Meeting the Nation's Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists: Summary of the 1993 Public Hearings (1994)

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APPENDIX D 49 Continued Support for Ethnic Minorities in Biomedical and Behavioral Research In our cover letter we made mention of the effectiveness of awarding training grants to National Associations to provide an integrated and highly visible effort on behalf of ethnic minority trainees. We also argued that summer research support at the baccalaureate level pays very positive dividends, and should be encouraged. I would like to add here that one of the main problems with recruiting minorities into the research pipeline is that these careers do not have the visibility at an early stage of formulating career goals. Minority students with behavioral and biomedical interests more typically consider “helping” professions as the avenue to express those career aspirations. When they learn how research, basic and applied, enhances the understanding of problems they seek to address, they develop a new appreciation for research as a component of any related career. I have seen this happen with students who come to the University of Delaware for our NRSA sponsored summer research program. Once they learn that there are major scientific gaps in our understanding of problems in ethnic minority populations, and that research approaches can substantially help to chart enhanced knowledge and courses of intervention, they profess to a renewed interest in research. These in-depth experiences and ongoing mentoring opportunities are among the most important contributions to entry into the pipeline for ethnic minority researchers. The earlier this happens the better, but it must be back-stopped with consistent and substantial encouragement and resources as one moves up the career training ladder. The set of programs of NIH from MARC and MBRS (Minority Biomedical Research Support) (at both individual and institutional levels) through post-doctoral programs seems to be a reasonable way to go. The proposal to do more comprehensive evaluation of these programs is a good one. Importance of Behavioral Research in Solving Human Problems It is APA’s assertion that research from the behavioral sciences is vital if we are to address many of our most pressing national problems. Behavioral science research is vital in developing new technologies and designing interfaces between systems, technologies, and human resources. Behavioral science research is also vital in developing new theories of job performance and teaming that will lead to increased international competitiveness through the redesign of education and learning in our schools as well as a re-conceptualization of work and performance in organizations. And behavioral science research is essential in addressing nearly all of our pressing national needs which range from disease prevention to the development and maintenance of the nation’s scientific talent, to improving the quality of life for our increasingly elderly population. The contributions of behavioral science have been increasingly recognized by the scientific community and given an increasingly important voice in addressing our nation’s most urgent problems. As evidence I point to the establishment of a separate directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences in the National Science Foundation, and the centrality of behavior to nearly all of the needs and major goals listed throughout the National Institutes of Health’s Strategic Plan. Scientists and policymakers have increasingly recognized the importance of inter-disciplinary research in addressing our nation’s problems. Behavioral science research, which incorporates cognitive science, neuroscience, ergonomics, clinical research, development, social cognition, organizational behavior, etc., is essential for a comprehensive scientific inquiry of issues facing our nation in the next century. The nation’s scientific base requires a strong and vibrant behavioral science capacity, yet support for psychological research training has decreased. Need for Flexibility in Administration of the NRSA. Finally, we commented on the need for flexibility in our previously submitted materials. We are aware that psychologists possess a wide range of skills that are relevant, indeed central, to the research mission of NIH. Those skills are cultivated in many different settings, and demonstrated in an equally broad arena. The idea that behavior underlies many health and mental health problems has been widely demonstrated. That these problems exist across contexts and settings, and throughout the life-span broadly implicate the full range of psychological expertise. Thus,we strongly urge that you consider the skills that psychologists have, where they can obtain training to enhance those skills, and how the funding support available through NRSA may be most efficiently used