Fostering the independence of new investigators.

As mentioned in my inaugural column (Circulation. 2005;112:145–146), I am strongly committed to ensuring the continuing vigor of the research enterprise through training and career development of new investigators. The nurturing of young talent was a high priority during my tenure in academic medicine, particularly because it coincided with a time of constrained budgets that resulted in the virtual loss of a generation of promising young investigators. Thereafter, as Scientific Director of the NHLBI, I created an Office of Education to raise the visibility and stature of training and mentoring in our intramural research program. It is clear that much, if not most, of the momentum in this arena must continue to come from the scientists in our laboratories and clinics who are in a position to recruit and mentor young researchers and to show them the path to a rewarding career. Nonetheless, as we confront another spell of budget constraints, I believe that the NHLBI can and should look for innovative ways to spark this effort. Most particularly, we need to create a better springboard to launch junior investigators into independent careers. In practical terms, that entails increasing the rate at which trainees achieve independent funding through an NHLBI research project grant (RPG). We have taken several noteworthy steps to do so.