NIH Money, Young or Old?

I found this article in the New York Times stating that there has been a shift in funding from the NIH toward younger investigators and away from older, more established investigators. I always thought that the trend in tight economic times was the other direction. The ethical dilemma seems to arise when the method of selecting younger investigators over more established investigators is not subject to peer review. This article implies that the younger investigators are getting funded with worse grant scores then their peers. Has anyone heard of this? I'm curious what the scientist community thinks of this.

Omai

 Hi,

The newer investigators lack the track record and preliminary data that senior investigators have. To create balance and fairness, the NIH review system gives new investigators a little extra consideration. New investigators still must write an outstanding grant application to gain funding.