CULTURE AND RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE 345
few dozen predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows. The Keck Center was established in 1990 by a
$5 million grant from the Keck foundation and currently receives more than $20 million annually in
grants, from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the
Department of Defense, and private sources.
The Keck Center’s training program, supported by the W.M. Keck Foundation and the National
Library of Medicine, seeks to cross-train new scientists in both computational science and a specialized
area of biology so that they can shed new light on the cellular and molecular basis of biological pro-
cesses.^12 Fellowships are supported for research in algorithm development, advanced computational
methods, biomedicine, crystallography, electron cryomicroscopy and computer reconstruction, genome
studies, imaging and visualization, mathematical modeling of biosystems, medical informatics, neuro-
science, protein dynamics and design, robotics applications in molecular biology, and the structure and
function of biomolecules. The fellowship provides trainees with cross-training in computational science
and in biological applications, dual mentorship, and access to cutting-edge facilities.
10.2.2.6 Faculty Retraining in Midcareer
Faculty training or retraining can augment the above opportunities. In some cases, this means
participation in workshops (given release time to allow for this investment), sabbaticals spent learning
a new subject, or explicitly switching from one field to another. As a rule, funded release time will be
necessary to provide a break from academic constraints and to offer the time and opportunity to see
biological work up close. In some cases, a good way to develop cross-disciplinary expertise is to spend
a sabbatical year in the laboratory of a colleague in another discipline.
The committee was unable to find programs specifically oriented toward retraining computer scien-
tists to do biological research. However, the National Science Foundation (NSF) does support the Interdis-
ciplinary Grants in the Mathematical Sciences program through its Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Directorate whose objective is “to enable mathematical scientists to undertake research and study in
another discipline so as to expand their skills and knowledge in areas other than the mathematical
sciences, subsequently apply this knowledge in their research, and enrich the educational experiences and
broaden the career options of their students.”^13 Recipients spend a year full-time (in a 12-month period) in
a nonmathematical academic science department or in an industrial, commercial, or financial institution,
and the outcome is expected to be sufficient familiarity with another discipline on the part of the sup-
ported individual “to open opportunities for effective collaboration by the mathematical scientist with
researchers in another discipline.” Applicants must have a tenured or tenure-track academic appointment,
and the proposal must include a co-principal investigator at the level of dean (or higher-level university
official) at the submitting institution as well as a commitment from the host institution or department that
the hosted individual will be treated as a regular faculty member within the host unit and that at least one
senior person will be provided who will serve as institutional host.
In addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH’s) National Research Service Awards program
for Senior Fellows (F33) supports scientists from any field with 7 or more years of postdoctoral research
experience who wish to make major changes in the direction of their research careers or who wish to
broaden their scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities. In most cases, these awards
are used to support sabbatical experiences for established independent scientists in which they receive
training to increase their scientific capabilities. Such training must be within the scope of biomedical,
behavioral, or clinical research and must offer an opportunity for individuals to broaden their scientific
background or extend their potential for research in health-related areas. The maximum annual stipend
is considerably lower than senior scientists typically receive, but most awardees find supplements so
that they may obtain their full salaries while pursuing studies in a new field. The guidelines for eligibil-
(^12) See http://cohesion.rice.edu/centersandinst/keckcenter/training.cfm?doc_id=2368.
(^13) See http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2001/nsf01115/nsf01115.htm.