Abstract
In the recent Editorial highlighting the issues faced by young academics in securing funding for their own research (“Just give them grants,” 16 May, p. [849][1]), A. I. Leshner touches on an important point: the subversion of personal research interests during postdoctoral training periods. As an example, UK government-funded research councils typically expect grant recipients to be appointed at a higher education institute, with a minimum position of Lecturer, before applying for a research grant. As a result, the pressure on freshly minted Ph.D.'s in academia is, as stated, to follow the path of postdoctoral research on established projects, rather than trying to secure their own funding. Clearly, the UK research councils place strong emphasis on the training of postgraduates, but there appears to be little incentive for those students to remain within academia in the hope of pursuing their own lines of research by obtaining individual postdoctoral fellowships ([1][2]). Such fellowships provide opportunities for young scientists to “make their mark” in their respective fields without being tied to lines of research that they do not wish to pursue. By awarding more fellowships, funding organizations may retain more individuals to contribute to the continuity of scientific enterprise and, in turn, fellows may find getting that first grant or tenure position a little bit easier. 1. 1.[↵][3] Research Councils UK ( ). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1159794 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1. in text
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