Lost dollars threaten research in public academic health centers

Abstract

The decrease of federal and state support threatens long-Term sustainability of research in publicly supported academic health centers. In weathering these financial threats, research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has undergone 3 substantial changes: institutional salary support goes preferentially to senior faculty,whereas theyoungincreasinglydependongrants;privateandgovernmentsupport for researchgrowsapace in clinical departmentsbut declines in basic science departments;andresearch is judgedmoreonits quantity (numbersof investigators and federal and private dollars) than on its goals, achievements, or scientific quality.We propose specific measures to alleviate these problems. Other large public academic health centers probably confront similar issues, but-except forUCSF-such centers have not been subjected to detailed public analysis.