Psychology professor Lori Flanagan-Cato researches brain hormone activity in Penn's Psychology Department, where she employs two graduate students and four undergraduates.
When she started her research, the National Institutes of Health - Penn's primary grantor of research money for the School of Medicine and science programs - granted her a First Award for new researchers and then a five-year Research Project Grant, which supports health-related research.
But soon, trouble started for Flanagan-Cato, and many researchers nationwide. Despite previous success with funding requests, she was not awarded a grant in 2006.
The NIH budget has been stagnant since 2003, meaning money for research is tight.
Decreased funding affects more than just those applying for grants today - the competitive environment can be especially challenging for young scientists, both in terms of money and morale.
In this climate, "it is going to take several years of stable funding to convince some graduate student/postdocs that academia presents a viable career path," School of Dental Medicine professor and Faculty Senate chairwoman Sherri Adams wrote in an e-mail.
Amid scarace funding, Penn and the NIH have taken steps to help researchers pursue their work - and the recently passed stimulus package means relief for strained labs is likely on the horizon.
Minding the gap
From 1999 to 2003, the NIH doubled its budget from $14 billion to $28 billion. That number, however, has not budged since 2003.
As a result, the percentage of grant applications awarded fell from 32 percent in 1999 to 24 percent in 2007.
Recognizing the mounting problem of decreasing funding, in 2008 Penn implemented the bridge-funding program.
According to Vice Provost for Research Steven Fluharty, in-house bridge funding supports researchers who have lost funding by letting them continue work while they apply for new grants.
In its first year, money went to 35 researchers in five schools. After one year, 16 were eligible for renewed funding and 11 successfully obtained it. The other five were encouraged to keep applying - they relied on departmental sources of support instead, said Fluharty.
Flanagan-Cato was one of the recipients of the bridge funding. "It totally worked," she said.
She was able to keep her lab open, increasing her chance of competition for a new grant - an NIH grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute that began this past January.
Support for tough times
Penn and NIH programs seek to encourage young researchers in spite of tough times.
NIH programs include special funding for young up-and-coming scientists and those within the first decade of receiving their doctoral degree who run projects with the potential to make a large, positive impact.
Penn has adopted similar programs to recruit and encourage graduate students in scientific-research oriented fields.
For example, Fluharty said, Penn recruits with promises of a start-up package that includes funding for equipment and the hire of lab technicians.
By allowing the new scientists to build a team of researchers and eliminating the need to search for operational funding, the University allows young scientists to gather data that lets them perform better when applying for competitive federal and institutional grants.
The grants vary depending on the size and needs of a project, as determined by the University.
Stimulus solutions?
Another potential boost for researchers is funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus package signed into law Feb. 17.
It provides $10.4 billion for NIH and $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, which will be awarded to schools on a competitive basis.
Adams and Fluharty said the stimulus plan can be seen as a "silver lining" to the economic recession because the increased emphasis on research will reinforce what Fluharty calls a "knowledge-based economy."
But Flanagan-Cato said she is worried because of what happened the last time there was an influx of available money. Universities hired new staff and undertook ambitious expansions. But once the money plateaued, deficits mounted.
Still, she added, she believes Penn will have it under control and be increasingly responsible.
