C.R.E.A.M.
Today, The New York Times featured a front-page article titled "Grant System Leads Cancer Researchers to Play It Safe" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/health/research/28cancer.html?ref=health). The article details the political nature of cancer research in America. After reading the article, I felt as if biomedical research labs were throwing money at problems that the researchers knew would never be solved. It seemed that they were simply using research money to fill their pockets. I can only imagine how sad and demoralized cancer patients and their families must have been when they read that possible treatments were being passed up for more popular projects.
These past few weeks have opened my eyes to this hidden part of biomedical research. It certainly is not always about the science. A novel imaging technique to film hematopoietic stem cells is by no means a prerequisite to winning "pioneer" research grants. There are other factors at play. But research doesn't pay for itself- that new imaging technique won't refill pipette boxes or reagent bottles. Perhaps the Wu-Tang Clan put it best- Cash does Rule Everything Around Me. So researchers must play the games to win coveted NIH money. And sometimes the best way to do that is to present projects that show documented promise. For example, one of the projects in the Reya Lab investigates the role of certain molecules in cellular signalling pathwaysin cancer stem cells. It is a different turn on a proven method of treating cancer, the most complex and multifarious disease on the planet. And though it may not cure cancer, the new knowledge gained from that project will add to the pool of information from which a cure will eventually be designed.
So the article may not have gotten it completely right. Some projects will certainly not get the funding they need and will be filed away. But the projects that are getting funded are often just as deserving. The light bulb was not invented in one experiment- it will take many, many scientific pipettes and reagents (and grants) to finally solve the cancer puzzle.
