11-5-09: Stanford: Stimulus funds help research

Stanford University is benefiting from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) through stimulus funding for scientific research. Individual faculty members within the School of Medicine are especially well situated to receive money from the federal government.

The ARRA allotted $8.2 billion in extramural funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in an effort to galvanize the American economy. While the NIH generally finances a wide array of grant programs, its distribution of ARRA funds is directed at projects that can create or preserve jobs. Furthermore, these ARRA projects must be carried out in the next two years, since ARRA funding cannot be extended beyond September 2010.

This resurgence in scientific investment is a welcome change after six years of funding that was below inflation. During the past year, the School of Medicine underwent a hiring freeze for basic science faculty who primarily deal with research. The school currently employs 840 faculty members, well within its cap at 900. For this reason, the ARRA stimulus awards provide a welcome, albeit temporary, relief.

“The ARRA awards are made on a competitive application basis and they almost always go to individuals not institutions,” wrote School of Medicine Dean Philip Pizzo in an e-mail to The Daily.

“It is not a source of funds for universities or medical schools to distribute, but for faculty to compete for,” Pizzo added. “The ARRA support from NIH has supported existing faculty grants, new highly competitive grants . . . as well as some infrastructure support for equipment and even career development.”

A number of researchers within the Medical School have already procured funding. According to Pizzo, the school received approximately $58 million during the first fiscal year of the ARRA stimulus funding, which ended Sept. 30.

“It is important to note that Stanford is among the smallest medical schools in the country [relative to its peer institutions] . . . consequently, we are always smaller in total funds than our much larger peer institutions, but we do very well in [the competitive amount] received per faculty member,” Pizzo said.

The School of Medicine plans to launch a website dedicated to the results of its ARRA awards and the number of jobs they have created on Nov. 9.

While the ARRA research projects are expected to help in the creation and retention of jobs throughout the American economy, it is doubtful that they will greatly enhance the number of research faculty at Stanford.

“We are not adding many new faculty — only a very limited number — due to ARRA funding,” Pizzo explained. “We are adding staff to support the research projects, and their support comes from these projects, and if and when the support ends, so too would their positions.”

“ARRA funds will definitely allow hiring of researchers to do work that would otherwise not have been possible,” wrote Vice Provost and Dean of Research Ann Arvin in an e-mail to The Daily.

However, Arvin also commented, “Much of the ARRA funding consists of two year awards, so the impact on hiring new faculty is limited.”

Earth Sciences Dean Pamela Matson echoed these sentiments. Matson explained that within her school, “long-term commitments to faculty are not solved by short-term benefits of the stimulus funds.”

Matson nonetheless acknowledges that the ARRA stimulus funds present a much sought-after opportunity for the School of Earth Sciences.

“I think that the additional funds, if we receive them, will benefit our faculty’s research programs and will allow them to support their students and potentially new staff and equipment in a beneficial way,” Matson said. “But the question remains, will we receive those funds?”

“Earth Sciences is a small school,” Matson added. “We’re likely to benefit from the stimulus funds at an individual faculty member basis. It may influence the number of staff that we hire, but it would be at a very low level.”

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