Grantopedia

Web 2.0 for researchers

The NIH is funding university-driven development of a web 2.0 social networking application. As described in the press release, it's

a two-year, $12.2 million grant to bolster a national, Facebook-like, professional social network that enables scientists to find new biomedical research and partnerships.

There have been a number of commercial attempts at this concept, though there don't seem to be any clear market leaders. Perhaps this effort will have a better chance.

(h/t to the ever-vigilant Dave Cassidy at TCG for the links.)

Dr. Lee Hartwell at the AIRI Conference

At the AIRI conference in Seattle this week, Dr. Lee Hartwell, President and Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened the conference with his perspective on changes in the research landscape. A few insights from his presentation:

• Collaboration is the rule. Very few projects are single-PI oriented. Now, most research is multi-researcher and multi-institute.
• The new generation of philanthropy has changed the nature of research funding. The former model was organization based. The new model is project based, and the funding is managed more like a venture capital investment.
  
• Investment in non-U.S. research is expanding as industrialized and growing economies realize the value of biomedical research. Scientists trained in the U.S. over the last few decades are returning to their countries of origin and are bringing their expertise with them.