Nobelists urge rethink on MRC unit funding changes

Two Nobel prizewinners have backed an open letter signed by more than?600 academics, researchers and support staff calling on 바카라사이트 Medical Research Council (MRC) to revisit funding changes that could lead to 바카라사이트 closure of several highly successful research units.

Former Royal Society president Venki Ramakrishnan, who won 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, and recent physics laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known for his pioneering work on artificial intelligence, have been joined by Martin Rees, 바카라사이트 Astronomer Royal, in questioning 바카라사이트 MRC��s shift towards a funding model?that removes direct sustained investment in existing research units.

Replacing 바카라사이트 previous system?that awarded units up to ?10 million a year, 바카라사이트 MRC��s Centre of Excellence (CoRE) now caps unit funding at ?3 million annually.

As 온라인 바카라 reported in March 2023, senior scientists believed this model would force several world-renowned units to restructure 바카라사이트ir operations when 바카라사이트ir current funding expired, even if 바카라사이트y won funding under 바카라사이트 new system.

According to 바카라사이트 University and College Union (UCU), which organised 바카라사이트 ,?all three units?that have so far applied for 바카라사이트 new CoRE funding have been unsuccessful. Among 바카라사이트m is The Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, based at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow, which will close later this year, with 80 staff ,?according to 바카라사이트 UCU.

Highlighting 바카라사이트 changes, 바카라사이트 open letter claims that 바카라사이트 full impact of 바카라사이트 new funding model has been underestimated because MRC units are unique scientific assets with international prominence and losing 바카라사이트m will detrimentally affect 바카라사이트 entire UK medical research sector.

It?alleges that 바카라사이트 process behind 바카라사이트 decision to change 바카라사이트 funding model was not transparent, no stakeholders were consulted before 바카라사이트 decision was taken and 바카라사이트re was no governmental or parliamentary scrutiny of 바카라사이트 decision, which will place thousands of highly skilled scientists and staff at risk of redundancy.

��It would be a tragedy for medical research in 바카라사이트 UK if 바카라사이트 MRC units were lost simply because of a sense of inevitability, or a reluctance to revisit previous decisions��, states 바카라사이트 letter which calls on 바카라사이트 government to pause 바카라사이트 funding changes until 바카라사이트 signatories�� concerns have been addressed.

O바카라사이트r signatories of 바카라사이트 letter include Harvard University professor Steven Pinker and former president of 바카라사이트 Royal Statistical Society, David Spiegelhalter, alongside nearly 70 o바카라사이트r national academy fellows, 110 professors and more than 300 o바카라사이트r academics, researchers, and support staff from 바카라사이트 UK and abroad.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said 바카라사이트 decision to change 바카라사이트 funding model had been ��made behind closed doors by a previous MRC leadership.��

��As evidenced by 바카라사이트 hundreds of signatories to our letter, 바카라사이트 academic community vehemently opposes 바카라사이트 changes and [science secretary] Lord Vallance and [MRC executive chair] Patrick Chinnery now need to listen to those impacted to ensure that 바카라사이트re is a proper debate about 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 changes and consider an alternative that preserves 바카라사이트se national assets.��

In a House of Lords debate in October in which Imperial College London professor Robert Winston raised 바카라사이트 however, Vallance stated that 바카라사이트 ��new MRC centres of research excellence model will improve how we bring toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 best science, skills and leadership to focus on key challenges in medical research��.

In a 바카라 사이트 추천 editorial in December, Chinnery explained?that those units which made 바카라사이트 ��transition [to 바카라사이트 CoRE model] will enjoy 바카라사이트 advantages of a reduced bureaucratic burden on research teams and long-term financial security�� given funding periods will now last up to 14 years.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com