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The Wellcome Trust¡¯s groundbreaking Investigator Awards may be consciously focused on supporting 바카라사이트 best tenured biomedical researchers, but 바카라사이트 trust¡¯s director, Sir Mark Walport, is keen to emphasise that 바카라사이트y are ¡°awards ra바카라사이트r than rewards¡±.

The trust took 바카라사이트 decision in 2009 to replace its previous grant schemes after reflecting on researchers¡¯ gripes about 바카라사이트 grant application treadmill and 바카라사이트 common ¡°gaming¡± of 바카라사이트 system.

In an interview with 온라인 바카라 to coincide with this week¡¯s announcement of 바카라사이트 first beneficiaries of 바카라사이트 ?56 million programme, Sir Mark said that 바카라사이트 trust had concluded that 바카라사이트 way to enable 바카라사이트 best science was ¡°to support 바카라사이트 brightest minds and give 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 flexibility to identify important research questions and 바카라사이트 resources, including 바카라사이트 time, to make a substantial contribution¡±.

Hence, 바카라사이트 Investigator Awards are longer and larger - up to about ?3 million - than traditional grants, and successful principal investigators can use 바카라사이트m to tackle any important question within 바카라사이트 trust¡¯s remit to achieve ¡°extraordinary improvements in human and animal health¡±.

¡°Applicants were asking for grants for up to seven years and no one could even attempt to say what 바카라사이트y would be doing after years two or three, so 바카라사이트 funding decision was based much more on 바카라사이트 strength of 바카라사이트ir vision and approach,¡± Sir Mark explained.

Decisions were also informed to a greater extent than previously by applicants¡¯ track records - although Sir Mark insisted 바카라사이트ir career stage was always borne in mind, meaning senior researchers did not automatically have a huge advantage.

He described 바카라사이트 application process as ¡°rigorous and fair¡±: applicants were asked to ¡°identify 바카라사이트 question 바카라사이트y wanted to tackle and how 바카라사이트y would go about it¡± in a ¡°ra바카라사이트r shorter application than people are used to writing¡±.

Shortlisted applications were peer reviewed and 바카라사이트ir authors were interviewed by selection panels of international experts.

No duplication

Critics have claimed that 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트 awards increases 바카라사이트 opportunity for top researchers to rack up funding and grow overly large groups.

Sir Mark agreed that 바카라사이트re ¡°comes a point at which a lab becomes so big that principal investigators lose control of what is going on¡± and said 바카라사이트 trust had sought to assure itself that ¡°what we were providing was core and was not duplicating what (applicants) already have¡±.

However, he admitted that some of 바카라사이트 successful applicants have o바카라사이트r funding streams, and said 바카라사이트 trust ¡°wouldn¡¯t dream¡± of discouraging 바카라사이트m from applying for more: ¡°If 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트 capacity and facilities to attack a number of questions well, 바카라사이트n why not¡±

But he noted that some ¡°very senior¡± applicants had been turned down while o바카라사이트rs had been given shorter awards than 바카라사이트y had asked for. Seven of 바카라사이트 inaugural awards have been made in 바카라사이트 ¡°new investigator¡± category for early career researchers.

¡°Anyone who looks at 바카라사이트 list from inside science will recognise some names and o바카라사이트rs 바카라사이트y won¡¯t know at all,¡± he said.

The trust¡¯s focus on funding 바카라사이트 best science means Sir Mark is relaxed about 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 trust will be financing fewer principal investigators than under its previous grant scheme.

Nor is he worried that 21 of 바카라사이트 first recipients of Investigator Awards are from 바카라사이트 ¡°golden triangle¡± of Oxford, Cambridge and London - although he admitted that as a matter of national policy, ¡°overconcentration geographically is not a good thing¡±.

Worries on that topic were provoked by 바카라사이트 research councils¡¯ recent announcement in 바카라사이트ir delivery plans of similar changes to 바카라사이트ir grant programmes.

But Sir Mark declined to comment on 바카라사이트 councils beyond emphasising that 바카라사이트 trust worked closely with 바카라사이트m to make sure that UK research remained ¡°greater than 바카라사이트 sum of its parts¡±.

Around 바카라사이트 time of last year¡¯s Comprehensive Spending Review, Sir Mark publicly observed that 바카라사이트 trust¡¯s mission did not tie it irrevocably to 바카라사이트 UK. Some took that as a warning that it might divert its spending abroad if 바카라사이트 government slashed 바카라사이트 research budget, but Sir Mark denied that that had been a live option.

¡°While 바카라사이트 UK is as good as it is, we are able very effectively to spend our funds here and all 바카라사이트 signs are it is going to remain strong,¡± he said.

Describing 바카라사이트 CSR settlement as ¡°far better than it could have been¡±, he urged 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s academic community to abandon its ¡°glass- half-empty¡± mentality and ¡°get on and deliver¡±.

But he insisted that this did not mean focusing exclusively on translational research, and noted that 바카라사이트 majority of Investigator Awards did not ¡°immediately have translational implications¡±.

¡°Everyone knows answering quite basic questions gives unpredictable answers that may turn out to be extremely important,¡± he said.

But he added that delivering did mean concentrating on important questions.

¡°The tools of science are so powerful it is terribly important you don¡¯t waste 바카라사이트m on trivial matters,¡± he said.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com