The Open Philanthropy Project awarded Rescuing Biomedical Research a two-year grant in the amount of $299,112 to support a full-time project staffer, as well as website maintenance, research, and travel.
Rescuing Biomedical Research is a project based at Princeton University and led by the authors of a 2014 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences that made the case for addressing systemic flaws in biomedical research, outlining problems with the field’s current funding structures and career paths. The authors, four prominent biomedical researchers, have capitalized on interest in the paper, launching a website and assembling a steering committee dedicated to fostering continued discussion and advocacy on the issues identified in their paper.
Although we are still in the early stages of exploring science philanthropy, we are interested in investigating science policy and infrastructure reform, and we see this as an opportunity to explore that space. We also believe that this group represents the researchers best positioned to build consensus in their field, which could potentially lead to major policy reforms.