Scientists, senators, and "software": the keys to unlocking our future

Scientists, educators, and researchers in the nation's medical schools, teaching hospitals, and research universities have responsibilities for ensuring a bright future for medical research. First, they must define science and communicate its wonder to their students, be their role models and mentors, and nurture and encourage the best and brightest to enter careers in medical research, since they are a precious resource for solving the many challenging and complex research problems that await them and which can bring great benefits to society. Second, they must learn to participate even more effectively and actively in the ongoing partnerships between the federal government, private enterprise, and the medical school and in the processes that lead to appropriations for the funding necessary to support the research enterprise. And finally, they need to recognize the importance of the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of medical research by urging support for the physical and social sciences, mathematics, and engineering.