NYT: Why the Medical Research Grant System Could Be Costing Us Great Ideas (June 18, 2018)

"Funding is harder to find in general, and the current approach favors low-risk research and proposals by older scientists...."

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/...t-system-could-be-costing-us-great-ideas.html

 

Good article, but too conservative! The fact is...it's a popularity contest. Big labs and big names are rewarded by their peers who sit on the selection committees. It's an entrenched system. I'm all for an initial vetting process that then selects based on a lottery system. Perhaps a handful of top picks with strong merit that didn't win by lottery could then have an appeal process for another go.