title: Navigating toward research success in times of uncertainty: funding opportunities for early career investigators in nephrology.
abstract: There is considerable concern within the nephrology community about recent federal budget cuts and the decreasing availability of funds for research. This is especially difficult for junior investigators who are about to start a career as physician-scientists. Accordingly, it is imperative that resources other than federal funds be made available to these individuals during this most delicate yet crucial transition period. This commentary aims to provide an overview of nonfederal funding resources, focusing on the Norman S. Coplon Extramural Grant Program. This program emphasizes support of investigators at the most fragile period in their development of an academic career; it has provided >$11 million of research funds to more than 80 individuals since 2000. The outcome has been stellar, with more than 130 publications originating from these projects and >90% of awardees staying in academia. We hope these accomplishments will encourage similar activities by other entities and scientific programs in addition to ones that are ongoing. Ultimately, these collective efforts will inspire young researchers to use their knowledge, passion, and dedication to advance research into kidney diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Electronic address: alp.ikizler@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: T Alp
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ikizler
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lovett
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Glenn M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Chertow
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Mitch
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; Satellite Healthcare Inc, San Jose, CA.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schiller
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D005582:Foundations / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D009398:Nephrology / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: Physician-scientist; kidney disease