Answer. The NIGMS budget request for FY 1991 will allow us to fund four more research project grant awards, 3,200, than we did in FY 1990. While this is not an optimal level, it will allow us to adequately support the most exciting research opportunities.

G-Proteins

Question. In your justification material, you note that one of your grantees, Dr. Alfred Gilman of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, received the prestigious 1989 Lasker Award for Basic Biomedical Research.

Dr. Gilman's work was concerned with G-proteins. briefly explain the importance of his research.

Could you

Answer. Working with support from the NIGMS' Pharmacological Sciences Program, Dr. Gilman discovered G-proteins about 10 years ago. These are a family of membrane-bound proteins that are now recognized to play a vital role in communication between cells.

As noted in the National Research Council's report Opportunities in Biology, "Growing knowledge of G-proteins has already contributed significantly to a molecular understanding of human disease." This includes an increased understanding of the pathogenic toxins responsible for both cholera and whooping cough. An understanding of how G-proteins act has also led to research on their likely role in a number of genetic disorders. One such disorder, referred to as PHP1, has already been identified. PHP-1 causes hyperglycemia, mental retardation, and convulsions.

Chemzymes

Question. Dr. Kirschstein, in your opening statement, you refer to the work of one of your grantees, Dr. Elias Corey at Harvard, who recently developed something called "chemzymes."

Last July, an article published in the journal Science indicated that experts at both universities and American pharmaceutical firms regarded Dr. Corey's work as "enormously helpful to synthetic chemists, the people who make things, and one of the most exciting things in academic research.

"

Could you please elaborate on Dr. Corey's work for us?

Answer. There is no doubt that the work coming out of Dr. Corey's laboratory is very exciting indeed, and will be of great benefit to America's pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industries.

The so-called "chemzymes" developed by Dr. Corey are artificial enzymes or catalysts that allow chemists much greater control over the chemical reactions they must use to produce substances of medicinal and commercial value. Indeed, one of the most important characteristics of chemzymes is that they permit scientists to produce only

the form of a chemical or drug which is most efficient in its action --an ability that both saves time and money and eliminates undesireable side effects.

One illustration of the practical effects of Dr. Corey's work is noted in a recent issue of Science News, which reports that, "Dr. Corey's group has designed a chemzyme that catalyzes the first of a series of reactions for making prostaglandins, a family of naturally occuring chemicals that regulate blood flow, blood pressure, and other vital signs. Physicians use prostaglandins to induce labor and treat ulcers, among other things... With the new approach,... the whole synthesis process is easier and more cost effective."

Medical Scientist Training Program

Question. The NIGMS supports a unique research training program, which provides support to individuals seeking the combined M.D./Ph.D. degree.

Doctor, what is the purpose of this program?

Answer. It is vitally important for the Nation to maintain an adequate pool of physician-scientists, people trained in medicine and in using research laboratory techniques to creatively solve biological problems. But, because of a variety of factors, including the huge debt that most young physicians now carry away with them from medical school, a smaller and smaller proportion of new physicians are entering careers in research. As a symptom of this problem, the number of M.D.s who are principal investigators on NIH grants has dropped 10 percent since 1970.

The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) addresses this problem by providing support for topflight students who wish to obtain the combined M.D./Ph.D. degree. Experience shows that over 80 percent of combined degree graduates enter and stay in research careers, and they tend to outperform other groups, in terms of having success in obtaining research grants, as well as in other measures of research productivity.

Question. How many trainees will you be able to support under this program in 1991?

Answer. The Institute's FY 1991 budget request provides $17 million for the support of an estimated 735 MSTP trainees. This is the same number supported in both FY 1989 and FY 1990.

Question. Is this the optimal number?

Answer. The recent Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences report on personnel needs in the biomedical sciences suggests that the need for physician-researchers will increase over the coming years. And, most experts agree with this assessment. In my professional judgment, I believe the optimal number of MSTP trainees. in FY 1991, would be about 800.

Research Project Grants

Question. Dr. Kirschstein, your 1991 budget request provides for 3200 research project grants. How does this compare with the number of grants supported in recent years?

Answer. The NIGMS supported 3,261 research project grants in FY 1989, and will support about 3,196 such grants in FY 1990. Support has, therefore, been fairly level over the past few years.

Question. What percentage of your approved applications for new and competing renewal awards will you be able to fund? And, how does this compare with recent years?

Answer. The NIGMS will be able to fund an estimated 26 percent of approved research grant applications in FY 1991. This compares to 23 percent in FY 1990; 29 percent in FY 1989; and 40 percent in FY 1988.

QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER

Efforts to Attract Minorities into Research Careers

Question. Dr. Kirschstein, in light of the historically low participation of minorities in the field of bio-medical research and future projections that, by the year 2000, one-third of the persons entering the American work- force will be minorities, what steps has the Institute taken to attract minorities to the field of biomedical research?

Answer. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences administers two programs that are specifically designed to attract minority students into biomedical research careers. The first of these, the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program, provides support for research training activities to schools with high levels of minority enrollment, under the authority of the National Research Service Act (NRSA). Roughly 80 percent of the MARC Program budget is allocated to an Honors Undergraduate Research Training program, which has the goal of increasing the number of minority college students gaining admittance to outstanding Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences.

The second program, newly transferred to the Institute in October 1989, is the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program. This program provides support for student and faculty research activities at colleges and universities that enroll large numbers of underrepresented minorities in science programs.

Question. How many minority trainees do you anticipate supporting in FY '91? How does this compare to FY '89 and FY '90?

Answer. The President's budget request for FY 1991 provides approximately $13.4 million for the MARC Program, a 25 percent increase over FY 1990. This will allow the support of 711 MARC trainees in FY 1991, compared to 575 trainees in FY 1990, and 479 trainees in FY 1989.

The MBRS Program's budget for FY 1991 is $32.3 million, an 8.4 percent increase over FY 1990. Beyond this, however, as in past years, roughly $11 million in cofunding support is expected from other NIH and Departmental components. These funds will support research positions for an estimated 1,101 undergraduate and 448 graduate students, as well as research projects for about 750 faculty members.

These are the same numbers of research positions and research projects supported in both FY 1989 and FY 1990. The increased funding provided in FY 1991 will be used to pay the costs of increased student salary levels.

Question. Is the Institute able to report to the Committee progress in attracting young minority investigators?

Answer. The MARC and MBRS programs have established excellent records of success, both in attracting minority students into biomedical research career tracks and in developing the research capabilities of minority institutions. A 1984 survey found that 76 percent of former MARC Honors Undergraduate students enrolled in graduate or pro-fessional school programs after college. Similarly, a 1987 analysis found that 254 former MBRS students had earned the Ph.D. degree (163 in the life sciences, 65 in engineering or mathematics, and 26 in other areas).

The success of these two programs was highlighted in a 1988 report issued by the U.S. Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology, which stated the following,

"Of Federal programs established to give minorities and
women access to science and engineering, we found the
Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) of the National
Institutes of Health closest to what we need today. MARC
is a prime example of a successful Federal intervention
program... The NIH's Minority Biomedical Research Support
(MBRS) program is also effective in enhancing the research
careers of faculty."

Despite the success of these two programs, it is still true that less than 2 percent of the Ph.D.s in the biological sciences are being earned by minorities.

Predoctoral Research Training

Question. Dr. Kirschstein, I understand the National Academy of Sciences recently released a report which concluded that funding for 4,300 trainees in basic molecular science per year was necessary to ensure an adequately trained pool of biomedical researchers in the future.

Do you agree with the recommendation of the Academy?

Answer. The report to which you refer was just released by the Committee on Biomedical and Behavioral Research Personnel, a component of the Academy's Institute of Medicine.

Based on demographic data that indicate "a projected undersupply of biomedical Ph.D. scientists into the next century," the Committee recommended that the Public Health Service (PHS) provide support for 4,300 predoctoral trainees (as measured in terms of Full Time Equivalents or FTEs) in the biomedical sciences by 1990. The Committee went on to recommend a gradual increase in support for predoctoral trainees to a level of 5,200 FTE trainees by the year 1993.

There

I have read the Academy report and found it convincing. fore, I agree with the recommendation that support for predoctoral training should be increased, if funds become available.

Question. How does the FY '91 budget compare to the 4,300 trainees recommended by the report?

Answer. The Academy recommended that the PHS support 4,300 predoctoral FTE trainees in FY 1990 and 4,600 FTE trainees in FY 1991. For NIGMS, which has traditionally funded about 60 percent of the PHS total of predoctoral trainees, the Academy's recommendations translate into approximately 2,967 students (2,580 FTEs) in FY 1990, and 3,174 students (2,760 FTEs) in FY 1991.

By comparison, the Institute's FY 1991 budget request provides for 2,065 predoctoral students (1,795 FTEs) in the biomedical science categories referred to by the Academy. This is 902 students (784 FTEs) short of the Academy's recommendation for FY 1990, and 1,109 students (964 FTEs) short of the Academy's recommendation for FY 1991.

Question. How much would it cost to implement the recommendation in FY '91?

Answer. The average cost of training a predoctoral student is $19,200/year. For NIGMS programs, it would therefore cost an additional $17.3 million over the amount provided in the President's FY 1991 budget request to support the number of trainees recommended by the Academy for FY 1990, and an additional $21.3 million to reach the Academy's recommended level for FY 1991.