Sidebar: Sessions set to discuss biomedical research crisis

A series of campuswide discussions to gather feedback and ideas from researchers — faculty, staff scientists, postdocs, and graduate students as well as administrative staff — on what many people believe is a crisis in U.S. biomedical research has been scheduled for March.

The discussions, centered on four broad areas, will culminate in a daylong workshop April 11 in the DeLuca Forum of the Discovery Building (Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery), where ideas and potential solutions will be discussed and refined for sharing as part of a national conversation.

The conversation will begin with a 1 p.m. Feb. 16 rollout in Room 165 Bascom Hall with Chancellor Rebecca Blank. In March, four discussions on different topics, with each session repeated, will be held on campus.

On March 3, the conversation will focus on “Numbers in the Biomedical Workforce.” The first session will be held from 2-4 p.m. in the Ebling Auditorium of the Microbial Sciences Building. The session will be repeated March 5 from 4-6 p.m. in Room 1335 of the Health Sciences Learning Center.

On March 10, the “Shape of the Biomedical Research Workplace” will be discussed from 2-4 p.m. in the Ebling Auditorium of the Microbial Sciences Building. The session will be repeated March 12 from 4-6 p.m in Room 1335 of the Health Sciences Learning Center.

“NIH Grant Mechanisms” will be the topic of discussion on March 17 from 2-4 p.m. in the Ebling Auditorium of the Microbial Sciences Building. The topic will be revisited March 19 from 4-6 p.m. in Room 1335 of the Health Sciences Learning Center.

On March 24, “NIH Evaluation Mechanisms” will be the topic. The session will be held that day from 2-4 p.m. in the Ebling Auditorium of the Microbial Sciences Building and will be repeated March 26 from 4-6 p.m. in Room 1335 of the Health Sciences Learning Center.

Advance registration for the April 11 conference is required due to space constraints, and will open in late February. Vist here for more information and details on the campuswide discussions and workshop visit.