Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people have started questioning the role of a researcher, a biotechnologist, a scientist, and many more life science scholars globally. Despite the two-year hassle and awareness spreading around, the students who studied and graduated from then on started facing many problems all over the world, predominantly because the very same government that once wanted all the life science workers in the first row during the pandemic, still doesn’t provide platforms for life science enthusiasts. The current generation of students is responsible for spreading awareness towards the government and the people and trying to rectify the problems. The critical barriers from the top hierarchy are listed and explained in this article for students to understand and tackle such circumstances in the future.
1. Restricted funds
Funds for scientific research are essential since they provide the money to use or buy cutting-edge technologies required. The first and foremost problem of a life science researcher is funds. Either the funds are insufficient or not provided. The reason why the funds are restricted is due to the uncertainty life science presents. The government might fund research through different means, like tax credits, loans, regulatory inspection, public procurement, etc. Apart from the government, many people donate funds for such scientific research (The Need for Science Funding | Science for the Public, n.d.).
It is strenuous to receive a fund from possible sources like the government and its collaboration with medical institutes since the proposals went through several times to pick out the best proposition for the funds. Around 10 to 20% of the scientific proposals get approved by the government’s scientific research committee. Other factors affecting the funding sources are industrial and management problems like the duration of the fundraise, risk of bearing the funds, loss of money if the research fails, and many more (Wikipedia contributors, 2023; Understanding Science, 2022).
Earlier, it appeared that researchers refrained from reporting the exact results and conclusions according to ethics. Instead, they tampered with results, trying to get continuous support from the funding sources. It is now known as the “funding effect.” Since then, funding research has been halted to avoid such falsified results as a waste of money and resources (Science, 2023).
2. Less awareness
One of the problems of lesser sources of funds is less awareness regarding research in life science among the people. In contrast with medicine and surgery, people have less knowledge about how medical drugs are synthesised, manufactured, and distributed and the people responsible for it. Educational institutions must provide awareness of the scope of the life science industry and the differences between management, enterprise, and research. Such things can help any life science student to build their career according to their interests and talents.
3. Opportunities to a lesser degree
People tend to think there are fewer opportunities in life sciences unlike other streams like management, business analyst, computer science, medicine, and engineering. Life science jobs vary from biotechnologist, microbiologist, clinical researcher, pharmacist, biochemist, and many other management roles like project management, team director, program director, etc.
Getting a job in the life science sector is complex and requires prolonged hard work to get into the industry or research, according to the student’s desire. The industry design is in such a way that the person trying to enter the field is capable of analytical and scientific thinking to present better inputs and help improve the health care in the community.
4. Politics among researchers within departments
Not everywhere, but some institutions have become so institutionalised that research has become more of a fundraiser and competition rather than the actual goal, which is to improve the approach of medicine. Such environments turn toxic within a certain amount of time, ultimately losing possibly great candidates as scientists for their research.
It becomes an obstacle because even if the research has some promises towards human health, the students, research assistants, or PhD candidates wouldn’t want to work in the labs where the professors have politics among themselves or with the institution.
5. International relations
The COVID-19 pandemic is a better example to show that all countries ultimately work towards one goal, the better health of their citizens, by themselves or with the help of neighbouring countries. All the nations worked together towards formulating a vaccine against the virus. Despite its development into three or four different forms, the vaccine worked through all three clinical trials, and almost every citizen in all the countries was vaccinated against the SARS virus. It also sends the message that all nations can work together with the same goal, contributing to and promoting human health.
References
[1] “The Need for Science Funding.” Science for the Public. February 2014. [https://www.scienceforthepublic.org/science-issues/the-need-for-science-funding]
[2] “Funding of science.” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funding_of_science#:~:text=Governments%20may%20fund%20science%20through,regulatory%20measures%2C%20public%20procurement%20etc.]
[3] “Who pays for science?” Understanding Science
[4] Perković Paloš, Andrijana; Konstantinovic, Ivan. “Funding (Sponsorship) bias.” The Embassy of Good Science. 09 February 2023. [https://embassy.science/wiki/Theme:B962d39b-ee34-4562-951c-5193700beff6#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cfunding%20effect%E2%80%9D%20was,aims%20of%20the%20funding%20sources]