Dr. Phillips Robbins Featured in Science

Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BUGSDM) Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology Dr. Phillips Robbins was featured in the November 7 issue of Science in an article titled, "Biomedical Research: The Graying of NIH Research."

The article discusses the advancing average age of NIH-funded principal investigators. Dr. Robbins received renewed funding for his grant, "Glycosylation and Glycosidases – Cell and Molecular Biology," in 2007, marking the 45th year the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supported his research.

Robbins manages the grant in collaboration with Co-Principal Investigator Professor Dr. John Samuelson. The grant, which NIH/NIGMS will fund through 2011, will be the last that Dr. Robbins plans to seek.

"The Science article was concerned with the attitude of older NIH grantees toward the current policy favoring the funding of new and younger investigators," said Dr. Robbins. "I agree completely that we must make real efforts to fund new investigators in this current difficult financial climate. If we do not, the system will lose its vitality and sources of new ideas." Dr. Robbins continues, "On the other hand, I also feel honored that, in spite of this policy favoring younger investigators, the NIH study section that reviewed my grant application felt it was important to support, for the 45th year, the work Dr. Samuelson and I are doing on glycosylation."