Science and Technology Policy Program, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e29738. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029738. Epub 2011 Dec 28.
In the past 30 years, the average age of biomedical researchers has steadily increased. The average age of an investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) rose from 39 to 51 between 1980 and 2008. The aging of the biomedical workforce was even more apparent when looking at first-time NIH grantees. The average age of a new investigator was 42 in 2008, compared to 36 in 1980. To determine if the rising barriers at NIH for entry in biomedical research might impact innovative ideas and research, we analyzed the research and publications of Nobel Prize winners from 1980 to 2010 to assess the age at which their pioneering research occurred. We established that in the 30-year period, 96 scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine or chemistry for work related to biomedicine, and that their groundbreaking research was conducted at an average age of 41-one year younger than the average age of a new investigator at NIH. Furthermore, 78% of the Nobel Prize winners conducted their research before the age of 51, the average age of an NIH principal investigator. This suggested that limited access to NIH might inhibit research potential and novel projects, and could impact biomedicine and the next generation scientists in the United States.
在过去的 30 年中，生物医学研究人员的平均年龄稳步上升。1980 年至 2008 年间，美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）研究人员的平均年龄从 39 岁上升到 51 岁。当观察 NIH 的首次资助获得者时，生物医学劳动力的老龄化更为明显。2008 年新研究员的平均年龄为 42 岁，而 1980 年为 36 岁。为了确定 NIH 不断上升的进入生物医学研究的障碍是否会影响创新思想和研究，我们分析了 1980 年至 2010 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖获得者的研究和出版物，以评估他们开创性研究的年龄。我们发现，在 30 年的时间里，有 96 位科学家因与生物医学相关的工作获得诺贝尔生理学或医学奖或化学奖，他们的开创性研究平均年龄为 41 岁，比 NIH 新研究员的平均年龄小 1 岁。此外，78%的诺贝尔生理学或医学奖获得者在 51 岁之前进行了研究，这是 NIH 首席研究员的平均年龄。这表明，进入 NIH 的机会有限可能会抑制研究潜力和新项目，并且可能会影响美国的生物医学和下一代科学家。
