Today marks my first day as the director of Rescuing Biomedical Research. RBR is devoted to reforming policies and programs that hinder the pace of research and provide incomplete training to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. I worked on these issues extensively while with the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and I am eager to continue this work at RBR.
I have three goals as director of RBR. First, we need to make sure people and organizations continue to have serious conversations about some of the serious problems confronting the research enterprise. These issues include defining the breadth of student training, unifying benefits for postdocs and decreasing the burden of regulatory compliance.
Second, we must turn these conversations into actionable objectives. Many solutions to the problems of the research enterprise have been proposed, but few have been carried out. We need to determine the steps necessary to make change a reality.
Finally, once concrete actions have been defined, we must follow through and begin to make this change happen. This can be done by engaging partners for change in federal agencies, scientific societies, universities and many other places.
I am excited to take on this new role and make real reforms that move the research enterprise to a more sustainable path. And I look forward to speaking with all of you about how best to make this happen.