News that the Burroughs Wellcome Fund is discontinuing its prestigious Clini-

cal Scientist in Translational Research award this fall has been met with concern by senior clinical scientists who are frustrated by years of funding gaps.

The situation has become critical, says Anne B. Young, MD, PhD, Chief of Neurol-ogy Services at Massachusetts General Hos-pital in Boston. “I’ve seen too many people unable to get that ‘next step’ funding so they decide to leave research.” She says that younger investigators who cannot get grants

are looking elsewhere. In announcing the end of the 5-year,

$750,000 award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund noted that the federal government has increased its funding for translational re-search.

The discontinuance should not be seen as a lack of support for translational research, says George M. Langford, PhD, a cell biolo-gist and Dean of the College of Arts and Sci-ences at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, who serves on the Burroughs Wellcome Fund board. Rather, the private endowment

fund was faced with an economic decision. “The reason that the fund decided not to have a competition this year was because of a decline in the stock market. We depend on the payouts to fund our awards,” says Lang-ford. He added that in determining which programs to fund, the board “tried to look at areas that are underfunded. Once we see

an uptick in the funding in the large federal agencies we tend to pull back.”

Defi nition of “Translational” NeededLangford says that the foundation still has a strong interest in programs to support clini-cal scientists. “We’re also grappling with de-fi ning what translational research is and fi nd-ing a good model for funding it,” he notes.

In broad terms, translational research “can include everything from basic sci-ence discoveries of new therapeutic targets through preclinical drug discovery and clini-cal trials of new interventions,” says Story Landis, PhD, who has been Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in Bethesda, Maryland, since 2003.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for translational research has been trending upward, says Landis. In FY 2010, NINDS invested approximately 10% of its budget in preclinical therapeutics develop-ment and approximately 28% in clinical trials. “Each year we see a general trend of increased funding by the Institutes and this refl ects the growing interest among research-ers to apply basic research fi ndings to thera-peutic development,” Landis says.

NIH has initiated some high profi le pro-grams within the past year that will advance translational research, she notes. In 2009, NIH set aside $24 million for the Thera-

WHY DO SOME FEEL THAT PHYSICIAN–SCIENTISTS—THE CONDUITS BETWEEN LABS AND PATIENTS—ARE AT RISK?

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NERVECENTER

Translational Research and the Shifting Landscape for Physician–Scientists

Clinician–scientists can serve as a bridge between medicine and clinics. They’re a most valuable

resource — Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD

September 2010

A8 Volume 68, No. 3

NERVECENTER•

peutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program. Housed in the Offi ce of Rare Diseases Research, TRND is tasked with developing an integrated drug develop-ment pipeline to produce treatments for rare and neglected diseases.

Two translational initiatives were includ-ed in the Health Care Reform Act. The IRS Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project will provide $1 billion in tax credits or grants to small companies so that they can develop new cost-saving therapies that create jobs in the United States and increase national competitiveness. The act also authorized the Cures Acceleration Network (CAN). The IRS program had funding authority at-tached; CAN will not start until funds are appropriated.

“The government is doing what it can,” says Young. “Its budgets are being stretched. It’s the economy and these wars.”

A Role for Physician– ScientistsPhysician–scientists are the natural conduit for bringing research discoveries to patients,

says Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, Profes-sor of Neurology and Director of the Neuropathy Center at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Ar-bor. “Clinician–scientists can serve as a bridge between medicine and clin-ics. They’re a most valuable resource.”

However, Feldman says physician–scien-tists are increasingly bogged down by forms, Medicare cuts, and other offi ce pressures that limit their laboratory time. That puts them at a disadvantage when competing for research grants. “Highly specialized PhD scientists are doing the bulk of the research right now,” says Feldman. He believes that it is incumbent on senior physician–scientists to put resources in place to help younger col-leagues carve out a larger role in translational research.

The American Neurological Associa-tion, through its Junior Faculty Develop-ment Course, provides mentoring and career guidance for success as a physician–scientist. However, more could be done, says Feld-man. Department chairs need to protect laboratory time for staff and deliver men-toring programs that promote growth and advancement.

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DOI: 10.1002/ana.22215

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National Center of Research Resources• Clinical and Translational Science Awards:

Launched in 2006, funds medical research institutions working on translational research projects and trains new clinical and translational researchers.

NINDS Offi ce of Translational Research • Exploratory Projects in Transla-

tional Research• Cooperative Agreement Program in

Translational Research• Small Business Program • Anti-Convulsant Screening Program • Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network• NIH Roadmap Molecular Libraries Screening

Program• RAID (Rapid Access to Interventional Development)

• Initiatives that target therapeutics develop-ment for specifi c diseases, such as the

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Project

Offi ce of Rare Diseases Research • Therapeutics for Rare and Ne-

glected Diseases (TRND): $24 million dedicated in 2009

Health Care Reform Act• IRS Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project: $1 billion in tax

credits or grants to small fi rms for projects with potential to produce

cost-saving therapies, create jobs, and increase national competitiveness

• Cures Acceleration Network (CAN): Au-thorized, pending appropriation

AT A GLANCE: NIH Programs Supporting Translational Research in Neurological Disease

Each year we see a general trend of increased funding by the Institutes and this refl ects the growing interest among researchers to apply basic

research fi ndings to therapeutic development.

— Story Landis, PhD

DOI: 10.1002/ana.22216

•

September, 2010 A9