 1 hour audio webcast of:

Bridges to Independence:  Fostering the Independence of New
Investigators in Biomedical Research
A National Research Council report sponsored by the NIH (held at the 
National Academy of Sciences)

Friday, March 18 at 10:00 a.m. EST

webcast live in Whitehead's 7th Floor Classroom (located at 9 
Cambridge Center).  Space is limited.

A brief introduction to this important initiative will be given at 9:45
refreshments served

Speakers include:

BRUCE ALBERTS, President, National Academy of Science
THOMAS R. CECH, President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Chair,
Committee on Bridge to Independence:  Identifying Opportunities for and
Challenges to Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in the
Life Science
ELIAS A. ZERHOUNI, Director, National Institutes of Health

Abstract:  The age at which new biomedical investigators are receiving
their first research grant has increased in the last 20 years and the
number of awards made to researchers age 40 or younger has been cut in
half since 1980.  Long delays before scientists have the opportunity to
set their own research direction could have a serious impact on the
future of biomedical research in the United States.  The report makes
recommendations to NIH as well as the academic and research communities
to help foster the independence of postdoctoral scholars, junior
faculty, and non-tenure-track researchers.